Posted on 08/08/2015 8:51:17 PM PDT by virgil283
"The early cartridge revolvers were simply modified cap and ball designs with the chambers drilled through so you could load from the breech end, The bullet must go inside the case, and the case must go inside the chamber. So the dimensional relationship between bullet, chamber and barrel is now out of whack. If the bullet was to fit inside the case, it would have to have a smaller diameter than the bore, and that wouldn't work. This problem was temporarily solved by using what were called "heeled" bullets (see below).
(Excerpt) Read more at vintagepistols.com ...
Logic ,,?
Apply cap to patch and ball and it makes a lovely sound.
Black powder is more art than logic.
Early cartridges had a “heel based” bullet (like a .22 LR), with the diameter being the same as the outside diameter of the case. The .44 American round for the first large top break S&W being an example. S&W received a large order for their revolvers from the Russian Government, and their armorers decided to design a round that had the bullet sized to fit inside the case. To do so, it had to be sized to .429. This round was called the .44 Russian. It was later lenghtened into the .44 Special, and once again to the .44 Magnum.
Later
In my opinion any gun is better than no gun.
My favorite being the .357 magnum. Probably the most versatile handgun of all. With the 45/410 coming in second.
A 357 can put out a 158 grain jacketed bullet in the 1350fps range and drop back as far as 38 special “cowboy loads” in the 650fps range. That is versatility.
How about this one; “a .45 cartridge”. WHICH one do you really mean; a .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, or .45 Schofield?
What your question tells me is you must do more research and be more precise in your descriptions. In this case, you might specify cartridges in the metric system manner; a .38 Special is a 9x29mmR or .45 ACP is 11.43x23mm. Remember that metric designations specify caliber, case length, and rim type (rimless, semi-rimmed, rebated rimless, or belted).
Have a .380 for a pocket pistol, much smaller round than the .38 Special or the .357. Yet technically it is the same diameter round. But for normal shooting, the S&W Police Special that shoots the .357/.38 Police Special is the most versatile.
The 38 is shorter so the rounded off the number. :-)
During WW2, Smith and Wesson made a very special revolver which acquired the name ‘Victory’. This revolver, when shipped to England, was chambered in the ‘.38 Smith and Wesson’. The variant issued to American G.I.’s was EITHER a .38 Smith and Wesson, OR, a .38 Special chambering.
The author’s pictures representing a ‘heeled’ bullet, actually show what is called a hollow-based bullet. A heeled bullet has a small conical taper, and is solid-based.
The "rules" governing firearms nomenclature and the rules governing the "English" language are both confusing as they are not truly rules (I before E, except after C, unless sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh). Most are mnemonics which point out exceptions, and sometimes exceptions to the exceptions! This mess resulted because our official language is cobbled together using bits and peaces of other popular languages.
I'm in total agreement, logic doesn't help much. To make sense of this remember "there is no damn good reason for that, it's just policy"!
Regards,
GtG
I have a 38 Smith and Wesson top-break Iver Johnson. Is it wise to load 38Spl wadcutters in it? I haven’t had any luck buying a box of 38 Smith and Wesson.
There’s plenty of it. Use this web site to find it.
And NO!!! you can’t safely put .38 special in your revolver.
I’m absolutely obsessed with firearms and love shooting all my guns, but my cheap...er...thrifty side enjoys muzzle stuffers because it takes all day to use twenty bucks worth of supplies.
The smoke, the mess, the dirty hands and sporting my ridiculously oversized Bowie all add up to a great day.
To make sense of this remember “there is no damn good reason for that, it’s just policy”!
Indeed.
Thanks for your reply Terry.
I'd never heard the term 'Heeled bullet' before, but the author stated it was a transition where the exposed portion of the bullet was .38 but the part that was in the case was smaller, say, .357, to fit inside the case, thus the 'heel'.
It was replaced because there wasn't much lubrication as you would have with a bullet that was fully seated in the brass.
But if you cling too tightly, you’re gonna lose control....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.