Difference between 38 & 38special

LuckyLuc82

LuckyLuc82

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I have an opportunity to buy a smith & wesson in 38 caliber for $100, my question is 2 fold, is it a good deal for a s&w 38? Can I fire 38special out of them, if not how expensive is 38 ammo? Can it be converted to 38 special? Any other advice would be great.
 
.38/200, .38AMU...

ANything other than .38special / .357 is going to be hard to find ammo for these days. Heck - With Glocks being so fashionable, good luck in finding ANY revolver ammunition!

That said, .38S&W was called "short and weak" by more than one of my friends who collect WWII era revolvers.
 
LuckyLuc82 said:
I have an opportunity to buy a smith & wesson in 38 caliber for $100, my question is 2 fold, is it a good deal for a s&w 38? Can I fire 38special out of them, if not how expensive is 38 ammo? Can it be converted to 38 special? Any other advice would be great.
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Depending on the condition of the revolver, $100 could be a great deal, or not so great deal.:p How would you rate the overall condition??

You cannot fire 38 Special in a 38 S&W chamber, unless it has been bubba'd and reamed out. This is a version you don't want.

38 S&W ammo is usually expensive for what it is....probably from a low of $30/50 up to $50/50.

You could possibly swap out to a 38 Special cylinder, or have the cylinder sleeved.
 
The .38 caliber was one of the most popular cartridge types for revolvers throughout the latter part of the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th. There were quite a few different cartridges in .38 caliber, both in North America and in Europe. The .38 Spl. cartridge was developed at the end of the 19th century, but was very successfully transferred to smokeless powder. It has energy somewhat similar to the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, and cannot be safely fired in older .38 caliber revolvers built for the weaker .38 caliber cartridges (besides it probably won't fit). The many and various other .38 caliber revolver cartridges that came before were weaker than the .38 Spl. and dropped from use as the .38 Spl. became so very popular. However, many of those older guns survive, and apparently you have one. If you send in a detailed description of the gun (or better, some pictures), there are members who could help.
 
If you reload, 38 SW is a great caliber, fun to shoot and very accurate. You can buy lead bullets in .359 or .360 from CGN fellows, as I do, and brass is available on some CGN sponsor websites.

If you don't reload, and if you shoot on a regular basis with that revolver, well, if you can find it, expect to pay 35.00$ or more for a Remington factory ammo box... Not very cheap...
 
If it's a nice shape S&W Victory model in original condition & with original plain grips in .38 S&W then $100 is a great deal.

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NAA.
 
The bullets for .38S&W a little bigger at .361 than the .357 size found on .38Spl/.357Mag. So even if you were to swap out the cylinder (not an easy thing to do) you would find that there's a lot of problems shooting the smaller bullets through the larger bore in both accuracy and if shooting lead in leading up due to the blowby gasses and poor seal.

If it's in decent shape it would be an excellent price if you are into reloading. It's not that hard to find a supply of .38S&W brass and there's molds for the bullets. And being a low power round the brass would last for many reloadings before finally wearing out.

Due to the need for reloading and either finding or casting the special bullets it's not the sort of gun I'd want to shoot a lot. But if you're into the history of things like this it would be a nice gun to shoot now and then.
 
papy said:
X1
But if it is a common Mod. 10 well used, I am not sure of the opportunity...! ;-)
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Actually, IMHO, any S&W double action wheelgun in nice shape, even if it is a prohib [ie. 2" or 4" barrel] +/or in .38 S&W is likely a good deal for a $100 bill.

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NAA.
 
... unless it's totally thrashed.

But then a Model 10 or M&P in .38S&W doesn't see a lot of recoil impulse energy so it seems to be seldom that they go bad from anything other than abuse or neglect.
 
Back in the 80"s there was a gun store on river street "closed after the owner shot a guy on the other side of the door"..Any ways thats a different story. He sold FN's for $85.00 I bought two of them.He had 2 tables full of 38 Weblys, and Enfields. probibly 200 of them.The price..$30.00 each..hand select was $38.00 bucks. He also sold ammo by the bag. It was a little GREEN but it was cheap to shoot. $15.00 per 100 rounds. I bought 2, an Enfield & a Webly. He called them TANKERS. The guns I got were pretty worn out LOL... and not a hint of accuracey.:( Not a word of a lie, my buddys pellet rife reached the target faster.:) They were my first 2 guns, and had alot fun with them.
Pic of the gun shop card bellow.
fnrifle001.jpg
 
....I have a pre-model 10, made in 1941 that shoots .38 special just fine, but is labeled 38 s&W on the barrel. (and in fact, I've always thought it was .38 special)

Are we sure we are all talking the same language?

D

EDIT --- okay, I just checked the stamping and it does say 38 S&W Special Ctg.......so I guess that's why it shoots 38 special so well....lol - sorry for any confusion.

D
 
For $100, you'd best look very carefully at the condition. The revolver you're looking at may be a Smith or it may just be chambered in .38 S&W or .38 S&W Special. Makes a huge difference.
"...a pre .38 Special revolver..." The .38 Special was introduced in 1898. The .38 S&W in 1877. They are not interchangeable.
A .38/200 is just a .38 S&W with a 200 grain lead bullet.
There's a .38-40 Winchester that isn't a .38 calibre too. Actually a .40 calibre. Ain't marketing a grand thing?
 
if its in good shape, buy it. I have a .38 Enfield that I got for 75$ nearly 20 years ago. I recently had it out on the range and it fired respectable groups from 25 yards.

On the other hand the ammo is expensive ( 28.00 a box minimum) and its very hard to get. If you live in Ottawa LeBarons stocks it in Remi and Winchester.

its sometimes listed as .380
 
This is an old post I hope you bought this pistol,if it is in good shape you can re-load for

it. I would buy a gun in good shape that shot square bullets,and would buy or make a

mold that produced same and even produce square brass for it (ever hear of trounds)?


Bob
 
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