Pre War Winchester 38 special

[lowhog]

I found three boxes this weekend at a flea market with the same lot number. Mid 1930's.DSCN0639.jpg

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[brucev]

You are very fortunate to have found three boxes w/ identical lot numbers. Judging from the pictures the ammunition is in very good condition!

Given the complaints voiced by some, it would be cool if some of this ammunition could be fired in a test barrel and chronographed to see just exactly what was the velocity of such service ammunition loaded in that era.

[kaaskop49]

If it were chrono'd, I would not be surprised to find it hitting the 855fps originally claimed for it, or perhaps higher. I've fired numerous older .38 Spl service rounds from our range's junk ammo box (after inspection, of course), and they did buck harder and were noticeably louder than RNL service of modern mfg.

Good post, brucev!

Kaaskop49
____________________
Best $1.80 I ever spent!

[Texas Star]

Note that it's for S&W M&P and Colt ARMY SPECIAL guns! Colt changed the name of the AS to Official Police about 1926! How sure are you that this ammo isn't from the 1920's?

When did they introduce nickel plated cases?

[TripleLock]

Originally Posted by Texas Star

How sure are you that this ammo isn't from the 1920's?

Winchester ammunition boxes sported the red, blue, and yellow graphics (with minor variations) from 1935 until 1946. This replaced the predominantly blue and white graphic which was in use from 1928. From 1935 until 1939 the lower blue stripe on the front of the boxes was printed with "Winchester Repeating Arms Co. New Haven, Conn., U.S.A." in red. In 1939 (after the 1938 acquisition of Winchester by Olin) the "Winchester" call-out on the front was eliminated, and "Division of Western Cartridge Company" was added to the side labels, below the Winchester name. In 1945 the Western Cartridge Company call-out on the side of the boxes was changed to "Division of Olin Industries, Inc.".

In 1946 a new red, yellow, and white label graphic was introduced.

So, the boxes in the OP's photos actually would date from between 1939 and 1945.


And to the OP, very cool find!