First Revolver (but was it a mistake?)

[mikepriwer]

Of course, you can still still shoot 38 S&W in the gun. Its the same
idea as shooting .38 special in a .357 chambered gun ; the bore in the
cylinder charge holes is just a tad longer.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[clay303]

Ok one more question, is 38s&w and 38-200 different in dia.? My revolver is stamped 38s&w on the barrel. Was it changed to 38-200? Confused now.
Clay

 

[murphydog]

Ok one more question, is 38s&w and 38-200 different in dia.? My revolver is stamped 38s&w on the barrel. Was it changed to 38-200? Confused now.
Clay

No, they are the same cartridge. The original British military load was a 200 gr lead bullet. The usual US load you will find has a 146 gr lead roundnose bullet. These are all .361 in diameter, with the .38 Special .357.

 

[clay303]

Thanks for explaining that Murphydog.
Clay

 

[pred]

Just give it a try with some 38 special wad cutters.
If the cases split they split
The wad cutter is usually a softer load as far as powder and power goes.
It is times well, Shoot it and dont worry, It will be fine and so will you!
ENjoy it and many more good deals will come your way in the future and for now you have a nice vintage toy to go and shoot.
Peter

 

[Rolando]

What about reloading for it? Could be an opportunity to add another hobby to the mix.

Anyone reload the .38-200?

 

[Art Doc]

Sorry, you got screwed. Live and learn. This gun will still shoot the correct 38 S&W ammo but I do not like the idea of shooting the 38 Specials in the over-sized chambers.

Start reloading. You'll want to, anyway, and this just gives you the incentive. Cases are available and I have had good luck in my 38 S&W revolvers using soft lead bullets sized for the 38 Special (.357). I think the soft lead "upsets" upon firing to fill the bore.

BTW- The 38 S&W isn't the pipsqueak some think. I have loaded the 38 S&W with 125 JHPs to 950 FPS clocked from a 2" barrel. The much feared, greatly ballyhooed and stupendously over-rated +P only achieves around 890 from the snubby in my testing.

 

[Skepsis]

Great news that 38 S&W are still an option! I'd thought that the conversion would have ruined it for its original cartridge - glad to know that's not the case.

And I won't yet say that I was screwed in my purchase. The bloke I bought it from and I spoke extensively about his having fired the gun using 38 specials, but he never mentioned a problem. If my own range experience doesn't result in split cartridges or any other obvious problems, I'll assume he was as in the dark as I was as to this peculiar situation. However, if my rounds all blow up on me, I'll be looking for a word with him next gun show

 

[TomcatPC]

Hello

I have a British version of the Victory Model in .380" Calibre (aka .38 S&W) and I really like it. I also have a Post-War Webley & Scott Mk. IV .380" Revolver as well. That prompted me to invest in a Lee Hand Press and set of dies for the .38 S&W cartridge, and got me into reloading (very novice still). Lee Hand Press and set of dies were not all that bad price wise.

So far all I have loaded were "Magtech" 158 grain .358" cast lead bullets. They were a bit undersized for the larger .38 S&W bore, but they are hollow based and did better than the Remington commercial 146 Grain .38 S&W cartridges I first fired.

As for reloading the original .380" Mk.I cartridge (the original 200 grain cartridge, aka .380"/200), I have not tried that yet, but plan to do so in the future.

I really like my .380" Victory Model. When it comes to shooting .38 Specials, that is were my 1960's era Model 10-5 comes in at. No, I don't think your revolver was a mistake.
Thanks
Mark

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Welcome to the forum! Do not despair, give it a try at the range and see if the 38 special shoots ok, if not give the 38 S&W a go. If it turns out to shoot well you have a nice shooter thats a bit different from the norm. I personally like the odd ball revolver now and again. Plus I find this sort of thing to be an educational experiance. Believe me no one starts out an expert and I myself would like to rise to the exhaulted level of "talented amature"! Post a range report when you shoot it!

 

[walnutred]

Like others have said, if it was mine I'd try it at the range before I condemned it. I have a 38 Special Victory with chambers so loose three of the six will chamber 38 S&W cartridges. I do not know if it became this way due to excessive cleaning or poor wartime quality control. You will know if you have tight extraction problems if something is amiss.

 

[H Richard]

You asked if replacing the cylinder with a 38 Special cylinder was an option. Yes, it is relatively easily done if you can find a cylinder of similar vintage (Victory in 38 Special). I did one about a year ago, be sure to keep the original extractor star, rod, etc. and fit to the new cylinder, and it should time up just fine. Some will need a little more fitting which is a job for a gunsmith. I shoot mostly HBWC and they are satisfactorily accurate through the larger bore as the Hollow Base expands out to fill the groves in the bore. Try Numerich for a replacement cylinder, or in the "Want to buy" column here.

 

[da gimp]

Quit it on the .38 S&W vs .38S&W spec, ya got me scurrying around

looking @ the barrels markings of our older pistols,( that we've shot 4 years with no problems I might add).We've never had one of the .38-200 conversions to .38 S&W spec, but am (probably) glad that you brought this up.


da gimp

OFC, Mo. Chapter

NRA Life Endowment

 

[Skepsis]

I managed to sneak in some range time today and discovered that... the aftermarket grips are too small comfort

Seriously - that was the only shortcoming this gun demonstrated, which comes as a real relief. Not one case in 50 (just basic 38 special ammo) showed any signs of distress, let alone splitting. Accuracy at 25 feet was entirely satisfactory and the grouping was about as good as I'm capable of with any of my other firearms. In short, if my research hadn't indicated that there might be a problem, then my range experience today would have left me none the wiser.

Thanks all for the thoughts and advice. As it now stands, it looks like my concerns were for naught (and I count myself lucky in this, as clearly not everyone's experience is so positive with these particular guns.)

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Hooray! Glad to hear it worked out for you. I know what you mean about the grips, have a nice reblued 1905 4th that I put on grips the same as your's except mine have the S&W medallions for some odd reason.

 

[walnutred]

Sounds good. If the factory ammo worked out OK you probably will not notice any other potential problems until you start reloading. As you resize your brass a few time you might run into a higher percentage of case splits during the resizing. I would not personally worry too much about it as 38 Special brass is cheap and easy to find.

These conversions really have to be evaluated on a case by case basis regarding shootability.

 

[Art Doc]

I hadn't thought about it until now but I think current factory 38 Special ammo is loaded so mild that there likely isn't enough chamber pressure to actually expand the cases upon firing. Cases used to split in these modified guns back in the 1960s and 1970s when ammo was loaded to normal standards unlike now where it has all been down-loaded on advice of counsel.

Max for the 38 Special is 21,500 PSI and current ammo is loaded to about 16,500. The much feared and legendary +P is a paltry 18,500. I find that +P cases do not expand enough to seal the chambers so it probably would not swell or split, either.

Factory 38 Special ammo is truly pathetic.

I guess we can stop telling folks with these reamed Victory Models to avoid 38 Specials. Just stick to the weak-ass factory ammo (including +P as it's only slightly less weak-ass) and they won't have any problems.