.38 S&W WARNING!!!

[glowe]

Actually, black powder 38 S&W is available now for cowboy action shooters.

38 S&W Black Powder Ammo .358" 150 Grain RN Hollow Base Bullet (THIS IS NOT 38 SPECIAL) Box of 50 - Buffalo Arms

That is the problem with countries having laws permitting ownership of revolvers that have no source for ammunition today.. The UK has such laws and as they are reviewed, more and more "legal" arms will become illegal to own. I have sold quite a few Model 3 revolvers to the UK under their obsolete ammo laws, but today almost every caliber has a commercial manufactured source, so what does that mean down the road??

 

[model3sw]

Hi, Chris. The warning I think you're looking for was more prominent on boxes of ammo from about 1900 to 1930s, with the advent of smokeless powder to warn user it may not be suitable for black powder guns. Are you seeking such warning on a modern box of ammo ? Those black powder warnings were no longer emphasized by the 1950s.

 

[sw44russ]

Hi, Chris. The warning I think you're looking for was more prominent on boxes of ammo from about 1900 to 1930s, with the advent of smokeless powder to warn user it may not be suitable for black powder guns. Are you seeking such warning on a modern box of ammo ? Those black powder warnings were no longer emphasized by the 1950s.

Hi Sal; basically anything that shows that the Pre. 1900 Top Breaks were designed and manufactured for a Cartridge no longer available here in my Jurisdiction. Now .38 S&W is obviously still made and in theory still available here; even though no one brings it into Aus because there is really no demand for it.

Warnings on Boxes might help to establish that an 1899 SH or DA in 38 was made for BP, so NP is not technically the Charge it was meant to fire. The old boxes would be the ones of most help for sure.

Ed's suggestion of the Warning Flyer found in S&W Boxes of the Era is the best one by far; basically irrefutable proof so long as its date can be verified.

I wrote a letter about a year ago to the Historical folks we get our S&W Letters from but never heard back from them.

Thanks for the pics of your Ammo Boxes fellas; they will be of help and I have plenty now that show what I was asking for.

Proof of the 'Flyer' Ed mentioned and/or of the fact S&W did not Guarantee their Guns with NP puts me on safe ground theoretically; all i need now is something verifiable and I'm set.

 

[sw44russ]

Actually, black powder 38 S&W is available now for cowboy action shooters.

38 S&W Black Powder Ammo .358" 150 Grain RN Hollow Base Bullet (THIS IS NOT 38 SPECIAL) Box of 50 - Buffalo Arms

That is the problem with countries having laws permitting ownership of revolvers that have no source for ammunition today.. The UK has such laws and as they are reviewed, more and more "legal" arms will become illegal to own. I have sold quite a few Model 3 revolvers to the UK under their obsolete ammo laws, but today almost every caliber has a commercial manufactured source, so what does that mean down the road??

Hi Gary; it's going to depend on how Laws are worded and how they are interpreted in each Jurisdiction. For example; it was brought up in Court here that places like Buffalo Arms are making limited quantities of BP Ammo for Antique guns very recently. The argument was shot down in flames because Buffalo Arms are not going to post Live Ammo to the UK, Aus, or anywhere else outside Mainland US, so effectively the Cartridge is unavailable outside the US. Here, even if someone in our State of Queensland has a stock of say NP .38 S&W on the shelf; it cant be transported here except by an Explosives Carrier and the cost would be horrendous. So effectively its unavailable in my Jurisdiction.
Our only Importer is Winchester and they do not bring in any Cartridge unless they have an Order of !0,000 Rounds or more.
So here; if you want to shoot .38 S&W, you buy the separate components and load your own. Same goes for .450 and .455 Webley, and many others. We tend to only use BP in BP Guns here, so we are big on Reloading and therefore there is no demand for the 'Re-made' Obsolete Cartridges.

 

[Texas Star]

Have you written to S&W themselves? If they state that the guns may be unsafe with modern loads, that should weigh heavily in your favor.

The basic problem is that you live in a nanny state that's intolerant of firearms ownership. They'll probably twist anything they can to deny ownership.

The .38 S&W/.38-200 was the Australian military revolver round in WW II and for years after. That the ammo is now unavailable there shows the extent to which these anti-gun zealots have achieved their goals.

 

[Texas Star]

Has anyone there seen the YouTube video saying that the automatic rifle used in the Tasmania shooting that caused the current wave of gun laws was done with a rifle that was supposedly in a police armory when it was misused?

 

[Shark Bait]

It's unfortunate that you have to deal with such oppressive laws. Get in touch if you ever come to New Mexico. We'll go to the range for some fun. Best of luck with your situation. I truly hope it works out in your favor.

 

[sw44russ]

Shark Bait; that's damn nice of you and if I ever get the chance to visit the US; I'll be sure to look up a few of you boys; a couple of which i have bought S&Ws from and had 'em shipped over here. Antique Smiths are pretty uncommon here as most of our Guns came in through England where Colt was well established and Webley and the London and Birmingham Makers had the Market pretty much sewn up.
I've had a thing for S&Ws for many years and favor them over most every other Maker for their sheer quality and handsome looks.

collecting can be a stressful business here for the reasons you outline Texas Star; my Country started out a Penal Colony; a far flung prison for largely Irish Rebels and Political Prisoners. Several of which i descend from. A lot of the 'Convicts and Gaolers' mentality still exists here and it's still clear who descends from whom; most noticably here in Tasmania, which was the Prison island of Van Diemens Land. We have more Guns here per capita than any other State and the lowest crime rate; much like the US States when you look at the figures.

The 'Port Arthur Massacre' of 1996 which happened about 2 hours from where I am gave our Federal Govt an excuse to make Guns incredibly highly controlled and in effect outlawed anything you would use on anything bigger than a Rabbit. There was no public will to reform Gun Laws before it happened and a lot of foks here say the whole thing was a set up to take our Guns off us.

Luckily we do have our pre.1900 examption; its only a few bad eggs in the Police Force here that are acting outside the Law and persecuting Collectors. We'll sort it out; we have a Big Gun lobby here too and we are onto it. Thanks to all for your kind wishes and friendship; it is a worldwide brotherhood as it should be and we do take heart from the kind acts and words we receive from our American Brothers. We often do it tough over here, but we dont take their cr*p lying down!!