Guns for .38 S & W caliber

[Dude]

Over the years, I've really enjoyed shooting revolvers chambered for .38 S&W at the range. Typically when I go shooting, I'll shoot .22, then I'll shoot 9mm, and then I'll shoot something old and interesting for a bit. When I owned an Enfield No 2 Mk 1*, I really enjoyed it. Now, I have a Smith & Wesson British Service Revolver and I like shooting that too. The .38 S&W cartridge is mild and accurate.

Now I'm wondering what other guns are chambered for the old cartridge? Can anyone recommend any specific models chambered for .38 S&W that they like or share any pics? Thanks!

 

[Absalom]

If you want to shoot a real classic, find a S&W Regulation Police .38 or a Colt Police Positive .38. These compact 4" revolvers were designed for the times when open duty belts with holsters were uncommon for city police and officers had to stuff their service guns into a pocket somewhere.

Both are .38's on frames dimensioned more for .32's, so they'll kick more than your Enfield or BSR (the latter of which had a frame dimensioned for the .38 Special and was actually "overbuilt" for the .38 S&W load).

 

[Cal44]

I'd like to have one of the J or I frame Terriers -- snub with a 2" barrel.

The I frames are even smaller and lighter than the J frames and with a good 38 S&W round from Buffalo Bore or a handload would be a potent little pocket weapon.

 

[BUFF]

S&W made a lot of guns in .38 S&W before WWII, single action and double action break tops, the afore mentioned .38 Regulation Police and .38/22 Terrier on the I frame. After WWII, just in the model number years, they made the Model 32, Model 33 (I frames), Model 32-1 and 33-1 (J frames) and the Model 11, which looks just like a tapered barrel 4 inch Military & Police/Model 10. Doubtlessly, there were more I am not aware of. You could buy a new .38 S&W (if you could find one) for a long, long time. After the introduction of the J frame, which could be chambered in .38 Special, demand for .38 S&W just sort of faded away.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

Well... I have this.



It dates to the late 1870s but is a single action only revolver.
Then there's this.



A little newer, perhaps 1890ish, a New Departure, or Safety Hammerless , but it's a DA only. So let's move on to something newer still.



It's the one on the bottom, a Perfected. Something from the beginning of the 20th century, it can be fired SA or DA but still has that early top break frame design from the 1800s.

But wait another decade and this becomes available!



A solid frame hand ejector, the 38 Regulation Police! This one is an early 3 digit serial number dating to mid 1917.

The 38 S&W cartridge certainly is an enjoyable round to shoot. I reload light loads using either Trailboss or Bullseye and the same home cast 158 gr round nose bullets used in my 38 Specials. They work fine despite being slightly undersized in diameter.
Used to have a nice late model 32-1 Terrier.



But it got traded away for a model 39 which then got traded for the Regulation Police so I guess it came full circle, caliber wise.

John

 

[ddixie884]

The I-frame Terriers in .38S&W are neat.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The S&W Terrier and Regulation Police are nice revolvers. If you can find one you will really like them.

Right now I have an Enfield I like shooting but for the extremely heavy trigger. I load up a short base 170 bullet from a H&G #512 mold or a 38/200 load using a bullet from a Lyman #358430 mold. Both are great rounds to shoot.

It seems I didn't take a picture of a loaded 38/200 round, sorry.
Here are two photos of the 170gr bullet and loaded round:

 

[wlewisiii]

The S&W Perfected is my grail gun in .38 S&W. I'd love to find one that is in good mechanical condition but is perhaps cosmetically challenged so that I can afford it and take it to the range regularly.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

The WWII British Lend Lease Victory model would be a winner. I really enjoy my 33-1. Happy hunting!

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I have a Model 32, the numbered model that followed the Terrier, but I don't have a picture of it. I also have this Fourth Model Safety Hammerless that shoots .38 S&W.

 

[DocB]

All these posts are great and really cover the waterfront. I buy every nice 38 S&W I can find. . .even the top breaks. The challenge is to find the early ones (pre 1920ish) with a shiny mint bore and cylinders. Both this Colt and this Smith fit the bill. Not perfect on the outside, but perfect internally. They may keep on shooting forever.

 

[raljr1]

I have a couple Colts, a Smith and an Enfield in 38 S&W....The Colts and Smith are fun to shoot. The Enfield is so inaccurate and the trigger pull so heavy that I always told my son that the only reason they gave those to officers was so that they could take one or two with them at point blank when the breached the trenches.

 

[jmace57]

I was going to suggest an English Webley.

 

[Grayfox]

I've had this Regulation Police for quite some time. Its been a fine little gun.

Sadly, the arthritis in my hands is gettin' to where this tiny I-frame is just too small for me to get a good grip on. I've tried to sell it, but no luck. I guess it takes a special person to appreciate the .38 S&W.

 

[STCM(SW)]

This is mine.

S/N 44821,letters to Oct. 15, 1913 it was shipped.


Yea, and General Patton would think I was a pimp from New Orleans......

 

[Engine49guy]

.38 S&W Terriers from 1950 and 1955

 

[ddixie884]

Those are both really nice. THANX for sharing.......

 

[Richard L Rice]

There are a host of Harington and Richardson revolvers in 38 S&W and they can be found in 38s Black Powder as well as Smokeless.

 

[wlewisiii]

I've had this Regulation Police for quite some time. Its been a fine little gun.

Sadly, the arthritis in my hands is gettin' to where this tiny I-frame is just too small for me to get a good grip on. I've tried to sell it, but no luck. I guess it takes a special person to appreciate the .38 S&W.

