.38 Special in a .38 S&W Revolver Cylinder

[FPrice]

I am sure that I have seen this covered somewhere but I cannot find where.

Will a .38 Special round fit into an unmodified .38 S&W British K-200 cylinder?

If it does fit, would this be an indication of a modified cylinder?

I apologize for asking something which has probably been covered multiple times but like I said, I am unable to find any of these discussions.

Thank you.

 

[DCWilson]

No.

If a .38 Special round can be inserted completely, the cylinder has been either replaced or modified.

 

[glowe]

I wonder what percentage of these old British Service revolvers were re-chambered? My guess is a sizable number.

 

[Waveski]

In addition , if a .38 special round is inserted into a modified .38 S&W cylinder , it will rattle around in there a bit because the .38 special casing is a few 1000's smaller in diameter than the .38 S&W. Split & stuck casings are common when discharging .38 special rounds from a "converted" .38 S&W.

Some feel that shooting a "converted" .38 S&W revolver with .38 special ammo is an acceptable practice. Many feel otherwise. Hence the quotation marks.

 

[Shark Bait]

I have an original British Service Revolver in 38 S&W and there is no way a 38 Special will fit in the chambers. Not even close.

 

[H Richard]

When you shoot a 38 Special in a modified chamber on a 38 S&W the fired case will look like this. Swelled up.

 

[old tanker]

Back when I was a young'un the back pages of American Rifleman was full of ads for British surplus S&W revolvers. They'd stick a .38 Special reamer in them and Railway Express would bring it. As I recall they went for under three bucks.

 

[Targets Guy]

This one went for more than $3.00.

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shoots the .38 special just fine. Cartridge went in and came out very smooth. But I will examine the next ones more closely.

 

[Absalom]

If the chamber has not been modified, a live .38 Special round will go in this far; see picture.

 

[Jack Flash]

As it says on the Targets Guy revolver, "Converted by Cogswell & Harris". So perhaps this was a first class conversion, including the fitting of a proper .38 Special cylinder. You can see the barrel has been cut down and a new front sight added.

 

[Absalom]

In addition , if a .38 special round is inserted into a modified .38 S&W cylinder , it will rattle around in there a bit......

Some feel that shooting a "converted" .38 S&W revolver with .38 special ammo is an acceptable practice. Many feel otherwise. Hence the quotation marks.

With all due respect, that's all it is, people "feel". It's not backed up by any actual real-life data.

The K-frame Victory is a frame, cylinder, and barrel designed for the .38 Special and .32-20 pressures and is way overbuilt for the .38 S&W, and there is no evidence that any of the hundreds of thousands of post-war conversions aren't safe, not even the "snubbified" ones without front lug. Bulged and split cases are annoying especially if you want to reload, but not a safety issue.

And we're talking something like .005 inches difference in case diameter; tolerances are such that you can find reports here on the forum of some .38 Special guns that will actually chamber .38 S&W rounds, so you'll have to listen pretty carefully to hear the "rattling".

 

[Waveski]

TargetsGuy does appear to have a legit conversion. Most are not so carefully done , just a ream job. I have no fear of a reamed .38 S&W K frame blowing up in my hands. That stated , I get no pleasure from a shooting session which includes split and/or stuck casings.
Anyway , the answer to the OP"s question is : no.

 

[Absalom]

.......

shoots the .38 special just fine. Cartridge went in and came out very smooth. But I will examine the next ones more closely.

By the way, C&H conversions were unusual in that they were converted in Britain, not after re-importation. C&H had theirs proofed at the London proofhouse for the .38 Special, so this gun should be marked (usually on the right side of the barrel) with the 1.15" proof case length instead of the usual .767" for those guns which were proofed for the original .38 S&W and then reamed after importation. AFAIK, they did not sleeve or replace cylinders either, but the cylinder conversion was likely done so professional as to minimize any additional widening, something not guaranteed if Bubba went in with his garage tools, so I'd expect fewer case issues.

 

[Targets Guy]

By the way, C&H conversions were unusual in that they were converted in Britain, not after re-importation. C&H had theirs proofed at the London proofhouse for the .38 Special, so this gun should be marked (usually on the right side of the barrel) with the 1.15" proof case length instead of the usual .767" for those guns which were proofed for the original .38 S&W and then reamed after importation. AFAIK, they did not sleeve or replace cylinders either, but the cylinder conversion was likely done so professional as to minimize any additional widening, something not guaranteed if Bubba went in with his garage tools, so I'd expect fewer case issues.

Thanks. They did mark the gun with the 1.15" proof. Nice bit of info for me. Here are the marking proofs.

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plus each cylinder flute had the ordnance proof

you can't quite make it out on this photo but the "p" is on the edge of the butt frame.
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In fact I emailed C&H this morning and asked if they had any data on this revolver. Will be interested to see if they respond.

 

[Absalom]

Thanks. They did mark the gun with the 1.15" proof. Nice bit of info for me. Here are the marking proofs.
........
you can't quite make it out on this photo but the "p" is on the edge of the butt frame.
........
In fact I emailed C&H this morning and asked if they had any data on this revolver. Will be interested to see if they respond.

That's a nice clear rendering of the London proofs. The arm holding the scimitar (reminds me more of some long-billed shorebird ) is London's emblem. The P on the butt is actually an American standard military proof from back at S&W.

Let us know if you hear anything back.

 

[Jack Flash]

I thought the arm with sword proof mark was a reference to King Arthur's Excalibur.

 

[DWalt]

Back when I was a young'un the back pages of American Rifleman was full of ads for British surplus S&W revolvers. They'd stick a .38 Special reamer in them and Railway Express would bring it. As I recall they went for under three bucks.

They never were that cheap. The going rate for the mail order modified .38/200s was usually in the $25-$35 range back in the late 1950s-1960s.

 

[Absalom]

They never were that cheap. The going rate for the mail order modified .38/200s was usually in the $25-$35 range back in the late 1950s-1960s.

Lee Harvey Oswald paid $29.95 for his in 1963, so right in that ballpark. Most surviving view marks show a Birmingham proof year in the late 50s, so the bulk came in around those general years.