.38 Short Colt

[conagher]

Can a .38 Short Colt be safely fired from a .38 special? Also does anyone make the .38 Short Colt in anything other than round nose ammo?

 

[desi2358]

Well, 38 Short Colt is an old, low pressure round. While the bullet is technically oversize (it is a heel-type the same diameter as the case) it is very soft and I have never heard of any problems shooting it in a 38 Special chamber. It would seem pointless to do so however since it is hard to find (I am constantly being approached by people seeking it for old guns) and if you have a quantity of it there is a real market for it both as shooting and collectible ammunition.
If you do shoot it I would expect mediocre accuracy and some fouling build up in the cylinder. It is an obsolete round and and there are much better choices available for your 38 Special.

 

[snake charmer]

I load 38 Colt short for my ICORE guns, I use Star Line brass and Montana Gold 125G hollowpoints with tite-group powder.This load is very accurate in my .357 guns. The guns being used are a Colt Python and a PC627.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Older .38 Short Colt WAS heel based. However, current production Remington is inside lubricated, just like the .38 Special. This limits the accuracy potential in old .38's with the full .375" bore like the pre-1903 Colt New Army series.

 

[.45 1911]

If your looking for 38 short ammo check out gad custom cartridges. They have hard to find loads and or custom reloaded cartridges.

 

[conagher]

Thanks for the responses. .455 Hunter stated that current production Remington is inside lubricated. What does that mean?

 

[Jellybean]

Most modern centerfire ammuntion you will find today is inside lubricated. It simply means the driving bands and lube grooves are inside the cartridge case. If you look at a .22 rimfire cartridge they are representative of heel based bullets. The bullets are the same diameter as the case with the driving bands and lube grooves exposed. The heel at the base of the bullet is a smaller diameter to fit inside the case. Having the lube on the outside makes it real messy to toss a few rounds in your pocket, especially on a hot day, and so, along with a few other reasons, the inside lubed idea won the popularity poll, while the heel based centerfire idea slowly drifted into obscurity.