S& W .38 cal. ammo query

[nutsforsmiths]

Hovnnes is correct about the Fiocchi being hotter. I shot some of it and some Remington through my British Victory and Terrier on the same day. The Fiocchi was much hotter then the Remington. I wouldn't shoot it out of any old top breaks. I have no problem shooting the Remington and Winchester out of top breaks though.

Personally, I was tired of searching for 38 S&W, so I started reloading for it about a year ago. It has been great. Reloading is the way to go with this one.

 

[TACC1]

NATCHEZ SHOOTER SUPPLIES

Natchez is listing 2 different types of 38 S&W, at this time.
Ammo to go showed backorder.
Oldwesternscrounger was out as well.
I've gotten this ammo at ammotogo, (dominion), and older stuff
thru GunBroker.
TACC1

 

[Maximumbob54]

If published information can be beiieved, not all .38S&W ammo is enemic. Fiocchi & Norma list higher velocities than Winchester & Remington---I wouldn't want to run these through a fine old top break Smith.
If you want to handload, the proper bullet moulds are kind of scarce but Missouri Bullets sells the right diameter146 grain RN in bulk.

Buy a 9mm Makarov mold and size it down.

 

[old top break]

I can't seem to find .38 ammo for my early hammerless that is posted in another thread here. Anyone have any ideas as too where I can find ammo for this pistol? I have done a pretty extensive search on the internet, but there doesn't seem to be any to be found. almost every site has only .38 Special ammo.
Anyone with an idea of where I can find ammo please feel free to post it.

I picked up around 100+ loose rounds of 38 SW at a local gun show 2 weeks ago. Most of it was old blackpowder rounds, about 2/3. The old guy sold it to me for 50 cents/round. If you go to gun shows and pick through the cans and boxes of loose old ammo, you will invariably find 32SW and 38SW ammo. I shot all the bp ammo and about 1/2 of it was duds, the ones that did fire were really fun to shoot, and accurate too. More importantly, I got the brass and now I can reload it. FWIW, you can reload 38SW using 38 Special dies, I just did this week, about 50 rounds, fired 15 rounds and it was quite accurate. I used the old lead from the duds and 2 grains of Unique with new primers. A very pleasurable gun and cartridgeto shoot, from 2nd and 3rd model DA's 1800's vintage.

Other than that, you can get new 38SW ammo from MIDWAY USA, with soft lead bullets. I would not use jacketed copper bullets as the increased friction may stretch the frame. It's your decision if your gun is strong enough to shoot it, if it's an SW gun most likely it is strong enough. BUT, I'd prefer to reload my own and load it down to 2 grains powder, and save my gun. The new rounds I took apart had 2.5 grains of powder, maybe a tad too hot for a 130 year old gun. I reduce them to 2 grains and reassemble the round.

 

[dogngun]

FWIW, Fiocchi and Magtech make very good ammo

and about half the price of US brands. I just bought Fiocchi .32 S&W long wadcutters online, and I have a box of Magtech .38 S&W LRNS bought from Cabellas locally.
Very reliable, accurate, good reloadable brass.

mark
Added; The Fiocchi .32 long runs around 80 FPS faster than US brands.

 

[old top break]

ps- check gunbroker, NOS boxes of old ammo often go for only $20/box or less

 

[maccpd]

I know this might not be the right thread to ask but has anyone loaded .38 S&W cases with .38SPL bullets then ran them though a .38SPL or .357?

 

[DWalt]

The .38 S&W case would probably not chamber in the .38 Special as it is a little larger in diameter. If it fits in your chambers, it would be safe to shoot, but I don't see any reason to do this as .38 Special ammo is far easier to find than .38 S&W.

I have fired .38 Super ammunition, which has close to the same case diameter as .38 S&W, in my .357 Magnum revolver, but some brands of .38 Super will not fit into the chambers.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

Speaking of 38 Super; I receive a free set of 38 Super dies for my Dillon 550 about three years ago. I was getting ready to buy a set of 38 S&W dies and noticed that RCBS sells these dies and they are marked 38 S&W/38 Super. They are the only die manufacturer that I could find that lists both calibers using the same dies.

I called Midway to ask them about that and if I could use the 38 Super dies I already had. He checked with a couple of people there and he said yes, they are the same dies!

So, I have been reloading my 38 S&W rounds using Dillon 38 Super dies and there have been zero problems.

Just thought someone out there might be interested.

 

[DWalt]

I have used .38 Super dies for loading .38 S&W for about 40 years, no exaggeration. All you need is the right shellholder. Some made for the .38 Special will work for the .38 S&W, and some won't. Lee's will work with both, at least in my experience. I also load .38 Super and 9X23mm with the same die set. I've seen that 9X19mm dies will also work OK for .38 S&W, but I have not tried that.

Also, I've always used lead .357-.358" dia. bullets in the .38 S&W and they work fine. No need for any special diameter bullets.

 

[gunsmithd]

Looked on Ammo to go and didn't see any .38 S&W, but I saw some .32 S&W.

Edit* It might be more cost effective to reload these bullets. Although, the Hornady 3 die set is $90, if you can find a dealer.

 

[LouisianaMan]

Just checked Bass Pro on-line: they have Remington 146g LRN in-stock for $29.99, which is $2 more than their price for Remington .38 SPL 158g LRN.