38 short?

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Just bought Hammerless top break pistol. Serial number 25912. Told me it shot 38 shorts. Is it 38 shorts or 38 Smith and Wesson. Want to make sure I get the right ammo.
 
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Welcome to the Forum. You have a 38 Safety Hammerless, 2nd Model, shipped in the late 1880s. It is a 38 S&W cartridge and is available from most ammo manufacturers. S&W never manufactured a revolver for the 38 Short cartridge.
 
The .38 Short Colt and the .38 S&W appear nearly identical, the main difference being that the cartridge and bullet diameter is slightly less for the former vs. the latter. One can actually fire .38 Short Colt in a .38 S&W chamber. I have done it. Not a recommended practice, but possible to do. You are much more likely to find .38 S&W ammunition than .38 Short Colt (which is still available, and has a certain following for use in .38 Special revolvers in ICORE revolver matches)
 
Other designations for the .38 S&W are .38 Corto, S&W .38 Kurz, .380 British MkII , and .38 Colt New Police. Aside from the British military cartridges (.380 Mk II), virtually all ammunition manufacturers worldwide place an S&W or S W on headstamps and box labels, i.e. .38 Corto S&W. Strangely I have seen one European .38 S&W cartridge headstamped as 38 Special. Go figure.
 
In addition the 9mm federal rimmed will usually fit the chamber, though it is a modern 9mm cartridge loaded to modern pressure. It would probably destroy a nice old gun, though if you happen to come upon some brass I hear it can be reloaded correctly, though i never tried it myself.. The cartridge is rather rare though, even less common than the correct one.
 
In addition the 9mm federal rimmed will usually fit the chamber, though it is a modern 9mm cartridge loaded to modern pressure. It would probably destroy a nice old gun, though if you happen to come upon some brass I hear it can be reloaded correctly, though i never tried it myself.. The cartridge is rather rare though, even less common than the correct one.

Correct. I have heard that there was one incident in which a 9mm Federal round was fired in an old .38 S&W, doing some serious damage. Beyond that, I have no details. But 9mm Federal was very short lived in the marketplace. I ran across 3 boxes of it at a gun show about a year ago, seller was asking $100/box. I almost bought it. Dimensionally, I don't know how the 9mm Federal compares to .38 S&W. But I'd guess it is much closer to the .38 Short Colt. The 9mm was a stupid idea on someone's part. I don't remember for sure, but I think the only revolver ever chambered in 9mm Federal was a Charter Arms. There was talk of a Ruger revolver in 9mm Federal also, but I do not think that ever came to pass.
 
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