[Isaac's Grandpa]

How can I tell if my Colt Diamondback is made to handle .38+P loads? I bought it from a friend who died from ALS. He bought it when he came back from Viet Nam. I have been shooting hand loads but was curious about the +P loads.

[SaxonPig]

Any quality made 38 Special will "handle" +P loads as this ammo is loaded to pressure under what is allowed for the caliber*. Shoot +Ps until your hand falls off.

* Which also speaks to the MYTH that +P is a hot load. It is not even a warm load. I find it a mild plinking load.

[earlthegoat2]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=5776404&postcount=4

This is an enlightening post on the REAL pressures involved with the so called +P loadings. Basically you can use +P in dang near any revolver chambered in 38 special.

[Isaac's Grandpa]

Thanks,
With what they are going for on Gunbroker, I didn't want to do any damage to it. My daughter enjoys shooting it too much to just let it sit.

[22-rimfire]

My advice is to shoot regular 38spls in it. +P's didn't exist when the Diamondback came our, but I believe by the time it was discontinued it was rated for +P ammo.

[Erik M]

The Diamondback was the first .38 I ever had the chance to shoot. I remember it was a beautiful gun. It was accurate despite my novice gun skills to.

[SaxonPig]

When the D'back came out in 1966 STANDARD ammo was loaded to higher pressure than is current +P. Factory +P is in fact a REDUCED load and the +P is a marketing scheme to fool people into thinking it's a high performance load.

[Thomas Garrett]

Was my first Pistol i bought for Introduction to Law enforcement college course in N.C. back in 1983. 4", .38 spl. Shot a 298 first time in pistol qualification. They wouldn't give me a 300 because nobody's perfect. Ha Ha! :confused: Fantastic pistol, a set of Pachmyers was all i did with it. Funny thing i didn't shoot it before qualification, it was NIB. Down right accurate, didn't have to move the sights at all. I did shoot +p in it afterwards, no problem at all. Very well missed.

[RSVP2RIP]

I just sent mine to Colt to have the hand replaced and the endshake eliminated. Cost $116 less the shipping to them. Should be good for another 40 years at least. I don't shoot it with +P mainly because I use it for target shooting. The other Colt DA's I use for HD get the 38 Special Buffalo Bore Heavy Standard Pressure 158grain LHPGC. It uses progressive powder to get teh velocity without the pressure. There is more at work here than just the velocity from vintage 38 loading vs modern. It might be that the ammo companies now have decided that they can get a round loaded using less powder if it was faster burning. This would make a cartridge with similar pressure and less velocity. I don't know for sure but this is a theory I have. If someone could shoot some vintage ammo with a strain guage I guess that would put the argument to rest. (even though the 38 is rated 17000cup and the +p is 20000cup, only 3000 between them) If I NEEDED to run 38+p for defense, I would be using a newer gun built for them or a 357.

[rcmodel]

shoot regular 38spls in it. +P's didn't exist when the Diamondback came ourNo, but .38 Spl High-Speeds did.
And they were hotter then todays +P.

rc

[Blue Brick]

http://stevespages.com/pdf/colt_detective_&_commando_special,_diamond_back,_police_positive,_agent,_cobra,_viper.pdf

[Blue Brick]

Standard and Limited +P Only. NO +P+ -per Colt.

[M2HB M240]

I don't think that running +P loads for defense will hurt anything, but I don't run them regularly through my .38 Diamondback. Remember, the Diamaondback is nothing more than a glorified Detective Special.

[SaxonPig]

Here's an ad from around 1940 stating that the 38/44 ammo may be safely used in the Colt Detective Special (same frame as the later D'back). The 38/44 was much, much more powerful than current +P (which isn't even loaded to the full allowable chamber pressure for the caliber) and Colt didn't seem to worry about the guns back then. But that was before lawyers started suing everyone in sight.


http://www.fototime.com/AADF9E38D2D5D16/standard.jpg