May 38 long be shot in .38 spl., and .32 long shot in 32-20?

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Kevin in Oregon

Starline Brass says on their website "38 Long Colt brass is basically a shortened version of .38 Special brass. 38 Long Colt brass cases can be fired from most firearms chambered for .38 Special and .357 Magnum."

If this is the 38 long you are talking about?
Ed

Why? Do you have an overabundance of both of those calibers? I imagine someone with those hard to find calibers would be happy to purchase them from you.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I found an old box of .38 long and just wondered if I could shoot it in my .38 spl., or sell it at the gun show.

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Kevin in Oregon

May get more for it at a gun show. Especially if selling it to someone who is looking for it. If selling to a dealer, maybe able to trade for something you can use in your own guns. Will you have a table or just walking around?

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

To answer the second part of your question, yes - .32 short or long can be shot in a .32/20. I did it a couple of months ago. Why? I had a new-to-me .32/20 revolver but no .32/20 ammo.

It shot fine, but the cases swelled to fit the slight bottlenecked chamber.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

32 Long will chamber but are loose enough to rattle around a wee bit. You run the risk of a split case.

John

Further, with the looseness of a 32 S&W L in a 32-20 chamber, you may get erratic ignition. Accuracy beyond bad breath range will also be likely to be iffy. One aspect of accuracy is a case that fits the chamber well (and consistently) so the bullet launches consistently as well.

Although 32-20 brass now seems to be made out of unobtanium now, it would be worth hunting some up if you want to get the fullest benefit of your 32-20 revolver.

Froggie

Nedlate, the box I have is 38 LC, 158 gr. I don't know where i got it, just wondering. Probably best to sell it to someone that would appreciate for what it is.

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Kevin in Oregon

Sell it or trade it for something you have a better use for...........

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

back in the early 2000's it was supposedly a "common thing" for competittors to load 38 long colt cases to 38 special and even "38 magnum level" in order to have a quicker ejecting case length.

If it’s a complete box of factory loaded ammo, it’s probably worth more in trade than a standard of factory 38 Spl. A partial box and/or reloads and the value goes down significantly.
Froggie

The .38 Long Colt cartridge was as one time (roughly 1890-1911) the official U.S. military revolver cartridge. It existed prior to the .38 Special cartridge, so it is more correct to say that the .38 Special case is slightly longer than the parent .38 LC case. It has not been loaded by the big guys for probably close to 40 years, but I believe some of the boutique ammo makers still offer it. It does have collector interest if it is a full original box.

.32 Long cartridges can be fired in a .32-20 revolver. I have done it, although that is a practice frowned upon by many. There is a risk of case splitting due to the sloppy fit, so it is something reserved for emergency use. I personally know of one case in which a man was shot and killed with a .32-20 revolver loaded with .32 Long cartridges.

Might be a hoot to shoot in this! It is a .12 ga adapter to allow a .12 ga to shoot .32-20 Winchester out of a .12 ga, It was patented 1901.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Chamber inserts were commonly available as recently as the 1970s. In addition to units for common shotgun gauges using centerfire rifle and handgun rounds, there were inserts made for using smaller cartridges in larger rifle chambers (such as .30 Carbine, .32 S&W, and others in .30-06 rifles).

Several companies offered these devices, frequently advertising in the popular gun magazines.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

Maybe, but that hasn't been my experience. The group in the picture in my post was shot at twenty yards. Ignition was 100%, in this and other guns as well.

I don't reload, so the swelled cases don't bother me. I've never had one split.

.32 S&W Long is pretty easy to find in my area. .32/20 is almost never seen these days.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”