38 cal ACP ammo ??

interstatepawnllc

I have come across a couple of boxes of 38 acp ammo. What and when was this stuff shot/ produced?? Any value??

Xracer

It was introduced by Colt in 1900 for it's 38 Automatic (grandfather of the M1911). In the US, only Colt made pistols for it. It will also shoot in some Astras chambered for 9mm Largo.In power, it's about the same as 9mm Parabellum, but has a longer semi-rimmed case. It's now obsolete and no longer loaded by any major ammo makers.If this is American manufactured ammo (boxer primed), it might be of some interest to Astra 400 owners who want to shoot it and reload for their pistols.Otherwise, I don't know if there's any collector interest in .38 Auto.[This message has been edited by Xracer (edited 11-04-2001).]

JudgeColt

The .38 ACP was the first cartridge for the parallelogram-linkage Colt/Browning pistols, with the M1900 being the first, followed by the M1902, M1903 Pocket, etc.. The cartridge is dimensionally identical to the .38 Super, introduced in 1929 in the Colt Super .38 pistol, a derivation of the Colt Government Model (M1911). It is not identical to the 9mm Largo. The .38 Super is loaded to much higher pressures and would likely damage or break the parallelogram pistols in contunued use. The parallelogram pistols are relatives of the M1911 only in the sense that they are recoil-operated, locked breech pistols designed by John Browning. Otherwise they have almost nothing in common. The M1911 introduced the tilt-barrel locking and replaced the fragile parallelogram linkage..38 ACP ammunition was available until recently from Remington. It may still be available from other manufacturers, but I have not searched. .38 Super cases can be loaded down for use in the old pistols.