I read that and all I can say is that I really hate being broke. I hope you find someone that will give it as good a home as I'd love to...

 

[Grayfox]

wlewisiii: Just so happens that I finally did find a buyer a few days ago. A local guy is putting together what he calls his "Bonnie & Clyde Collection". He was thrilled to get it and I was glad to let him have it. My profit on the sale was less than $20. But what the hell? I can't shoot it anymore and I know its new owner truly appreciates it. We're both happy.

 

[Weimar]

Grayfox, I hear that. I have a Regulation I have been trying to sell. Guess I will just keep it for the next Allentown show.

Anyway, these 38 S&W are nice, only one I shot was an Enfield, but somehow I ended up with 200-300 rounds so guess I should go shooting

Ed

 

[DWalt]

Aside from S&W, one of my favorite fun guns is a ca. 1964 H&R Defender top break in .38 S&W with a 4" barrel. Much less common than those with 2" barrels. It even has adjustable sights. It groups as well as any other revolver I have. H&R and many other lesser-known manufacturers such as Iver Johnson made a gigantic assortment of .38 S&W revolvers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

A guy at church came up to me recently and handed me a paper bag with a partial box of .38 S&W, and some .38 Spec and some .357 mag hulls. He said the .38 S&W wouldn't go in the cylinder of his gun, so he brought them to me. He was trying to shoot them in his .38 Spec. I did a little snooping and found the reason why. They are about .005 larger than a .38 Spec. He said the others shot fine.

 

[DWalt]

.38 S&W cartridges do have a slightly larger case diameter than the .38 Special. Generally, .38 S&W ammunition cannot be chambered in a .38 Special revolver, but there have been reports that it can be done if the revolver has sloppier than normal chambers. None of my .38 Special revolvers will accept .38 S&W cartridges.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I have a Model 32, virtually new, the successor to the Terrier, but I have never taken a picture of it. I usually forget I even have it. Cool little gun in .38 S&W.

Then, of course, there is my 4th Model:

 

[ISCS Yoda]

.38 S&W cartridges do have a slightly larger case diameter than the .38 Special. Generally, .38 S&W ammunition cannot be chambered in a .38 Special revolver, but there have been reports that it can be done if the revolver has sloppier than normal chambers. None of my .38 Special revolvers will accept .38 S&W cartridges.

I hate to disabuse you of the above notion but it is not true. And I used to think that it was 100% correct.

While it may be true for some guns it is not the case for many. Now, maybe it's sloppy chambers, I dunno, but I made a bet with the owner of an LGS that .38 S&W would not drop into a .38 Special and I lost that bet on several guns and didn't win on any.

I did not go home and try it on any of my other .38s but next time I pull them out I'll give it a whirl.

I do know that a billion years ago I discovered that .38 S&W would NOT fit into my Model 19. Then someone taught me about .38 versus .357 caliber bullets and I swore by that until maybe two years ago when I lost that bet.

Oh, yeah, you just KNOW I am going to try it someday soon!!!!

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Now that I think about it, I once had an old Forehand & Wadsworth pocket pistol that was in .38 S&W and I still have a vintage H&R pocket pistol in .38 S&W. It shoots .38 Colt Shorts, too. I need to take pictures of these toys......

 

[Leslie Sapp]

Here's mine. A circa 1938 Terrier

 

[DWalt]

I hate to disabuse you of the above notion but it is not true. And I used to think that it was 100% correct.

While it may be true for some guns it is not the case for many. Now, maybe it's sloppy chambers, I dunno, but I made a bet with the owner of an LGS that .38 S&W would not drop into a .38 Special and I lost that bet on several guns and didn't win on any.

I did not go home and try it on any of my other .38s but next time I pull them out I'll give it a whirl.

I do know that a billion years ago I discovered that .38 S&W would NOT fit into my Model 19. Then someone taught me about .38 versus .357 caliber bullets and I swore by that until maybe two years ago when I lost that bet.

Oh, yeah, you just KNOW I am going to try it someday soon!!!!

Within SAAMI dimensional tolerances, a minimum .38 S&W round could chamber in a maximum .38 Special chamber. The SAAMI minimum .38 S&W case diameter is 0.3803" while the maximum .38 Special chamber diameter is 0.3849".

The nominal .38 S&W case diameter is 0.3863" while the nominal .38 Special chamber diameter is 0.3809" Clearly an interference situation.
_____________________
This question inspired me to make a simple statistical analysis based on SAAMI tolerances. Assuming a totally random distribution of case and chamber diameters using tolerances between SAAMI minimums and maximums (probably not a valid assumption, as manufacturing precision is likely much higher than the SAAMI dimensional tolerances allow), there is about a 24% probability that a random .38 S&W cartridge will fit into a random .38 Special chamber. I expected a much lower probability. It's best to say only that it is possible that a .38 S&W cartridge can sometimes be chambered in a .38 Special revolver, both of which are within SAAMI tolerances, and leave it at that.

As I have stated in several previous postings, it is conventional wisdom that a .38 S&W bullet should have a diameter of .360"-.361", and it is assumed that using any bullet diameter less than that will be undersized for the bore and will result in poor grouping performance. However, the SAAMI-established minimum bullet diameter for a .38 S&W (lead) bullet is .355". Therefore, it is satisfactory to use standard .357"-.358" diameter bullets commonly used in .38 Special ammunition for reloading the .38 S&W. Several of my older reloading manuals affirm that, providing .38 S&W data using .357" bullets.

 

[Dude]

Great posts! I almost bought an I-frame about a year ago, but it sure didn't seem to have much rifling in the barrel.