I just bought a Colt Police positive 38. Doing some research I have found that I need 38 SW ammo. Is it possible to cut down a 38 Special case to the proper length then load a 38 special lead bullet (.357) in it using recommended 38 SW loads ??? Seams like it is hard to find 38 SW ammo, most places are out of stock. I have a lot of 38 special brass and lead bullets, if I can do this I would just need dies ?? Any help will be appreciated.
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38 SW to 38 special
- Thread starter ptt811
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Are you sure? The dies are different, and the bullet is actually a .360 diameter. The research I have done on the topic has found several instances where the cast ..357 bullets have been used with acceptable accuracy. The case diameter is accordingly slightly thicker in the S&W vs the 38 Special, and may cause issues with case rupture.
Starline has it in stock, if it were me, I would just order the right brass for the pistol, and erase any question.
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gunman41mag
Shooter
38 S&W is different from 38 SPECIAL, ^^^45fan is correct
I thought that it was the same at first glance, but when my uncle picked up a webly revolver, I was kinda thrust into reloading the 38 S&W. By happenstance, I was looking into the dies, and found that the 38 Smith dies are supposedly the same as a 38 Super. I think it makes good sense to look into a 1911 in 38 Super to justify my purchase of the new dies. At least the reasoning seems to be working on my wife.
The British had a ton of 38 S&W Smith revolvers during WWII. Most of them were converted to 38Spl afterward. They were never exceptionally accurate but are kind of neat as a collector's piece.
I have shot one that was converted and it did okay with my home cast bullets. The ONLY way to shoot the 38 S&W is to handload for it and the only way to get the best accuracy out of it is to cast too.
Lee 38Spl moulds can be used because with straight wheel weights they cast a bit big anyway. .360" is not out of the realm of one of their moulds.
It is an anemic round but fun for new shooters to shoot. It is cheap to reload too. That is a win/win for new folks!
Have fun, be safe.
I have shot one that was converted and it did okay with my home cast bullets. The ONLY way to shoot the 38 S&W is to handload for it and the only way to get the best accuracy out of it is to cast too.
Lee 38Spl moulds can be used because with straight wheel weights they cast a bit big anyway. .360" is not out of the realm of one of their moulds.
It is an anemic round but fun for new shooters to shoot. It is cheap to reload too. That is a win/win for new folks!
Have fun, be safe.
Check with Scroggins in Martinsville. He might have them. He also carries tons of reloads at a fairly decent price.
FWIW, virtually all of those surplus Lend/Lease S&W revolvers which were "converted" to .38 Spl. were done by various importers simply as an expediant to enhance their salability in the US market. In most cases, the "conversion" process consisted of merely reaming the chambers to accept the longer case.
I had one of them when I was a very young man. Case splitting was common even with new, standard pressure factory ammo and accuracy was abysmal with anything but dead-soft 148 gr. HBWCs. One was lucky to get two or three reloads before the remaining cases would also fail.
On the other hand, factory.38 S&W ammo grouped pretty well, even though most of it shot way below POA with the fixed sights in both the Smith and my Enfield No.2. Using commercial HBWC bullets in .38 S&W cases worked fairly well before I started casting my own although they had to be seated way out there to meet the recommended minimum OAL and have enough room for the powder charge. The cases lasted through many, many reloadings, too.
Personally, I'd just get 100 .38 S&W cases from Starline, an inexpensive set of Lee dies and slug the bore to see what diameter bullet would be best in your revolver. "Official " spec is a nominal 0.361", but wear and wartime tolerances often make for actual groove diameters which can vary considerably. I've seen them go as large as 0.3645". FWIW, there are several commercial casters who cater to the Cowboy Costume Show trade and offer cast bullets of the proper nominal diameter for the .38 S&W.
I had one of them when I was a very young man. Case splitting was common even with new, standard pressure factory ammo and accuracy was abysmal with anything but dead-soft 148 gr. HBWCs. One was lucky to get two or three reloads before the remaining cases would also fail.
On the other hand, factory.38 S&W ammo grouped pretty well, even though most of it shot way below POA with the fixed sights in both the Smith and my Enfield No.2. Using commercial HBWC bullets in .38 S&W cases worked fairly well before I started casting my own although they had to be seated way out there to meet the recommended minimum OAL and have enough room for the powder charge. The cases lasted through many, many reloadings, too.
Personally, I'd just get 100 .38 S&W cases from Starline, an inexpensive set of Lee dies and slug the bore to see what diameter bullet would be best in your revolver. "Official " spec is a nominal 0.361", but wear and wartime tolerances often make for actual groove diameters which can vary considerably. I've seen them go as large as 0.3645". FWIW, there are several commercial casters who cater to the Cowboy Costume Show trade and offer cast bullets of the proper nominal diameter for the .38 S&W.
The 38 S&W typically uses a .360 soft(ish) lead bullet. The brass has a similarly greater diameter. Using cut-down 38 Special brass, even at the 38 S&W pressures, will split cases on a regular basis.
If you use soft-lead bullets normally used for 38 Special (.358) and you keep the velocity down around 550 to 600 fps, you'll get "card-table" accuracy. If you can find some soft-lead bullets at .360 or .361 (depending on your throat/bore size) you can get decent ballistics out of the revolver. A fair number of Cowboy Action shooters use the old break-top revolvers so you might find some good sources there.
If you use soft-lead bullets normally used for 38 Special (.358) and you keep the velocity down around 550 to 600 fps, you'll get "card-table" accuracy. If you can find some soft-lead bullets at .360 or .361 (depending on your throat/bore size) you can get decent ballistics out of the revolver. A fair number of Cowboy Action shooters use the old break-top revolvers so you might find some good sources there.
