44Steve
Member
Any body have pictures of a 38 special that blew up from shooting 38 +P out of it . Need to teach someone a lesson. Remember 38+P Shot out of a 38 special that blew up.
38 Blown UP
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Steve, I would be surprised if anyone has a photo you are looking for. Cuz, I don't think it has ever happened with properly loaded 38 Special +P ammo, that was used in a properly working revolver..................
Inusuit
Member
What lesson are you trying to teach? As Old Bear said, it is unlikely that any .38 Special revolver would blow up with +P ammunition. I can't confirm this from personal knowledge or experience, but I have been told that vintage .38 Special and .357 Magnum were often factory loaded to levels that approach today's +P ammunition.
An exception to my grandiose claim would be some of the foreign made copies of US .38 Special revolvers.
I saw in another thread on this forum that some existing .38 S&W revolvers can be bored out to .357 and in most cases handle a limited diet those cartridges without "blowing up." However, such practice is not recommended.
An exception to my grandiose claim would be some of the foreign made copies of US .38 Special revolvers.
I saw in another thread on this forum that some existing .38 S&W revolvers can be bored out to .357 and in most cases handle a limited diet those cartridges without "blowing up." However, such practice is not recommended.
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
I'm also curious as to the intended lesson.
I'm thinking maybe a squib followed by a double charge of Bubba would give a picture you could use.
I'm thinking maybe a squib followed by a double charge of Bubba would give a picture you could use.
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I would expect there are pictures of .38 Specials blown up by faulty hand loads, but I'd be surprised to see one done in by a +P.
Still, I'd never use a +P in a gun if the manufacturer recommended against it; no point unnecessarily beating on a gun.
Still, I'd never use a +P in a gun if the manufacturer recommended against it; no point unnecessarily beating on a gun.
DWalt
Member
The only instances of "Blown Up" revolvers I am aware of are the result of reloads having double (or multiple) charges of fast-burning propellants. +P .38 Special loads may result in progressive damage over time to certain older revolvers, but won't blow up anything.
I have been trying to do that for 32 years..........
if you can wait just a little bit longer..............
I might get a picture for you.
if you can wait just a little bit longer..............
I might get a picture for you.
I'm not a gunsmith, and I don't play one on television, but I think the real danger from using +P in a regular .38 is accelerated wear, not a sudden catastrophic failure.
venomballistics
Member
yes, we go round and round on this in the reloading section.
story usually goes something like this.
Bubba scored eleventy dozen pounds of a fast burning powder (latest being titegroup) because you need less of it, thus its economical.
the result is usually a mild load that leaves a lot to be desired.
Wanting more horsepower from the load, Bubba cranks the load up to max and perhaps even a little more, rather than spring for a slower burning powder that'd meet expectations through volume rather than pressure.
so the fast burn propellant achieves nuclear fission, scattering gun parts all over the range.
"But it wasn't that hot"
wasn't that bright either ....
This is what blows guns more than anything else.
S&B has a standard pressure load that produces +P velocity. it's not that hard to do it within the standard limits lately.
italiansport
Member
I have seen more that one old Colt over the years chambered for the 38 Colt long round that had let go from hot 38spl loads but I personally have never seen a revolver chambered for 38spls do this.
Jim
Jim
DWalt
Member
Back in the early 1930s, when the N-frame S&W .38/44 revolvers first appeared, the .38-44 ammunition (actually just a hot .38 Special load) was advertised as being suitable for use in any .38 Special revolver. Both Colt and S&W listed .38-44 ammo as being OK in their .38 Special revolvers. The only warning given by the ammunition manufacturers had nothing to do with safety, but instead excessive recoil when .38-44 ammo was used lighter-weight revolvers. The .38-44 round with a 158 grain bullet produced about 1150 ft/sec MV, much greater than the standard or +P .38 Special loads, and I have calculated the peak chamber pressure of the .38-44 to be at least 25,000 psi.
I have personally fired .38-44 level reloads in an ordinary M&P with no ill effects to the revolver, other than the aforementioned heavy recoil. So, no, a +P will not blow up your .38 Special revolver. Not that I recommend such a practice.
I have personally fired .38-44 level reloads in an ordinary M&P with no ill effects to the revolver, other than the aforementioned heavy recoil. So, no, a +P will not blow up your .38 Special revolver. Not that I recommend such a practice.
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I have a 1907-built M&P (no hammer block whatsoever) that I am never going to fire +P in. I wouldn't even fire +P in a much newer gun with a serial number below 316648. But I wouldn't bet $1 against a hundred on blowing up an old M&P with +P. I wouldn't even make the same bet on +P+, and that could theoretically be anything.
Don't confuse prudent caution with probability, nor stretching with explosion.
Don't confuse prudent caution with probability, nor stretching with explosion.
gaucho1
Member
Candy-Gram For Saxon Pig........................
Texas Star
US Veteran
I wouldn't fire a Plus P in an old Colt Lightning in .38 long Colt, but the Special might be too long for the chambers, if they had a shoulder. The US military DA .38 Long Colts did not have cylinder shoulders, and I saw a HS friend drop in a .357 ctg. just to show that he could. Of course, he didn't fire it, but someone might.
I can't say if a Plus P Special would blow a 1903 or similar .38 LC revolver, but I won't try that. Fire enough of them, and you might crack a cylinder. Plus P is probably at or above .38 LC proof pressures.
I can't say if a Plus P Special would blow a 1903 or similar .38 LC revolver, but I won't try that. Fire enough of them, and you might crack a cylinder. Plus P is probably at or above .38 LC proof pressures.
scooter123
Member
I agree with all the others that you'll be waiting a very very long time to find any images of a 38 special revolver blown up by the use of +P ammunition. From everything I heard and read the original loads for 38 special probably produced +P pressures at some point during the firing event. Because the old Copper Crusher method of measuring pressure lacks the capability to indicate short time period pressure spikes, for that you need a modern piezo electric pressure sensor. In addition Proof loads used to prove out the basic strength of a firearm were intended to "exercise" that specific design or firearm at a pressure typically somewhere around 25% over the maximum pressure for the caliber, much higher than what today's +P loads produce.
At most what +P ammunition will do in a revolver produced way back in the early days is accelerate the wear to the barrel, frame, and cylinder in subtle ways that won't be visible. For example use jacketed bullets in a 1905 vintage 38 special at any pressure and over time you'll probably shoot out the barrel, because steels used were intended to be used with much softer lead bullets.
At most what +P ammunition will do in a revolver produced way back in the early days is accelerate the wear to the barrel, frame, and cylinder in subtle ways that won't be visible. For example use jacketed bullets in a 1905 vintage 38 special at any pressure and over time you'll probably shoot out the barrel, because steels used were intended to be used with much softer lead bullets.
GatorFarmer
Member
http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/446538-you-actually-can-blow-up-revolver-firing-p.html
The only photo is from after I taped and glued it back together. It did in fact survive one more round after being "fixed".
The only photo is from after I taped and glued it back together. It did in fact survive one more round after being "fixed".
"The proof date was 1966."
Proof loads are a lot more powerful than +P, so your story is spicious.
reddogge
Member
I just sold a guy a S&W Victory and advised him not to shoot +P in it. Mainly because that's what I've read over the years. He agreed and said he would not. It was a nice old cherry piece too.
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