I have two separate boxes of ammo, one is WWII head stamped 380 DC 42, the other is 380 2z I think both are close to a 38 S & W round with a larger grain bullet. I believe the 380 DC 42 would be OK, but not sure of the other round?
Both of my L.L. revolvers were not reamed out to the 38 special.

Thanks,
Sal

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Both of these appear to be the late prewar loading of the ".380 Inch Mark II" for the British, with a 174 gr jacketed bullet. Before this the same case had a 200 gr lead bullet (which is where the term .38/200 came from). Should be safe in a mechanically sound K frame.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

The "Z" means it is loaded with nitrocellulose smokeless powder (think something like Unique) instead of Cordite. DC is a Canadian headstamp (Dominion), loaded in 1942. Either can be fired, should be ballistically about the same. Most ammo used throughout WWII and later was Mk2, with a 178 grain FMJ bullet. Before the war, the British standard .380 revolver load was the Mk1 which used a 200 grain lead bullet. I do not know if corrosive primers were used at that time or not. Safest bet would be to asssume they are corrosive, so you should clean bores and chambers with water after firing.

I can see no need or reason to fire this ammo. Plenty of commercial 38 S&W ammo out there. These are some neat WW 2 relics. Fire them and they are gone forever. Cool stuff. Wish you were close by I would trade you some commercial ammo.

WWII .380 military ammo is still relatively common and doesn't bring a premium price on the collector's market. So if you do decide to shoot it, you won't be firing something that is worth $5 every time you pull the trigger. Commercial .38 S&W ammo can be difficult to find today and is likely to cost you at least $1 per round. Most who are into shooting guns chambered for .38 S&W will load their own to avoid the availability and cost issues acssociated with commercial ammo if they shoot much. Only problem is that at the present time, primers and powder can be a little expensive compared to pre-pandemic prices.

Thanks for the info. I have plenty of S&W 38's no need to use this stuff. Just wanted to find out what I was dealing with here.

I have a boatload of the FN manufactured .380 Mk.2z ammo that came in little clear plastic 30 round boxes. It shoots very well in my Australian issue Victory Model in .38 S&W and most importantly, shoots to point of aim which the commercially available .38 S&W ammo often doesn't.

The FN ammo used to be found for something like $2.50 a box, I kept my eyes peeled for some of the WWII era British ammo in the cardboard boxes or the paper packets of 12 rounds but for some reason never found any for sale at gunshows.

At a local gun show, and this was about 3 years ago, there was a guy there who had a full case of South African military .380 "Rewolwer" (sic) ammunition in 12-round boxes. As I remember, he was selling them for $5/box. I didn't buy any, probably should have.

I think "Rewolwer" might be Afrikaans for Revolver.

Hindsight is always 20-20. Don't feel bad, we all realize we made a mistake or two while at the time it really meant nothing lol.

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