38 s&w

[Jakester241]

Hey, Does anyone here shoot the 38 S&W. And if so what kind of gun do you have?

 

[Captcurt]

Got 2 Taurus 38's, an 80 and a 82. The 82 is new in the box for trading material and I keep the 80 for carry in my big truck.

Carry a 380 LCP in my little truck.

 

[W.E.G.]

Got 2 Taurus 38's, an 80 and a 82.

I think the OP is asking about 38 S&W.... Not .38 Special.

This sort of thing...

 

[SaxonPig]

I have two. This caliber demands loading your own for economy. Easy to load and mine work OK with .357" bullets in the proper 38 S&W cases.

 

[TonyT]

I owned old Colt and S&W revolvers in 38 S&W many years ago. Both were short barreled pocket carry revolvers of a bygone era. No difficulty reloading. I still have some brass and ammo from those revolvers - PM if you are interested.

 

[MMCSRET]

I cast two bullets for it. Both drop from the molds @.361, Lyman 360271 and 358246, a SWC and a RN. Both drop @ 147 grains. Over 2.15 gr. of A#2 duplicates Winchester current production factory loads in my 1935/36 S&W Regulation Police. Wish S&W still made guns this nice, but then, nobody does.

 

[Cearbhall]

H & R .38 Defender top break revolver.

 

[zxcvbob]

The UPS guy just showed up with my new Colt Police Positive. I'm fixin' to start a new thread to see if anyone can tell me what year it was made. I haven't started reloading for it yet, but I might start tonight so I can try it out. Speer 148-grain HBWC and 2.5 grains of Bullseye to start.

Also have a "war finish" Webley Mk IV on the way, should get here Thursday. That one may need heavier bullets to shoot right. I gotta stay away from gunbroker.com for a while.

 

[Nushif]

I have one of the Terriers myself.

Beautiful gun! Now if only I had the reloading equipment to shoot it.

 

[Flash!]

I just bought a Webley but don't have ammo for it yet due to price of ammo... I'm gonna have to make my own....

 

[Walkalong]

S&W Victory Model

I also have a top break H&R, but do not have a pic.

 

[Walkalong]

Now I do.

H&R Model 925 .38 S&W

I had a S&W Model 33 years ago, but foolishly traded it.

 

[Deaf Smith]

I kick myself for letting a Smith nickle Terrier, in .38 S&W, slip throgh my hands.

But I do know where I can get a Colt Police Positive in .38 S&W, but I don't know what I'd do with it!

Deaf

 

[Captcurt]

I think the OP is asking about 38 S&W.... Not .38 Special.

This sort of thing...

You are absolutely right. Sorry about that.

 

[PRM]

The gun on the left is a Smith and Wesson Perfected Model (.38 S&W) made in 1914 with smooth Sambar Stag grips. The gun on the right is a custom built Colt Bisley (.44 Special) with Elephant Ivory grips.

 

[Jakester241]

Where do you get loading info for it because im having a realy hard time finding it?

 

[zombie44]

Wow what a timely thread, I just picked up an old Webley MarkIV today from a local shop. Would it be ok to trim down .38 special brass to .38 s&w and use Berry 158gr copper plated bullets? From the little research I've done about it, it appears to have been manufactured around 1954 but it seems hardly used, cylinder locks up nice and tight. It seems to be a pretty common model however making it not much of a collectible so I plan to shoot the snot out of it Also would it be ok to use Hoppes#9 and a regular bore brush for a .38/357 to clean it up?

 

[zxcvbob]

Cut-down .38 Special cases will fit a little too loose in the chambers. They will either split the first time you use them, or they will fire-form and work just fine from then on. The problem is the case head is slightly too small too and that part doesn't really expand, that's why the split. A split case in a revolver is not a big deal, so I'm going to try it.

You can buy new .38 S&W brass from Starline.

 

[zombie44]

Would I also need a new set of 38 s&w dies or will my set of 38spcl/357 dies work just as well? Please let us know the outcome your trimmed down 38 specials experiment

 

[Cearbhall]

"Where do you get loading info for it because im having a realy hard time finding it?"

If you buy a set of Lee dies they give you a data sheet with the same load info as in the Lee reloading manual. Maybe ask the folks on the Cast Boolits forum?

Here's a few, but use caution: http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=38 SqqqW&Source=&Type=Handgun

 

[zxcvbob]

Would I also need a new set of 38 s&w dies or will my set of 38spcl/357 dies work just as well? Please let us know the outcome your trimmed down 38 specials experiment

Your .38 Special shellholder will work but not the dies. I think 9mm dies might work (but obviously not the shellholder.) 9mm Makarov dies with a .38 SPL shellholder is another possible combination.

 

[Cearbhall]

A set of the proper sized dies is only 26 dollars at Midway.

 

[dogngun]

I love that lil' thing! I started shooting it in old top breaks

over 35 years ago, loeded the little cases with Unique and seated Hornaday single ended .357 wadcutters...the gas openes the back end to fill the bore and they are very accurate and make a decent defense round. I still have 2
.38 S&W top breaks-an Iver Johnson Safety Hammer from 1899, in its factory box. Both the gun and the box show their age and the IJ was made for BP loads, but I think it makes a nice display, and I have fired it - it is tight and shoots well, but it is retired.
The other is a H&R Hammerless top break, which is in very good shape considering it was made in 1915. It works, shoots well and is easy into conceal - I have carried it a few times. Both are 3" barrel nickel plated.

I had some old Smiths, but they have become too expensive to play around with.

The Lee loading manual has information on the .38 S&W and the .32 S&W...I have always had great results using Lee products.
mark

 

[Seamore2001]

S&W Victory model, and very rarely. As a cartridge it's not really all that interesting to me compared to the .38 special.

 

[Cearbhall]

Here's a few more loads
http://reloadammo.com/38sw.htm