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38 short colt
cornbean
Member Posts: 172 ✭✭✭
Will 38 short colt ammo work in a 38 S&W revolver? Thanks
Comments
Nope. Smaller diameter than the .38 S&W. You CAN shoot it in a .38 Special or .357 Magnum.
Well. . .
This is one of those ones that is "just because you can, doesn't mean you should".
You probably can get a .38 short colt to chamber in a .38S&W/.38-200 revolver, and if you tried to shoot it, the round would probably go off and fire. If that ammo and gun combination were all you had in an emergency, this would probably be "OK".
But, as 11b6r says, the chamber diameter of the .38S&W is larger, and this typically causes cartridges of .38 special width like .38SC fired through .38S&W guns to expand, either ruining the cartridges for reloading, causing them to split, or both.
I'd imagine this can't be good for shooter safety, either, though I've never actually heard of anyone being hurt this way.
Another issue is that .38S&W is supposed to take .359 caliber bullets, where as .38 short colt is supposed to be loaded with .357 caliber bullets. Firing a smaller diameter bullet through a slightly larger diameter bore won't hurt anything, but accuracy may suffer a bit depending on bullet type. As a matter of practice, I've heard that many of the Smith and Wesson ".38S&W" guns actually used .357 caliber barrels, so this may not be a factor at all.
If you have a box of this ammo, The better bet, as mentioned, is simply to fire your .38 short colt through any ordinary .38 special or .357 magnum revolver, where it should fire just fine. Alternatively, since .38 short colt ammo is a specialty ammo, it typically costs nearly as much per box as .357 magnum. It "shouldn't". . .but it does. So if you can find someone who really "needs" this ammo for an older gun, or cowboy action type shooting, you might be able to do an advantageous swap of it for more conventional. 38 special or even .357 magnum ammo.
Since modern 38 short colt loads typically put out a 125 grain bullet an an anemic 730 fps, they're really not particularly effective for personal protection. They are decent enough for short-range plinking, or perhaps for recoil-shy or new shooters.
Big difference is rim dia.
My win.book gives max dia of .060,The 38 S&W measured .044 and the 38 short colt measured .055,both guns head space off the rim.
Case dia.is 38S&W is.379 and 38 short colt is.375.
The 32 S & W will not fit in the 32 short colt that may be where the confusion is.tks hedge[:D]