.38 Long Colt in a Model 10-6?

[august1410]

I was reading where a .38 Special revolver will shoot .38 Long Colt ammo. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this? Any benefits? Any detractions?

Is this about as practical as having another nose?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[john traveler]

The standard US Military cartridge was the .38 Log Colt. It was replaced by the .38 Special which has a longer case and slightly heavier bullet.

Yes, .38 Special revolvers will fire the .38 Long Colt with no problem.

 

[rck281]

They will also shoot the 38 Short Colt. How versatile can you get?

 

[bmcgilvray]

Been there, done that. Factory .38 Long Colt ammunition is pitifully weak so the "another nose" analogy applies. Doesn't hurt a thing, being much the same as firing .38 Special in a revolver chambered for .357 Magnum. Clean the chambers of any build-up that might restrict the chambering of normal length .38 Special cartridges.

At the beginning of the 20th century the .38 Long Colt was the official U.S. service cartridge, being chambered in a military contract version of the Colt New Army double-action revolver. A few Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector .38 Military & Police revolvers were acquired on military contract as well.

Early Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector Military & Police revolvers were roll marked so as to promote the fact that both the .38 Special and the "U.S. Service Cartridges" were appropriate for use in them. Since the " U.S. Service Cartridge" was the .38 Long Colt, one supposes that such a euphemistic reference allowed Smith & Wesson to avoid applying the word "Colt" to their product.

 

[lebomm]

+1 to bmcgilvray's post ! I've fired .38 LC in my S&W .38 Spls on several occasions, and no, there's not much, if any, advantage. The .38 Long Colt is noticeably less powerful than the .38 Spl, and the Short Colt is positively anemic. No serious contraindication, either; neither will do any harm to any modern .38 Spl in good condition. About the strongest praise I have is that it's a bit more versatility for your S&W - if you lost all your ammo, and the only thing you could find was .38 LC, you could keep on shootin'. Enjoy !

Larry

 

[august1410]

+1 to bmcgilvray's post ! I've fired .38 LC in my S&W .38 Spls on several occasions, and no, there's not much, if any, advantage. The .38 Long Colt is noticeably less powerful than the .38 Spl, and the Short Colt is positively anemic. No serious contraindication, either; neither will do any harm to any modern .38 Spl in good condition. About the strongest praise I have is that it's a bit more versatility for your S&W - if you lost all your ammo, and the only thing you could find was .38 LC, you could keep on shootin'. Enjoy !

Larry

Knowing this, as well as the fact the gun will accept +P loads has me marvelling at the versatility of my 44 year old revolver.

 

[NKJ nut]

For most of us today, this is versatility that we wont use. For all intents and purposes the .38 spl. is capable of great versatility with the loads available, not to mention the handloading option.

However when the .38 spl. was developed I believe it was seen as a selling point that the revolvers would also handle the U.S. military rd. Otherwise it's hard to explain why S&W didn't use their own .38 S&W rd as a basis for their new .38 S&W Spl. cartridge.

I think they markings on bmcgilvray's revolver are cool. S&W neatly sidestepped having to put the word COLT on their revolvers while reminding users that they could use the .38 LC rd.

 

[guesser]

On the price lists today 38 LC is more expensive than 38 Special. I wouldn't shoot it, I'd trade it and get more 38 Special for the same money.

 

[pff]

I think they markings on bmcgilvray's revolver are cool. S&W neatly sidestepped having to put the word COLT on their revolvers while reminding users that they could use the .38 LC rd.

Colt did a similar thing with their 'New Police' rounds which are interchangeable with .32S&W Long and .38S&W. Slight difference in bullet weight, same case dimensions.

Friend sold a sweet little Colt .32 because he couldn't find any .32 New Police ammo for sale. Major regret factor when I told him it was the same as .32S&W Long.


Regards,

Pat

 

[walnutred]

Otherwise it's hard to explain why S&W didn't use their own .38 S&W rd as a basis for their new .38 S&W Spl. cartridge.

IIRC 38 S&W is a tapered case. Much easier to lengthen a straight case.