38 S&w Compared Too 38 Special

rlphvac

solid fixture here in the forum
Grumpy a friend asked me where he could get some ammo for his 38 revolver and I can't find anything on 38 there is a ton of info on 38 Special and 38 Super is there such a thing as a 38 round I would guess the difference would be length I looked at my 2 and they are both 38 special
 
the 38 S&W is not the same cartridge as the 38 SPC,
the 38 S&W is obsolete, its loaded to much lower pressure,
and uses a larger diameter bullet in a shorter and fatter case thats not interchangeable
the 38 SPC uses .357/-358 diameter bullets in a 1.155 long case
this is a shorter version of the 357 mag case

the 38 S&W uses a totally different .775 long case thats considerably shorter and .361 diameter bullets
260578d1517167583-identify-revolver-38sw38special.jpg

the 38 S&W can be loaded with the .357 lead bullets but accuracy is terrible if thats done and velocity with 158 grain bullets is generally in the 650 fps range
the 38 SPC will usually push the same 158 grain bullet to about 875 fps
38SW.pdf
 
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my father owned one of those 38 S&W top break revolvers, with the correct ammo it was accurate but not something you could depend on to stop any assailant
its about equivalent to a 380 acp at best, finding 38 S&W ammo even back in the late 1960s was difficult, 38 spc was far more common
 
I was thinking of helping the guy out and maybe look for some dies and brass to load him some ammo but it doesn't look like its worth it
 
its only worth it if he can't get ammo anyplace else, and hes willing to buy you the dies and PROPER matching bullet molds
the typical .357 diam cast bullets are far from ideal, so it will be a serious challenge to get the required components
in short, I doubt its worth the cost and effort
youll need to find approximately a 160 grain .359 - .360 diam bullet mold
remember the cartridge was introduced in 1877 and its almost obsolete
http://cartridge-corner.com/revolver.htm

brass and reload dies and molds are still available
but Id bet youll have over $350-$500 just in tools brass, molds dies to do the job correctly
https://www.starlinebrass.com/38-sw-brass/

http://arsenalmolds.com/products?product_id=140

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0007680303/38-smith-and-wesson-3-die-set
 
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