.38S&W in .38 Special question

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beag_nut

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I'm putting this in the Revolver sub-forum because both cartridges are revolver ones, and thus more revolver users may see the thread.
IF the .38 S&W cartridge fits in a .38 Spl cylinder (sometimes it may), is it safe to fire the S&W in the Spl. cylinder revolver? Already know about the carbon ring which may form because the .38 S&W is shorter, but if the overlap between the factory specs of both the cartridge and cylinder happen to allow chambering, can it be safely done?
I ask this because I have a very frugal friend who cannot leave a box of "older" .38 S&W lying around, and not having a .38 S&W revolver to use. He DOES have a Smith .38 Spl. revolver, in which he would like to "dispose" of said cartridges.
Pile on, if you wish, it's he who will feel the grief, not me.
 
If they fit, it is perfectly safe to fire them.

Standard pressure for the .38 S&W is much lower then for the .38 Spl.

rc
 
IF they fit, I don't see any reason why not, but I've never known them to fit before.
 
One thing to consider here is that the .38 S&W is a slightly larger diameter than .38 Special (.357" vs .361", I believe). The bullet will be larger than the bore. If it's a soft lead bullet, you're probably OK. Also, depending on the gun, you may have to force the cartridges into the chambers a bit to get them to fit. Extraction may be a little tougher if that's the case.

The carbon ring is the least of your worries. That's no different than shooting .38 Special in a gun chambered for .357 Magnum. The ring can be cleaned out of the chambers.
 
Last edited:
PJSprog said:
The carbon ring is the least of your worries. QUOTE]

I agree, except it ain't MY worries. It's my buddy's, and I will rake him over the coals if something goes wrong.
All your inputs are valuable because I have advised him to trash the ammo, but he insists on trying it, if there is no unexpected problem. All you people will (I hope) bring up no potentially dangerous reasons. And, I will probably be there when he tries it.
Click to expand...
 
.38 S&W is not just a shorter .38 Special. Uses a .360" bullet for starters. Bigger in diameter at the rim too. Isn't safe to shoot a .38 S&W out of a .38 Special.
Your buddy has a reason to find and buy an Enfield No. 2 revolver or a Smith Victory revolver. The latter is a Model 10 chambered for the .38 S&W.
 
All the dimensions are wrong. Too fat, too short, bullet too big...the question for me is not if the ammo is safe to shoot in the gun, but rather if the gun is safe to shoot at all due to oversized cylinders.
 
At those low pressures, and with lead bullets, a difference of .003" in bullet diameter is not going to make a darn bit of difference. As to case diameter, I can say the same as the others; tolerances overlap, so some .38 S&W rounds may fit in some .38 Special chambers.

Jim
 
If the .38 S&W fits in a .38 Special revolver, I'd be suspicious. S&W made revolvers for the British in WWII chambered for the .38/200, which is the .38 S&W loaded with a 200 grain bullet.

Later these revolvers were sold as surplus, and some importers ran .38 Special reamers into the chambers and sold them as .38 Specials. The .38 Special case has a smaller diameter than the .38 S&W, and .38 Special cases often split when fired in these revolvers.

Now your revolver may not be one of these re-chambered Model 10s (or "Victory Models" as they were called) but if it has similar chamber dimensions, you are likely to have the same problems.

My advice would be to check your fired .38 Special cases and see if you can detect bulging or splits. If you find them, stick with .38 S&W in your revolver.
 
rcmodel is correct, if it will fit, and they will in some .38 Spl guns, it is safe to shoot them.

Jim K is also right, the .003 difference with lead isn't going to matter.
 
FWIW .38 S&W by Remington are .357, and Privi Partisan are .358. Both work fine in my Webley Mark III .38 S&W. .361 do not.
 
If the 38 S&W are jacketed (for God knows what reason), I'd measure the bullets first and wouldn't shoot them if they're .360" or larger, just to be on the safe side. If lead, or smaller diameter, should be safe enough.

For the record, my 38 S&W cases *do not* fit in my 357 chambers (no chance before resizing, pretty darn tight after resizing), but if my trouble with oversized 357s is any indication, I may be in the minority there.
 
Somewhere I had come into possession of a handful of .38 S&W cartridges. They fit in my Model 19 so I disposed of them, no fuss, no muss. I still have the empty cases in a jar out on my reloading bench, why? don't know:)
 
In the early 'Fifties, many WW II vintage S&W revolvers, originally .38 S&W caliber, were "rechambered" to .38 Special simply by running a .38 Special chambering reamer through the chambers, and these guns were sold as .38 Specials.

And .38 Special cases showed a bulge when fired, but so far as I know no publication ever published a warning nor any disaster stories concerning the practice.

My Dad had an old Belgian double action revolver made up to look like a Colt Single Action chambered for ".38 Long Colt~.38 S&W Special." He showed me the gun and the box of .38 S&W cartridges. I told him he had the wrong ammo, and he proceeded to show me a half empty box of cartridges he had been firing in the gun.

Bob Wright
 
To add to the info and/or confusion. Bullets for British WWII .380 ammunition mike .357-.358, or the same as .38 Special. I finally got a chance to slug the bore of an S&W made for the British and it also comes out .358", even though it is marked ".38 S&W". I have seen a lot of those revolvers re-chambered for .38 Special, and once believed, like Vern, that .38 Special cases would split. But I later tried it and found that the difference is so small that .38 Special cases fired in one ".38 S&W" gun actually bulged less than cases fired in a revolver marked .38 Special.

To further confuse the discussion, the S&W Victory Model was never made in .38 S&W. In spite of using the "V" serial numbers, S&W considered only the guns made in .38 Special for the U.S. as being "Victory Models", using the term .38/200 Model for those made in .38 S&W for the Allies. That may seem a nitpick and even go against conventional wisdom, but not knowing it can lead to a lot of confusion in reading information based on S&W factory records.

Jim
 
A box of .38 S&W should be worth more than a box of .38 Special.

IMO he should sell the .38 S&W or take .38 Special + $ as a trade. That way he's shooting the correct ammo in his gun, and can gain a few dollars, plus help out someone who needs it.

Shooting it up in a .38 Special gun just doesn't make a lick of sense.
 
The 19th century called; they want their cartridges back. They are not interchangeable. As has been pointed out here, the 38 S&W is, at .361, a larger bullet diameter. The case is shaped differently, as well. Even if you can jam them into your gun, I should think they would be hard on the forcing cone, not to mention the barrel.
 
Some mfgs of 38 S&W cartridges do not use original specs. I shoot a lot of these rounds in my older guns chambered for that round. The new Remington .38 S&W rounds will drop in all my newer .38 Special revolvers. Older Winchester rounds don't even come close to fitting. As far as being safe to shoot, that is not the issue. Why would you want to shoot rounds that run $40 a box through a gun that will handle $15 dollar a box ammo of the correct caliber.
 
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