The first cartridge was the .38 Colt for use in 1851 and 1861 conversions.  The name was based on the diameter of the bullet.  It was later renamed the .38 Short Colt.

The next cartridge in the series was the .38 Long from UMC.  It was a .38" heeled bullet cartridge with the case lengthened to allow more powder capacity and was developed by UMC for Colt's Newline revolvers and centerfire conversions of the 1851 and 1861 Colt revolvers requested by the US Navy.  Because it was developed for this contract was also known as the .38 Navy.

The came the .38 Long Colt. It was used in the Colt M1892 revolver.  This black powder cartridge was internally lubed.  As such the diameter of the bullet was now the same as the inside diameter of the case and not the outside.  Its bullet diameter was now .357".  The case of the .38LC was 0.14" longer than the .38L to allow the case to cover the lube grooves and still have the same overall length and powder capacity.  This was also known as the .38 Army.

Frisco,
I'm still not sure about the .38 Colt and the .38 Long. My understanding is that the conversions were actually .38 Colt which started out as a .88" long case which was truly a heeled bullet design with a Ø.375 Groove diameter and then morphed into the longer 1.03" case which at some point they called the "Long Colt".  I think part of the problem with identifying the actual cartridge type is that Colt's stamped their revolvers as ".38 Colt".  I believe the .38 Short is only .755" long.  I have read where 1877s were said to use the original .88" cases and then later the 1.03 LC length cases, but I have never researched it.  I really haven't spent much time studying the double action 19th century revolvers like the '77, .78 and '92.

However the 1851 and 1861 Conversions whether actually from Colt's or secondary gunsmiths do interest me and they definitely used heeled bullets of ≈ Ø.375.  and they were truly .38s.  I know the U.S. Navy actually had some 1861s and 1851's converted, (several thousand between both models).  I've actually handled one 1861 Conversion and the chambers appeared shorter than a .38 Long Colt (but I didn't have anything to measure with and probably would have been slapped nekid if I had stuck anything down a chamber.)  I know it is reported that the Colt's conversions for the Navy were chambered in .38 Long Colt, but I tend to take anything concerning .38 Colt, .38 Long and .38 LC as "reported" without some measurements being offered.  Because it was a heeled bullet you could probably stuff an LC into a chamber that was intended for a .88" case.  And you can definitely chamber a non-heeled .38 Long Colt into one which is probably how some people "verified" the chambers they were measuring was a .38 LC chambering  (that's pretty weak...)

SAAMI specs for a .38 LC throat are Ø.3585 +.004/-.0000, I know for fact they couldn't "convert" a true '51 or '61 cylinder to that smaller diameter because it started out as a Ø.375 to Ø.378 chamber mouth.  The cylinder I looked at basically looked like it was opened up slightly to maybe Ø.381 to Ø.383 and there was basically no tapered throat, just the remnant of the original bore for the percussion revolver ball or bullet.  There was a small constriction, but I would love to actually get real dimension from one.

It is an interesting study in marketing psychology as to why they continued to use the ".38" designation on later revolvers when they were truly .36 caliber and .44 caliber for revolvers that were/are .43 caliber.

This is one of the reasons the .38 WCF befuddles me. why would they name the cartridge as a much smaller caliber?  Well, it was a rifle company and my only theory is that they were worried about confusion with the .44WCF.

Any more information about the differences between the .38 Colt, .38 Long and .38 Long Colt would be appreciated.  I'm familiar with the differences between them and the .38 Short Colt, I'm not asking about that.  Do you know any more about the case length change from .88" to 1.03", and were there ever any heeled bullets loaded in the longer case (also revolvers chambered for the LC case but needing a Ø.375 heeled bullet for a Ø.375 groove?  There is

Regards,
Mako

Sent you an email,  Kevin.  Thanks.

I need to make that one one of these days.  Glad you guys had fun!

Ken would probably appreciate having some competition!   

B.N. Scotty

Morning y'all.
Coffee and tea are hot.

Drove thru rain on the way home, yesterday. It is making the grass grow.

'Tis 41 and overcast. "Warmer. Areas of fog in the morning. Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph shifting to the southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent."

Slim

Hello, again, Dusty:

I have recently discovered some significant information that should apply to your Romano Spencer rifle .

Please email me:
Kevintinny"at sign"hotmail.com.

Very respectfully,
El Supremo/Kevin Tinny