.38 S&W from .38 special

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Its_a_living

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I Bought an Enfield revolver in .38 S&W recently, knowing that the cartridge was obsolete. I cut down some .38 +p casings to the case length that wikipedia said the cartridge used .775 in / 19.7mm and the overall length of 1.240 in / 31.5mm and I used 2.0 gr of powder to push the 158 gr cast lead bullets.
my first five trial cartridges I just cut down with a dremel, and the case length was not very even when I was done, they worked fine, so I knew I could go ahead and make more, but the uneven length looked pretty bad and made for imperfect crimping. the rest of the casings I cut down I had a machinist friend of mine do on a lathe, so they all turned out perfectly even and uniform.

Doing a bit of research before I started this project, many people reported experiencing bulged or split casings that would stick in the cylinder since .38 S&W is a bit fatter than .38 special, with my 5 trial rounds I experienced no problems, once I shoot the other 45 casings I loaded up I should have a better idea if this is going to be an issue for me. using a low-pressure load from a +p casing, I am hoping that I don't experience any issues with the casings.
The Enfield revolver actually shot much better than I had expected and I look forward to getting some more range time with it soon!
 
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Wikipedia is NOT a reloading data source. It's not a good source for much of anything.
Nor is the .38 S&W just a shorter .38 Special. It uses a larger diameter bullet for one. The issue load used a 200 grain lead RN bullet for another. GO BUY A MANUAL!
However, the +P stamp is only there so the factory knows what's in the loaded cartridge at a glance. The case is no different from any other .38 Special case.
.38 S&W brass and ammo is readily available.
 
1) Wikipedia had correct information
2) I was aware of the differences between .38 S&W and .38 special before trying the franken-ammo
3) now that I know I can get actual .38 S&W casings, if I encounter any issues with my franken-ammo, I can start using the proper casings.

but thank you for your helpful input.
 
Its_a_living said:
hah ha! operation ignore Azzray is a go!
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While I don't find his posts helpful, I must register my agreement with him for once. My changes in {} and text removed - the following from his post is correct:

sunray said:
Wikipedia is NOT a reloading data source. It's not a good source {for many things}
Nor is the .38 S&W just a shorter .38 Special. It uses a larger diameter bullet for one. {A British} issue load used a 200 grain lead RN bullet for another. GO BUY A MANUAL!
.38 S&W brass and ammo is {often} available.
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While mentioning bullet diameter is not entirely relevant as you were not asking about loaded rounds, you might find accuracy to be inferior with bullets made for .357" bores in your 38 S&W (I cannot recall offhand, exactly what diameter is, but somewhere around .361")In hindsight, turning down 38spec to 38S&W would have been easy after purchasing a Lee case trimming pilot in the caliber, or if unavailble the 38spec trimmer which could be chucked in a drill and shortened the (1/4" or so, but measured correctly with calipers) But these lengths aren't necessary so long as brass or rounds are still available: There are still many revolvers in this caliber around for production to be ceased. The need for reloading manuals cannot be stressed enough.
 
Years ago, I made a handful of .38 S&W cases from .38 Specials. Yes they bulged, but they worked well enough to test fire the gun a few times, which is all I really wanted. Still have all my fiingers.
 
I loaded about 100 rounds today, mostly in starline brass. Used brass is out there, but some of it is balloon head and more of it has been used with mercuric primers. A couple bags of new brass will last you forever. It's super low pressure and you don't need to really crimp. Slug the gun and get bullets sized to fit. It is worth the extra effort in cleaning later, and your groups will be noticeably smaller. It's worth it - the cartridge is a ton of fun.
 
If you are in a pinch for brass, use 9mm. It is the perfect size and length. If you load with a hollow base wadcutter, it should seal the larger bore quite well.

Use 38 S&W data!!!!!

9mmin38SW1.jpg
 
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I like the Starline brass, but you really need to chamfer the mouth: it shaves lead from the bullets something fierce if you don't. Much more than my old Dominion brass or the milsurp stuff I had.
 
Its_a_living said:
hmmm... that is super cool to know about the 9mm cartridges working in this gun, I had never heard of that before!
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I sure hpe you mean to say "that is super cool to know about the 9mm cases working in this gun"

The 9mm is laoded to around 35,000 psi. similar to a 357 Mag. The 38 S&W is more like 10,000 psi. Shooting loaded 9mm in the revolver would be a very serious over pressure event.
 
Ganderite said:
I sure hpe you mean to say "that is super cool to know about the 9mm cases working in this gun"

The 9mm is laoded to around 35,000 psi. similar to a 357 Mag. The 38 S&W is more like 10,000 psi. Shooting loaded 9mm in the revolver would be a very serious over pressure event.
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hah! yes! that is what I meant to say! I don't want to blow up my hand!
 
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