So, I got this little .38 top break a while back.



It has some finish issues, but is mechanically perfect. It hasn't been fired much, if at all. I guess these aren't the kind of guns that spent a lot of time at the range. The pattern below follows the curve of the barrel - I'd say its from a sock or some other woven fabric.



I haven't shot it yet, but ran across these .38 Short Colts of new manufacture. I haven't seen these before. They were relatively cheap and a little phone-googling indicated they are OK to use in .38 S&W chambered guns.



They fit fine, no wobble:



If anything, they are wimpier than the already pretty wimpy .38 S&W rounds currently available.

I'll give them a try this week and report back - IF I SURVIVE (bwahahahaha!)

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

.38 short and long Colt shells are the dia. of .38 Spec. I would think your gun was made for .38 S&W. I don't think it would be unsafe to shoot them but I'm curious about the smaller dia. bullet catching enough rifling to spin. Please post your results. Larry

I can not understand why a ammunition manufacturer would label a box 38 Short Colt - who is going to buy it?? The original cartridge was introduced for the Colt 1851 Navy conversion. The original bullet was .359", but to my knowledge there have been no 38 Short Colt guns made for over 100 years. Maybe some Cowboy reproduction is being made today, but I have not seen one yet. 38 Long Colt replaced this round and was fitted with a .357" bullet, which I would suspect is the size of the Remington round.

38 S&W bullet is .361" and 38 Short Colt is either .359" or .357", so will fire from a 38 S&W revolver. Accuracy would be the question here and not safety. If you have both calibers, bench some rounds and see if accuracy is better with 38 S&W?

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Actually, I believe that both the short and long .38 Colt rounds were designed for outside lubricated bullets, with the bullet diameter the same as the outside case diameter. Later, they were loaded with hollow base, inside lubricated bullets, with the bullet the same diameter of the inside of the case. The .38 Short Colt will probably shoot OK in the .38 S&W gun, but the cases will swell excessively.

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Tom
1560

Colt didn't want to mark their guns 38 Smith & Wesson, so they made the 38 Short Colt interchangeable with the 38 S&W. Strictly a marketing thing. The Colts were loaded with a 125 grain bullet and the S&W had a 145 grain bullet, other than that they are two peas in the same pod. you can shoot them in your Smith.
I can't believe you found them , I've found 38 S&W but haven't seen 38 Short Colt in decades.
Nice score , that a good looking Safety Hammerless you got, the old top breaks are fun to shoot.
Gary

I thought it was 38 Colt New Police that was interchangeable with 38 S&W...

They are brand new production. The shop had about ten boxes of them, and they were ten bucks a box cheaper than the same brand of .38 S&W.

Firearms Comparison - Shotguns Comparison - Rifles Comparison - Remington Guns Comparison

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

Contrary to some of the posters in this thread, there are a substantial number of USPSA and ICORE shooters currently shooting .38 Short Colt ammo in competition matches. We don't use factory ammo but buy virgin Starline brass and load our own. The rounds we create are really little short .38 Specials but are handier to use in matches.

The new Remington ammo is a real curiousity. They may be hoping to sell to competitors who don't handload.

You can shoot .38 Short Colts in your top break with no risk. The brass will expand a bit and the bullets might be undersized for your bore.

Have fun!!

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

You are correct. Larry

My neighbor has a DA Colt (1877 lightning) that shoots the .38 short Colt so he buys a box once in a while. I saw another one for sale awhile back so who ever buys it will need some. It didn't look like $1500. to me so I kept walking. Larry

What types of bullet/powder do you use for these? Sounds interesting!
Ed

I know you've been waiting with bated breath to see if I survived, and I'm happy to report I did.



I shot most of the box, saving a few in the event I need a really old gun to shoot really fragile zombies some day.

They shot great. As would be expected of a load launching a 125 grain bullet at a blistering 740 fps recoil was quite mild and there were no signs of stress to my old top break Smith. Cases lifted easily out as I broke open the gun.

At ten yards they made a decent group, considering my old eyes, the stout DA pull, and the teeny-tiny sights:



The cases did bulge a bit.





They would go back into the old Smith, but wouldn't chamber in my M37, though unfired rounds would.



I fired some into a hardback book, which resulted in some deformation, and then shot a few into a rolled up old blanket. All the rounds showed strong imprint from the rifling. The bullet base was deeply dished though not quite hollow, and I think that helped the soft lead bullet expand into the slightly larger bore and grip the rifling.



I've been shooting up my wife's old cookware, and even these powder-puff loads had no trouble blasting through the metal.



So why bother? In this case, the .38 SC rounds were cheaper, and I think the 125/740 load is easier on these old warriors than the regular factory loads.

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”