My U. S. Model 1901 seen in post No. 28 above shoots 148 grain hollow-base wadcutters a treat. It's bore slugged to measure .362-363; I can't now recall which.

Ah ... .363 is the bore diameter. I went and fetched my reloading notes.

Here's the sum total of reloading efforts undertaken since acquiring the revolver for ... seems like $60 at a Fort Worth gun show in the very late 1970s.

Take it with a grain of salt and carefully work up your own handloading efforts.

Using Winchester .38 Long Colt cases:

148 grain hollow base wadcutter, 3.0 grains Bulls-Eye: 752 fps

148 grain hollow base wadcutter, 4.0 grains Unique: 753 fps

158 grain .358 diameter lead semi-wadcutter, 4.4 grains Unique: 777 fps (this was the load that was a total bust - 12 inch groups at 15 yards with keyholing evident).

For my purposes, on the rare occasions when the Model 1901 is taken out for "exercise" I've mostly come to resorting to use a box or two of regular ol' .38 Special hollow base wadcutter handloads rather than to bother with making up batches of handloads in .38 Long Colt cases. I put 'em up with 2.8 grains of Bulls-Eye for use in accurate .38 Special revolvers around here. The .38 Special length is amply contained within the chamber. .38 Special HWBC handloads chamber perfectly and are very mild.

If it hoo-doodles one to use .38 Special brass for his .38 Long Colt handloads then use the same load in the .38 Long Colt case. The .38 Special wadcutter handload with 2.8 grains of Bulls-Eye hasn't been chronographed from the Colt Model 1901, but the same load makes 693 fps from a 6-inch Colt Officer's Model Match.

Not to advocate using .38 Special ammunition in a .38 Long Colt chambered revolver but a powder puff handload in a .38 Special case is a "field expedient" way to use the .38 Long Colt revolver.

While we're at it, some factory .38 Long Colt ammunition has been chronograph tested.

An old box of Western 150 grain lead ammunition clocked 743 fps.

A fresh (at that time) box of Winchester 150 grain lead ammunition proved to be more plodding at 638 fps.

These were derived from 10-shot averages and all fired through the Colt Model 1901 with 6-inch barrel.