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 ...
They don’t call it a .38
They call it a .38 Special.
Fascinating!
Isn’t the .357 a higher grain count than a .38?
Never owned a revolver, so just wondering?
Interesting article.
From the aspect of this article a true .38 would be a black powder cartridge bullet. So a few thousands larger projectile (.38) would naturally weigh more....
Hickok45 discussed this a few weeks ago during his .357 Magnum July 4th tribute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzBdxsvS-kE
you're thinking magnum
I have seen both 38 special and 357 Magnums loaded with bullets of 95 Grains up to 200 grains. Loaders uses different weights of both bullets & powder trying for better accuracy, speed and ballistics. Mostly for the never ending search for that elusive “perfect cartridge”. Original weight for the 38 Special was 158 Grain if memory serves.
I think one reason for the early 38 caliber designation was the popularity of the 36 caliber percussion revolver. Maybe even a marketing ploy since the 357 was actually a tad smaller than the 36 cal.
The 357 magnum was designed to throw the bullets at much faster speeds than the 38 Special. They did this by adding more gunpowder. Thus, the internal pressures, at combustion, are much higher. So much higher that it would probably damage a .38 Special. To prevent damage to the pistol, they beefed up the revolver shooting the 357 magnum. To prevent 357 magnum cartridges from being accidentally loaded in 38 Special revolvers, they lengthened the brass casing, so they won't fit in a 38 Special.
I've omitted a lot of details, but that is the fingernail sketch.
Oh yes, a 38 Smith and Wesson is a different cartridge than a 38 Special.
Thank you both for the info.
I’ve had my CCW permit for years, and am working with the wife to get hers.
Her first CCW will be a hammerless revolver of some sort, and this is all great info to have when we start shopping.
Thanks Kirk I'll watch it...
American calibers are as riddled with misnomers as English itself. A neighbor of mine, and Armenian fellow, asked me to help him with learning English, by explaining the rules concerning prepositions. After thinking it through, I told him he actually had to memorize how they are used, there are no “rules”. The 44-40, or 44WCF uses a bullet of .427 inch, the .44 Special and 44 Remington Magnum use .429 inch. The dimension was derived from the diameter of the case if I recall from my reading.
Here’s another twist for you. My .45 caliber Hawken rifle uses a .44 inch ball for a projectile with a cloth patch, and my .44 caliber Colt 1851 revolver uses a .451 ball without a patch. You have to read the history of firearms and memorize, you can’t apply logic.
I loved my .38 Special, that is until i was out fishing and it came out of the holster, fell over the side of the boat, and sank to the bottom of lake whokachoobee
You didn't hold on loosely.
Lots of strangeness in American cartridge naming vs. actual bullet diameters.
Someone said:
“I’m a firm believer that you could load a .45 with gummy bears and it would still work just fine...”
YMMV...unless they are frozen gummy bears. ( ; )
Because it’s “Special”....
"The short answer is, "Because whoever comes up with the cartridge gets to name it whatever he/she wants to name it, even if the name is misleading." Generally speaking, the "caliber" is the diameter of the bullet in in 1/100ths of an inch - a .40 caliber bullet has a diameter of 40/100ths of an inch. However, for marketing reasons, or to distinguish a new cartridge from a similar existing one, the creator of the round may decide to call it something different. For example, I could create a wildcat round by necking down a .500 S&W Magnum case to .400" and name it the ".420 Eddie Coyle Magnum", even though the bullet diameter is actually .400". A recent real example of this is the Smith & Wesson .460 Magnum, which actually uses a .45 caliber (.452" diameter) bullet. " (ibid)
oh...I see what you did there....hoe the others get it ;-)
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