.38 Special-Date of introduction
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Here is some history from the 1953 edition of the Philip B. Sharpe Complete Guide to Reloading.
"The first gun designed to handle the .38 Smith & Wesson Special was the Smith & Wesson Model 1902, round butt Military and Police Model. This cartridge was an improvement on the official army cartridge - the .38 Long Colt. Essentially it was an enlargement in proportion to the .32 Smith & Wesson Long, the bullet being in the same proportion as this extremely accurate smaller caliber handgun. In order to bring about this balance, it was necessary to increase the bullet weight to 158 grains, retaining the the same shape as the .32 S&W Long."
That might be more than you wanted to know, but it's interesting to learn how some of the cartridges were developed.
deanc
"The first gun designed to handle the .38 Smith & Wesson Special was the Smith & Wesson Model 1902, round butt Military and Police Model. This cartridge was an improvement on the official army cartridge - the .38 Long Colt. Essentially it was an enlargement in proportion to the .32 Smith & Wesson Long, the bullet being in the same proportion as this extremely accurate smaller caliber handgun. In order to bring about this balance, it was necessary to increase the bullet weight to 158 grains, retaining the the same shape as the .32 S&W Long."
That might be more than you wanted to know, but it's interesting to learn how some of the cartridges were developed.
deanc
"Cartridges of the World" by Barnes states 1902. "History of Smith and Wesson" by Jinks infers 1899. I own a M&P 1st Model of 1899 stamped 38 S&W Special factory lettered shipped in Feb 1902. I would assume the cartridge was developed prior to that. I'll go with Mr Jinks.
Alk8944
US Veteran
Per "U.S. Cartridges and Their Handguns" Charles R. Suydam 1979, page 172.
"First chambered in the First Model Hand Ejector in 1899, the .38 Smith & Wesson Special cartridge was first made by UMC early in 1899; cartridges were sent to Smith & Wesson for trial in May of that year. Original loads were of 18 grains of black powder, with an overall cartridge length of 1.570". In June, 1899, the powder charge was changed to 21.5 grains; bullet weight was presumably the 158 grain still used. The first smokeless loadings were made in September, 1899, probably 3.6 grains of Bullseye. In 1908 the overall length was reduced to 1.560"; when the present nominal length of 1.550" was adopted is not known."
"First chambered in the First Model Hand Ejector in 1899, the .38 Smith & Wesson Special cartridge was first made by UMC early in 1899; cartridges were sent to Smith & Wesson for trial in May of that year. Original loads were of 18 grains of black powder, with an overall cartridge length of 1.570". In June, 1899, the powder charge was changed to 21.5 grains; bullet weight was presumably the 158 grain still used. The first smokeless loadings were made in September, 1899, probably 3.6 grains of Bullseye. In 1908 the overall length was reduced to 1.560"; when the present nominal length of 1.550" was adopted is not known."
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I think it's safe to say the .38 S&W Special was developed in 1899 but not available for public sale until 1902 when the first revolver chambered in .38 Special was available to the public. (or Government)
Alk8944
US Veteran
No, it is safe to say the .38 Special was offered for sale in 1899. The article , which I did not quote in it's entirety goes on to say the first 1899 Military & Police revolver chambered for the .38 Spl. was serial number 8. The cartridge was part and parcel of the M&P model from the very beginning, not 3 years later.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Whatever!! Relax yourself, really.... it was my opinion. Even though it's hard to tell someone's intent in a post I feel you were being hostile. Relax OK, this is a discussion not a contest.
While I have no idea when the .38 Special was introduced, I am suprised it was loaded with black powder. Shows you how much I know.
I was looking at a McLendon Hardware Co.(Waco,TX) catalog from around 1926 and lo and behold there is 158 gn black powder Remington's for $29.00 per thousand.
I was looking at a McLendon Hardware Co.(Waco,TX) catalog from around 1926 and lo and behold there is 158 gn black powder Remington's for $29.00 per thousand.
Alk8944
US Veteran
The original poster asked for an authoritative source for introduction of the .38 Special. I gave him page and paragraph from one of the most highly resoected authorities in the field of cartridge collecting and history of same. You expressed an opinion based on what? You were wrong and got called on it. Grow up.
If you had the balls to show an E-mail in your profile I would have dtold you this off the board.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Now that's funny, you telling me to grow up....
Why don't you stop hijacking this thread with your petty showmanship. I don't mind being wrong about something that happened over 100 years ago. Like I said, this is a discussion, not a contest. Say what you want because I won't answer your childish posts any longer.
BTW, I didn't even know my email was not available in my profile although I don't usually make it a point to make it public because I don't want any SPAM sent to my account.
Have a nice day...
This is off topic, but the price caught my eye. I ran it through the CPI inflation adjustor and $29 in 1926 is about $296 in 2006 (more like $305 today). Even with the recent surge in ammo and component prices, you can still get 1000 rounds of .38 Special for about $220 today (CCI Blazer). So much for the "good old days"!
Another early US Cartridge Company .38 Special offering.
Along with a Peters product.
Along with a Peters product.
Andy Taylor
Member
Smith17-You sure have a nice ammo box collection. Thanks for sharing.
MX-5
Member
Hi, all. Not to add fuel to the fire, but if not already mentioned, as far as authoritative sources: I have in front of me the NRA's "The Basics of Pistol Shooting," copyright 1991, that was given to me by an NRA instructor several months ago. There is a section that describes different cartridges which says, on page 13: ".38 Special--Introduced by Smith & Wesson about 1902." So I guess that they used the word "about" to provide some wiggle room. However, on S&W's web site, they have the following text regarding the Model 10: "The .38 S&W Special +P and the revolver to fire it was first introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1899. It has become one of the most recognized handgun/caliber combinations in the world." So I guess the authoritative answer is "1899," or "about 1902." But then again...
I always liked the Colt projectiles. maybe I just fell for the hype but it always seemed to me that the heavy for caliber, flat nosed Super Police loads they had would be better stoppers than the traditional round nosed projectiles.
Although if I recall correctly from an old Gun Digest article those projectiles were actually designed by Remington Peters for Colt.
Although if I recall correctly from an old Gun Digest article those projectiles were actually designed by Remington Peters for Colt.
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