Quote:
Originally Posted by DCWilson
Let me take another run at my "massive .38 Special" statement.
Yes, the original .38-44 load was hot -- almo
When the .357 was introduced, that cartridge and the extra velocity .38-44 cartridge continued as almost equally powerful revolver rounds through the 1930s. My sense is that after WW2, the hotter .38-44 special and super police loads faded from the scene as the heavy-hitting market migrated to the .357 Magnum. At some point diminishing availability or appeal of the .38-44 ammo meant that HD and OD revolvers were left with standard .38 Special ammunition as their primary feed, except that handloaders who could produce the more powerful loads continued to do so.
At that point, and regardless of their design origins, the HD and OD became in a commercial sense heavy-frame .38 Specials, which is the cartridge designation that was always pressed into their barrels, and which is how I talked about them in my earlier post. I still think that is a fair characterization of their later lives -- though obviously their early lives were far different.
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Well, first, your assertion that the 38-44 loadings disappeared after WWII is, by your own admission, based on "thumb in the wind" analysis. I can't speak to the .38-44 load, but the Peters "Hi-Way Master. .45 ACP load, which filled the the same niche as the .38-44, stayed in production from 1930-1960.
Second, magnums were quite expensive at a time when the majority of LEOs probably still had to provide their own sidearm. Even if their dept did provide one, many probably upgraded from the issued .38 spl. The .38-44 was far more affordable.
There weren't a lot of magnums in circulation prior to WW II and certainly few to none produced during the war. From Skeeter Skeltons writings, I gleaned that as late as the mid-50s, magnums were still expensive and hard to come by. Due to cost, probably a scant few agencies issued them, once again leaving the LEO to fund it himself.
Finally, and probably the biggest reason, was the incredible demand for civilian guns (including LEOs) following WW II. Virtually no guns had been made for the civilian market during the war. Gun companies had just lost massive military contracts and had to start selling guns fast to survive. They likely didn't spend time or money re-tooling and built whatever they had the tooling and resources for, and do so quickly. For S&W, this probably meant they were still geared to crank out way more .38-44s than .357s.