38 Long Colt/38 Special

[warbucks16]

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I was just reading the information concerning the 38 Long Colt Howell Conversion Cylinders.

It states that 38 Special Hollow Base Wad Cutters may be used in place of the 38 Long Colt.

That statement prompts me to wonder, since this is true, might 38 Long Colt Cartridges be used safely in a 38 Special or 357
Colt Revolvers, not clones but Colts?

Thanks for any info.

Warbucks16

[St. George]

Sure - the case is shorter, so it'll chamber just fine.

Scouts Out!

[FriscoCounty]

Perhaps a longer explanation and some background is in order.  

The bore on an 1860 Colt is .452 +/- and for an 1851 Colt it is .375 +/-.  Cartridges like the .44 Colt and .38 Colt were designed to be used in converted cap'n'ball revolvers where the cylinder matched the bore.  In a 'true' 38 Long Colt cartridge the bullet is a heeled bullet.  That is the bullet has a 'step' in it that allows the bullet to be seated in the case up to the step or shoulder and the remainder of the bullet is the same diameter as the case and will fill the bore.    

Modern .38 Colt cartridges and revolvers use  a bullet that is the same size as the inside diameter of the cartridge - just like .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammunition - which is .357 in diameter.

So, if you want to reload .38 Colt for a converted 1851 Colt and not have the bullet slip sliding down the barrel, you either have to use a heeled .375 bullet or a hollow base .38 bullet that will expand to fill the bore.  

So, if you use a modern factory .38 Colt cartridge or one reloaded with a .357 bullet and you can chamber it, you should have no problem with using it as the chamber pressures for the .38 Colt are lower than that for .38 Special.  

Unlike the .44 Russian / .44 Special / .44 Rem. Mag., the .38 Special is not an exact derivative of the .38 Colt.  The .38 Colt is a tapered case and the .38 Special is a straight walled case.

[pony express]

In my much younger days, I got hold of some .38 Short Colt and shot them up in my .357 Blackhawk. No problem forcing a .375 bullet down a .357 bore in that one, but then, a Ruger Blackhawk is pretty much of a tank, and .38 SC is pretty wimpy. My dad also had a .38 S&W breaktop(no name stamped anywhere on it, looks like a copy of an H&R). He THOUGHT that .38S&W and Short Colt were the same, so we shot it with both. Gun survived just fine, but not too accurate with SC. But the factory Short Colt rounds have very little bore diameter surface on them, the ogive started just in front of the case, not much lead to swage down.

Of course, now I know better, won't try either combination again!