Are my 38's chambers too loose?

[BBroadside]

I just got a Smith & Wesson model 64 (4", stainless, fixed sights). I haven't fired it yet. On a lark, I tried out some 38 S&W snap caps I have to see if they would fit in the Special chambers. I had thought they would not fit, that the snap caps would be too fat, but they did fit. No big deal, except that if the average bear gets a hold of it, he could load and maybe even fire the complete wrong ammo.

Today I got my 38 Special snap caps, and of course they are narrow enough to fit, but they kind of move around a lot, forward and backward.

What is alarming is that the live 38 Special round I put in seems to slide forward and backward too. When the cylinder is closed and the gone is shaken, you can hear the live round clicking forward and backward. Does this mean the chambers are too big? I doubt they are big enough to allow case failure (this is an ex-police gun so I assume somebody checked it at least for minimal safety). I am just worried it is loose enough that the pin will push the cartridge away instead of igniting the primer.

 

[MutinousDoug]

Your condition sounds normal. A revolver needs some slop so you can rotate the loaded cylinder past the recoil shield and frame.

 

[Quoheleth]

My .38 & .357s do that: Smith 15, Ruger Sp101 and GP100. Can't recall if my Smith 25 (.45 Colt) does.

Don't sweat it. It's normal. They'll expand when you fire them and you'll probably need the extractor to push 'em out.

Q

 

[Dave T]

Snap caps are not a good way to judge dimensions on any firearm. Test fire it with factory ammunition before you come to any conclusions.

Dave

 

[rcmodel]

When the cylinder is closed and the gone is shaken, you can hear the live round clicking forward and backward.

Perfectly normal on any revolver.

If they didn't slide back & forth, it wouldn't work, because the cylinder wouldn't turn after firing the first round.

rc

 

[BBroadside]

Well, I took her out and blazed through fifty rounds. Since I still have ten working fingers, I suppose that is something. But seriously, I think everything functioned perfectly. Haven't gone over the brass very carefully yet but at first glance it looked all right.

She is as sweet a shooter with ordinary .38 Special as I was led to believe - and I've got a spot of tendonitis on my right wrist. That gun (64-5 with a 4" barrel) couldn't be a more perfect weight. Judging from the looks of the one paper target I used, her sights are pretty much right on (which is not to say that I am right on - I caught myself flinching at least once). My plan is to take her into the basement with some snap caps and my ultra-cheap practice laser and see if I can't get the dot to quit jumping around like a super ball.

In conclusion: the police armorer treated my adopted child pretty well. I like a gun with ordinary wear so I don't feel bad about scuffing it up. We'll see if she likes the inside of the Safariland pancake I got her. This is an open-ended holster - doesn't cover the muzzle all the way down. Speaking of wear, is this going to make her muzzle age faster or slower than the rest of her? I'll probably get another holster one day, just to see if it helps or hurts my steel shooting ... once I get serious about that.

Last question, on the crane, pretty close to the ejector rod, there is a little square followed by "96". Anyone know what that means? O96? 096? D96? If it is an expiration date, I hope it is 2096 rather than 1996.

 

[rcmodel]

All those numbers and marks (except for the model # and serial #) are factory assembly #'s and inspectors marks.

Don't try to make any sense out of them, as they mean nothing to anyone except the guys at S&W that put them together & finished them.

rc

 

[Diggers]

BBroadside

Nice that you found a good shooter. All my revolvers also do that, 629, 36, and 442. Just how revolvers are made. Sometimes I can hear rounds clicking if I'm walking quickly.

One thing though...ARE S&W .38s really wider than .38 specials? I wasn't under that impression.

 

[DickM]

Lengthy discussion on this very issue here.

 

[Diggers]

Huh...never knew that. Thats kinda odd.

 

[MrBorland]

ARE S&W .38s really wider than .38 specials? I wasn't under that impression.

Just to clarify - the .38S&W cartridge is wider than the .38spl or .357mag cartridges. The .38S&W cartridge is rather old and obscure, and despite the similar name, a different animal than the .38spl.

To be clear, the TFL thread is not saying that the "S&W .38" (spl or mag) chambers are bigger than any other gun.

 

[rcmodel]

The .38 S&W case measures .386" near the rim, tapering very slightly to .3855" at the mouth.
Max rim thickness is .055".

Both the .38 Spl. & .357 Mag case measures .379" all the way.
Max rim thickness is .059".

rc

 

[oldfool]

OP
sounds like you got a good one
welcome to the k-frame club
I predict more of 'em in your future

 

[BBroadside]

Yes, oldfool - If I get my wife a revolver, it may well be one exactly like mine, unless she prefers blue. She has already commented on the wonderful trigger pull - it's smooth and really easy for both of us to keep the laser dot on the same spot. Maybe I'll follow up with a Ruger LCR and we can be a double-action only family

So the good news is, I can use my 38 S&W snap caps in my new Smith for practicing eject-and-reload. Bad news is, a dufus can load up my beautiful new silver gal with short fat ammo that she can't (safely) digest. So I guess the rule is: no dufusses play with my guns. Which was already in effect.

An interesting addendum to the "S&W vs. Special dimensions" topic is - my HKS Speedloader (38 Spec) almost works perfectly for my Enfield No. 2 (38-200 = 38 S&W). The reason it doesn't quite work perfectly is, you can't turn the knob all the way to keep the fat little cartridges in - it only turns part way, so the hold never feels quite secure. Still, I've never lost my snap caps practicing with it, and the cartridges fit perfectly into the cylinder.