38 s&w or 38s&w short????

[ArmedOkie]

I have a h&r top break in 38 s&w. Today at Academy i found a single box of fiocchi 38 s&w SHORT. never heard of it in my life. Is this the same round? Ive never seen 38 s&w ammo in a store before.

 

[Salmoneye]

That's a new one on me...

The comments at Midway say that people are firing these in their .38 S&W, so I assume the 'short' is something to do with the translation from Italian...



http://www.midwayusa.com/product/24...w-short-145-grain-full-metal-jacket-box-of-50

 

[splattergun]

The 38 S&W or 38 S&W CTG and 38 S&W Short are the same thing. Some use the 'short' term to differentiate it from the 38 S&W Special and the 38 Long Colt.

post # 2 in this thread here explains it rather well;
http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=90602

 

[Carl N. Brown]

What I found on Fiocchi .38 S&W Short is
o 38 S&W Short
o Bullet Weight: 145 Grain
o Bullet Style: Full Metal Jacket
o Case Type: Brass
o Muzzle Velocity: 780 fps

Everthing but Full Metal Jacket sounds like .38 S&W to me; I remember .38 S&W rounds loaded with lead . But reviewers of the product say they use them in .38 S&W top-break revolvers and FMJ makes clean up easier than with lead bullet.

My guess is the marketing name ".38 S&W Short" was used to distinguish from .38 Special sometimes called .38 S&W Special.

.38 S&W Short is about as "real" a name as .45 Long Colt; there's .38 S&W and .45 Colt in the 19th century historical record for the same cartridge.

ADDED: Salmoneye: "... translation from Italian..." That line makes me think of Spaghetti Westerns like that "Roy Colt and Winchester Jack" that plays often on Epix Drive-In channel.

 

[Salmoneye]

The 38 S&W or 38 S&W CTG and 38 S&W Short are the same thing. Some use the 'short' term to differentiate it from the 38 S&W Special and the 38 Long Colt.

There is also a ".38 Short Colt" (technically just the .38 Colt originally)...

.38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, .38 S&W Special, .357 Magnum, and the .357 Maximum, all have the same head and rim dimensions...

The .38 S&W is larger in both dimensions, as well as in bullet diameter (most of the time)...

As I said...Hearing the .38 S&W referred to as 'short' is a new one on me...

The .38 S&W Cartridge (CTG) itself and I are old friends...

 

[ArmedOkie]

Well i hadnt ever seen it either. They only had one box so i may pick it up and fire this gun from a rig with a string around the trigger. never fired it before so i dont quite trust it, but she seems shootable and locks up tight.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Those are not made to be fired in a gun chambered in 38 S&W. What they are is "cowboy ammo" made to be shot in a 38 long colt-38 special-357 magnum gun in SASS competition..

 

[Jim K]

Everything I see indicates that 1) Only Fiocchi uses the term ".38 S&W Short (or Corto)". 2) It is not a SAAMI term. 3) It is the case diameter of the .38 Special, but the case length of the .38 S&W, so as to function in revolvers chambered for either round). 4) It is lower pressure than the .38 S&W (which is 13,000 CUP SAAMI spec) so as to be safe in old breaktop guns. 5) There never was such a thing as .38 S&W Short or .38 S&W Long before Fiocchi used the former term. It was always just .38 S&W. 6) There was/is a .38 Short Colt and a .38 Long Colt.

Am I correct, or where did I go wrong?

Jim

 

[Walkalong]

3) It is the case diameter of the .38 Special, but the case length of the .38 S&W, so as to function in revolvers chambered for either round).

That is interesting.

 

[MI2600]

I'm lost in all this.

A shortened .38 Spl case is a later type .38 Long Colt. They both share the .357" bullet.

A .38 S&W has a .361" bullet.

 

[Radagast]

.38 Short Colt or plain .38 Colt, came before the .38 Long Colt. It is shorter in case and overall length than the .38 S&W. Its main market is in gun games such as ICORE, where a moon clip of 8 Short Colts is easier to load than a moonclip of 8 .38 specials. It will chamber, but be undersized, in a .38 S&W. Use at your own risk and discretion.

 

[Twmaster]

It sounds more to me like this is the Italian way of designating this ammo as .38 S&W, not 'cowboy ammo'.

Cowboy action (SASS) ammo will always be lead. Not jacketed as no jackets (full or partial) nor are gas checks allowed in SASS competition. The 145 grain pill is consistent with the usual loading of 146-ish grain bullets for this cartridge. Also the specs WRT velocity and power seem right for the 38 S&W round.

Contrast that with the Magtech 38 'cowboy' load intended for .38 SPL/.357MAG guns that is short cased and only 125 grain.

This Fiocchi ammo seems to be the right stuff for your 38 S&W chambered pistol.

 

[Salmoneye]

It sounds more to me like this is the Italian way of designating this ammo as .38 S&W, not 'cowboy ammo'.

I have to agree with this...