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Old 06-13-2011, 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Poohgyrr View Post
It sure has come up before.. Maybe I'm wrong, but....

I am sure I saved a copy, but can't seem to find it right now - an old S&W ad saying the K frame 38's of the time could handle the 38/44 loads of that same era. That alone says something.

Enough people have chron'd original boxes of that ammo, and compared it to current ammo, to satisfy me that current ammo has been downloaded from back then.

Considering how our society has changed the way it handles personal responsibility, liability lawsuits, and so on, ammo company lawyers might demand their employers download ammo. Again, chrono some old ammo, check the old ammo companies published data, and compare it with current ammo & data.

And todays' metals are stronger, and manufacturering tolerances are tighter. We not only have .357 J frames, but some are made of new super lightweight metals, and they have the recoil to prove it.

Todays' handguns should handle yesterdays' ammo without trouble. Seems the old standard .38 ammo was as powerful as today's +P.

So, maybe I'm mistaken, but I see companys basing policies and procedures on what "might happen" every day. Seems the post WW2 steel frame .38 Special S&W's should handle current +P factory ammo without much problem. The J frames will probably do better than our hands will.

I duuno, but looking at chrono'd ammo, published data, society, and so on, this seems to make sense to me.

FWIW...
I agree with you. One thing I have noticed over the last couple of decades, is that European ammo (Fiocchi® and Sellier & Bellot®) is loaded to higher velocities; compared to most American 38 Special loads. The Sellier & Bellot® 158gr FMJ range ammo is listed at 890fps. The same load in Remington®, Federal®, Magtech®, whether FMJ or LRN; is about 750-760fps. I wish I knew what pressure it's loaded to. Both the S&B and Fiocchi® 158gr FMJ is very accurate in my Airweight®.
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Last edited by badge 851; 01-11-2013 at 12:47 PM.
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