Question about .38 S&W

[mgregg85]

Kind of like .45 GAP versus .45 acp is.

Look how well gaston's red headed step child of a cartridge did.

I feel this would be the answer to a question no one yet asked. The .38 special is way too deeply set into the gun culture for some kind of .38 S&W magnum to succeed.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

.38 S&W casings are not only slightly fatter than .38 Special casings, the rims are slightly thicker as well: I sized some .38 S&W casings down to outside diameter of .38 Special, thinking I could use them for .38 short loads in a .38 Special. The rims bound the cylinder, making rotation difficult. (I do weird stuff when I get bored.)

 

[Cocked & Locked]

C&L do you shoot that thing?

Yes Sir I do. At times, if I'm feeling like retro-man, I carry it concealed in my front pocket...but not often.

 

[eotp]

** a considerable number were rechambered to .38 Special, which in effect ruined them. **

So, how can you tell if a .38 S&W has been rechambered to .38 Special or not?

 

[Old Fuff]

If you look down the chamber you should see an unexpected step in the middle. A sure way to confirm this is to try and drop in a .38 Special cartridge...

It shouldn't go.

While a Colt Official Police/Commando is possible, the usual suspect is a .38 Smith & Wesson M&P, with *.38 S&W ctg.* stamped on the side of the barrel. The standard barrel length was 5" although 4" and 6" were made. Cut-off barrels below 4 " are not uncommon.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Several mail-order .companies in the 1950s and 1960s took Victory Models in .38 S&W and converted them by reaming the chambers out to .38 Special and chopping the barrels off
behind the locking bolt lug on the barrel: the resulting revolver resembled a Colt snub, exposed ejector pin, with weakened cylinder latching and excessive headspace.

In fact a rough field test for excessive chamber size in a .38 Special is to see if a factory .38 S&W cartridge will fit. Obviously a .38 S&W cylinder reamed out to .38 Special length is a sloppy fit. A lot of military and police revolvers in .38 S&W were ruined that way to make them more "desirable".

 

[Shade00]

I was recently handed a S&W Model 32-1 Terrier in .38 S&W - in excellent shape, 99% of original bluing - the only wear appears to be on the hammer and trigger. I bought a couple of boxes of .38 S&W, but I am hesitant to fire the darn thing because it is in such incredible condition. My wife's grandmother gave it to me after describing it as some "Saturday night special." I think the serial number is around 192xxx - can't remember for sure, but that might put it in the mid-60s?

I had never heard of the .38 S&W, but I found this thread and learned a little bit before ordering the correct ammo.