Help Identifying Ammo

[FirstTristan]

Hi. I just recently got given some old .38 ammo. The box says," 38 smith & Wesson 145 grain lubaloy." I need help finding out when it was made, what gun, and the price. Also the same on my 44 hollow point ammo. Thanks

 

[didactic]

Somebody more knowledgeable might chime in, but the .38 S&W ammo looks to me like from the '60's or '70's. It is made for older revolvers; it's less powerful than .38 Special, with a case shorter and a few thousanths of an inch wider than that cartridge. It should not, and normally will not, chamber in a .38 Special cylinder.
It will fit many of the old top-break revolvers, and the .38 K-frames made for the Brits in WWII days. It would be wise to have any old gun checked out before attempting to fire it.
It's loaded with smokeless powder, but to relatively low pressure so it SHOULDN'T damage the old guns. IF IT HAS HAD GOOD STORAGE, it should be safe to fire, if you get access to one of those revolvers and care to shoot it.
I probably would, but you should be extremely cautious about checking for a clear barrel before firing a second shot if you get a suspected squib (less noise and recoil than normal) discharge.
About the .44 Special, it can be fired in any .44 Special or .44 Magnum firearm in good condition. Same caveat about a squib load, more likely if ammo looks corroded, or if it has been exposed to oil or excessive heat in storage.

Again, this info is subject to revision from anybody more knowledgeable.

 

[Arik]

The 38 is 38s&w also known as 38/200. It is NOT the same as 38 special. The two types of rounds DO NOT interchange. It's not a popular cartridge anymore but some companies still make limited runs of it. It was used in British Webley revolvers and S&W K frame revolvers of which many were sent to England during WW2.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[elpac3]

From the pictures of the .38 western boxes, I see three different loads with two different case types. The semi wadcutters to me, would appear to be reloads as I am not familiar with Western producing loads with that bullet style.

 

[FirstTristan]

Somebody more knowledgeable might chime in, but the .38 S&W ammo looks to me like from the '60's or '70's. It is made for older revolvers; it's less powerful than .38 Special, with a case shorter and a few thousanths of an inch wider than that cartridge. It should not, and normally will not, chamber in a .38 Special cylinder.
It will fit many of the old top-break revolvers, and the .38 K-frames made for the Brits in WWII days. It would be wise to have any old gun checked out before attempting to fire it.
It's loaded with smokeless powder, but to relatively low pressure so it SHOULDN'T damage the old guns. IF IT HAS HAD GOOD STORAGE, it should be safe to fire, if you get access to one of those revolvers and care to shoot it.
I probably would, but you should be extremely cautious about checking for a clear barrel before firing a second shot if you get a suspected squib (less noise and recoil than normal) discharge.
About the .44 Special, it can be fired in any .44 Special or .44 Magnum firearm in good condition. Same caveat about a squib load, more likely if ammo looks corroded, or if it has been exposed to oil or excessive heat in storage.

Again, this info is subject to revision from anybody more knowledgeable.

Thanks man helped a lot

 

[FirstTristan]

And yes the second box are reloads

 

[FirstTristan]

Also should I sell for regular pricing or a little more expensive

 

[elpac3]

The .44 specials are a current productin item so nothing really too special there.

For pricing, you might want to canvas a few sites such as Gun Broker to see what the market is generally getting.

 

[deadin]

Were they mine I would pull down the suspected reloads. There's no way of knowing just what is in there........

 

[DWalt]

Your Yellow boxes are probably from the 1960s, and the top box is reloads. The .44 Box is probab;ly from the 1980s. I could date them precisely were the lot numbers provided. HOWEVER, regarding value, they would be fairly priced as just the same as ammunition made yesterday. The box condition is not good enough and they are too new to warrant any premium value to ammunition collectors. In short, their highest and best use is for playing "Shoot 'em Up."