Heeled bullets in mainstream cartridges

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YankeeFlyr

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Besides rimfire rounds, are there any current, mainstream factory rounds out there that still use a heeled bullet?

Maybe some older design straight case cowboy cartridges or something?
 
Not mainstream or current but USAC made heeled bullets to go with their plastic 38 spl cases back in the 80's.

USAC11.jpg
 
The 310 Cadet as used in Martinis uses a heeled bullet, but I wouldn't call it current.
 
Short version, drunk driver ran off the road and hit my gas meter. Which exploded and set the house afire. Most belongings lost but most guns salvaged.
 
Jim Watson said:
The .41 LC went to a case-ID hollowbase bullet some time ago.
Pictures appear that the .38 Short and Long Colt have done so, too.
Click to expand...
The .38 Long Colt was non-heeled inside-lubricated from its very inception (the main difference from the .38 Short Colt)--I'm not sure the date the Short Colt was changed.

The .41 Long Colt change was some time in the mid-1890s. I think (speculation I don't know for a fact) the .41 Short Colt died due to lack of backwards compatibility--unlike the 38 short--> long conversion, the case diameter was increased rather than the bullet diameter decreased).

The .45 Colt (sometimes called a Long Colt, even by manufacturers) and .45 Smith and Wesson aka Schofield (colloquially called the "Short Colt" despite it not being Colt at all) were both non-heeled inside lubricated from the beginning.

Outside lubrication attracted dirt and debris and the military led the adoption of "bullet inside the case".

This is the historical reason that .45s and .41s are still .45s and .41s but .38s are .357" and .44s are .429".

Mike
 
Last edited:
It is apparently a matter of terminology.
The 1874 .38 Long centerfire brought out for the New Line and C&B Conversions was outside lubricated, as was the 1889 .38 Navy with .379" bullet. They went inside lubed for the Army in 1892 and seem to have picked up the .38 Long Colt moniker at that time.
See pictures at
http://www.oldammo.com/august04.htm
 
Arizona_Mike said:
The .38 Long Colt was non-heeled inside-lubricated from its very inception (the main difference from the .38 Short Colt)--I'm not sure the date the Short Colt was changed.

The .41 Long Colt change was some time in the mid-1890s. I think (speculation I don't know for a fact) the .41 Short Colt died due to lack of backwards compatibility--unlike the 38 short--> long conversion, the case diameter was increased rather than the bullet diameter decreased).

The .45 Colt (sometimes called a Long Colt, even by manufacturers) and .45 Smith and Wesson aka Schofield (colloquially called the "Short Colt" despite it not being Colt at all) were both non-heeled inside lubricated from the beginning.

Outside lubrication attracted dirt and debris and the military led the adoption of "bullet inside the case".

This is the historical reason that .45s and .41s are still .45s and .41s but .38s are .357" and .44s are .429".

Mike
Click to expand...
Interesting, that during the switch from muzzle loading to cartridge .38s became .36s and role filled by the .36 caliber pistol went to .32 caliber . . .
 
Hopefully I don't hijack the thread but how the heck did those USAC rounds work?
If both the bullet and case diameter was .357 the case would flop around in the cylinder. If the case and bullet are both .379 that bullet isn't going to chamber into the cylinder throat.
 
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