Oh .38, you so silly!

And none of them are actually 38!

Michael Tinker Pearce said:

.38 Webley Long (.375)

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Hmmm...stuff a... stuff a 235 grain Speer in it.

I've always wondered on the history behind ".38" being used for so many widely varying bore diameters. Something to do with cartridge evolution from a heeled bullet that actually was nominally .38 bore? Turn of the century marketing gimmick?

Where's 38 Super !!

I don't use a decimal on 38, because it is not an actual measurement like the .357 Magnum is.

RealGun said:

I don't use a decimal on 38, because it is not an actual measurement like the .357 Magnum is.

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Do you do the same with the .44...?

Charlie98 said:

Do you do the same with the .44...?

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Same thing, if I think about it.

wasn't the .38 special called that because it was the military replacement of .38 long colt? was the long colt actually .38? so maybe called that basically for marketing purposes.

Random 8 said:

I've always wondered on the history behind ".38" being used for so many widely varying bore diameters. Something to do with cartridge evolution from a heeled bullet that actually was nominally .38 bore? Turn of the century marketing gimmick?

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Yes I think that's correct. The heel bullet transitioned to a larger outside diameter (and compatible with the barrel groove diameter) more closely corresponding to an actual .38" measurement. When the entire bullet diameter was reduced to the same diameter as the heel portion, it was still called ".38" when in fact it was actually closer to being a .36. ".36 Special" doesn't have the same pizzazz. Or at least something like that

Yeah, the 38 Special and 38 S&W should both be called .36 cal. (.358" & .361" )

Believe it was called that by the diameter of the case dimensions. 38’s are .379. As mentioned the bullet was the same diameter but heeled to fit inside the case, just as. 22 rim-fires still are.

This might be of interest to the thread. I did not create the image but found in on Reddit a few years ago. Unfortunately the original thread has disappeared so I cannot give proper credit.

Double tap, sorry about that.

Perhaps the distance from bottom to bottom of the grooves in the rifling.

Early revolver and rifles rounds were caliber first blackpowder charge, in grains contained, in case second.

from the wikipedia

Despite its name, the caliber of the .38 Special cartridge is actually .357 inches (36 caliber/9.07 mm), with the ".38" referring to the approximate diameter of the loaded brass case. This came about because the original .38-caliber cartridge, the .38 Short Colt, was designed for use in converted .36-caliber cap-and-ball Navy revolvers, which had cylindrical firing chambers of approximately 0.374-inch (9.5 mm) diameter, requiring heeled bullets, the exposed portion of which was the same diameter as the cartridge case.

film495 said:

Wasn't the .38 special called that because it was the military replacement of .38 long colt?

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My understanding is that black powder cartridge naming conventions are for the diameter of the brass case. By the time the 357Mag came along the naming convention had changed to the bore diameter that we use today.