evan price
Member
In my pile of range brass I came upon a few .38 S&W cases. To my eyes they look like cut-down .38 Specials. THey are about as long as a 9mm.
To my knowledge the 38 S&W was not a great cartridge back in the day due to anemic loads and bullets.
My question is: Given the modern desire for reliable, concealable CCW guns, why could you not start with the .38 S&W and develop a fairly hot load using a 125-gr .357 bullet like a Gold Dot. A fast, low bulk powder like Titegroup wouldn't need much space at all, compared to the 38 special's large case held back from black powder days.
The purpose would be to build an "all new" revolver for CCW purposes, Backup Gun, etc. that would be a 5-shot revolver, but with a shorter cylinder and frame. My ruler says the 38 S&W is 7/16" shorter than a 38 SPL. By using a JHP with a flat profile I don't see why you couldn't cut a full 0.50" off of a 38 special cartridge length. This would give you a gun with a 1/2" shorter frame but same length barrel, thus a smaller gun- or you could have an extra 1/2" of barrel and still be the same OAL.
I would think that modern loading for a 9mm would work well in .38 S&W in a gun designed for it.
The best part is that handloaders or commercial ammo companies would not need to change much tooling since they are the same as a 357 or 38 special just shorter.
Am I off my rocker, or is this a good idea?
Kind of like .45 GAP versus .45 acp is.
That way you get basically a 9mm revolver, but no moon clips, in a very compact size, with the reliability of a revolver, for a BUG or CCW.
I'd rather carry that than a .32 personally.
To my knowledge the 38 S&W was not a great cartridge back in the day due to anemic loads and bullets.
My question is: Given the modern desire for reliable, concealable CCW guns, why could you not start with the .38 S&W and develop a fairly hot load using a 125-gr .357 bullet like a Gold Dot. A fast, low bulk powder like Titegroup wouldn't need much space at all, compared to the 38 special's large case held back from black powder days.
The purpose would be to build an "all new" revolver for CCW purposes, Backup Gun, etc. that would be a 5-shot revolver, but with a shorter cylinder and frame. My ruler says the 38 S&W is 7/16" shorter than a 38 SPL. By using a JHP with a flat profile I don't see why you couldn't cut a full 0.50" off of a 38 special cartridge length. This would give you a gun with a 1/2" shorter frame but same length barrel, thus a smaller gun- or you could have an extra 1/2" of barrel and still be the same OAL.
I would think that modern loading for a 9mm would work well in .38 S&W in a gun designed for it.
The best part is that handloaders or commercial ammo companies would not need to change much tooling since they are the same as a 357 or 38 special just shorter.
Am I off my rocker, or is this a good idea?
Kind of like .45 GAP versus .45 acp is.
That way you get basically a 9mm revolver, but no moon clips, in a very compact size, with the reliability of a revolver, for a BUG or CCW.
I'd rather carry that than a .32 personally.