Smith & Wesson Forum

Advertise With Us Search
Go Back   Smith & Wesson Forum > Ammunition-Gunsmithing > Ammo

Notices

Ammo All Ammo Discussions Go Here


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-23-2013, 11:18 PM
tjorgi tjorgi is offline
Member
38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo  
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default 38 Ultralight ammo

Good evening all. I'm new to this site and thought it would be a good forum to ask a question regarding one of my new firearms. I just picked up a new S&W .38 Ultralight Bodyguard tonight. I noticed while shopping online for ammuninition that there is the option of .38 Special and .38 S&W. What is .38 S&W and how much does it differ from .38 Special ammo?
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-23-2013, 11:59 PM
BlackTalonJHP's Avatar
BlackTalonJHP BlackTalonJHP is offline
Member
38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo  
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,000
Likes: 259
Liked 636 Times in 317 Posts
Default

I'm too tired to type, so here it is from Wikipedia for you.

"The .38 S&W is a revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1877. Though similar in name, it is not interchangeable with the later .38 Smith and Wesson Special due to a different case shape and slightly larger bullet diameter."
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-24-2013, 12:13 AM
rburg rburg is offline
Member
38 Ultralight ammo  
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Kentucky, USA
Posts: 7,470
Likes: 2,830
Liked 6,261 Times in 2,170 Posts
Default

Yep. The 38 S&W is a different bore size, too. Its normally stated as .360 instead of the .357-8 that the 38 Special is accepted as being. There are some guns that are sloppy enough to allow the larger size ammo to chamber and fire. Probably won't hurt the gun once or twice, but unwise.

The 38 S&W is what we normally consider a low performance round. Its most recent major use was by the British during WWII. Our country produced millions of guns for them (they didn't believe in firearms, apparently until they needed them).

The best advice is to just ignore the round and buy 38 S&W Special.
__________________
Dick Burg
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-24-2013, 05:13 AM
Alnamvet68 Alnamvet68 is offline
Banned
38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo  
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,745
Likes: 448
Liked 1,089 Times in 543 Posts
Default

....and a picture always helps...

Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-24-2013, 06:22 PM
Nevada Ed's Avatar
Nevada Ed Nevada Ed is offline
US Veteran
38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo 38 Ultralight ammo  
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Reno Nv
Posts: 13,401
Likes: 3,189
Liked 12,760 Times in 5,686 Posts
Default

If that is the old ultra-light Bodyguard..................
you should only use the standard 38 Special ammo in it as it was not designed for +p back in those days , since it had not been invented yet.
The cylinders were not heat treated and the weight of that revolver does much better with the low pressure 38 spl loadings.
Great gun,by the way.......enjoy.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Ultralight 15-22? little_airwolf Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 15 01-27-2016 06:25 PM
Al Mar Falcon Talon Ultralight JordonC2 Accessories/Misc - For Sale or Trade 1 04-12-2015 10:40 AM
New ultralight 15-22 build little_airwolf Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 12 01-08-2015 11:44 PM
Marketing Ultralight Frame Handguns off road S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present 2 09-18-2011 12:55 PM
WTS/WTT CZ 527 Ultralight CAMO 223 6 x 18 Scope geneinnc GUNS - For Sale or Trade 1 01-13-2010 03:59 PM

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
smith-wessonforum.com tested by Norton Internet Security smith-wessonforum.com tested by McAfee Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:49 PM.


Smith-WessonForum.com is not affiliated with Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC)