I'm discovering a "new" caliber: 38S&W

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I have two 38 S&W and love that little cartridge. My first was an Iver Johnson Safety Automatic (second model)

T1iaAu0l.jpg

And then I got my 38/200 in a Webley Mark IV. For that I am using Matt's bullet to load a replica of the old Mk I 200gr hemispherical round nose load.

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Both are fun to shoot. Hit steel targets with those 200gr bullet going a blistering 600fps make a great whop sound.

The 38 S&W gun I really want now is an old S&W Terrier (I-Frame) in 38S&W. I saw one at a local pawn shop a few years ago in excellent shape and I am still kicking myself for passing on it.
 
mcb said:
I have two 38 S&W and love that little cartridge. My first was an Iver Johnson Safety Automatic (second model)

View attachment 808011

And then I got my 38/200 in a Webley Mark IV. For that I am using Matt's bullet to load a replica of the old Mk I 200gr hemispherical round nose load.

View attachment 808012

Both are fun to shoot. Hit steel targets with those 200gr bullet going a blistering 600fps make a great whop sound.

The 38 S&W gun I really want now is an old S&W Terrier (I-Frame) in 38S&W. I saw one at a local pawn shop a few years ago in excellent shape and I am still kicking myself for passing on it.
Click to expand...
Learn something new every day. I thought the Terrier was only in 32S&W.
 
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mcb said:
The 38 S&W gun I really want now is an old S&W Terrier (I-Frame) in 38S&W. I saw one at a local pawn shop a few years ago in excellent shape and I am still kicking myself for passing on it.
Click to expand...

That's where the brass/dies I mentioned earlier came from. I had a Terrier from 1952, my birth year, with a factory letter, on layaway at my LGS for a month or so, then changed my mind and canceled the layaway.

Still kick myself for that one from time to time. I haven't seen either another Terrier, or a 1952 gun since.
 
I picked up one of the Enfields early in the winter this year, and a Victory this summer. When I got the Enfield, I didnt yet have the dies for it, so I bought a box of 38 S&W. "Cheap" Remingtons at $35 a box! That was the one and only box of factory ammo I bought. Not paying that kind of ransom again. Starline brass is plentiful, as are bullets.

Ive been loading those same Matts 200 grain "Webley MKI's" MCB posted, and with good results. The 146 grain S&W's shoot high in both of the above guns. The 200 grain bullets over 2 grains of Unique shoot POA in both. Accurate and fun to shoot out of both.

158 grain .357 LSWC's are somewhere in the middle POA wise, but seem to work fine too. Those 200 grain bullets Matts has are the thing you want for the Victory, Enfield, and Webleys if you reload.


I also picked up a Colt Police Positive in 38 S&W a couple of months ago, and was going to shoot the 38/200's out of it, but had second thoughts when doing a little research. I believe the Brits got the Colt Official Police (slightly beefier gun) in 38/200. Didnt see any references to the PP being sent to them.

The PP seems quite "petite", especially when compared to the S&W and Enfield, and when I miked the barrel and chambers, found its "tight", and more of a .357 (actually, slightly less) than a .361, so Ive been shooting 158 LSWC's out of it. They seem to shoot well too. Didnt think pushing a heavy, .361 bullet through it was a good idea.

I had a PP in 38 Special as a kid. It was my first handgun and had belonged to an uncle who was a detective I the Philly PD and was his service gun. I dont remember it being as small as the one I just got in 38 S&W though, so I wonder if there wasnt a difference in the frames between the two, even though they were the same model.
 
AK103K said:
I picked up one of the Enfields early in the winter this year, and a Victory this summer. When I got the Enfield, I didnt yet have the dies for it, so I bought a box of 38 S&W. "Cheap" Remingtons at $35 a box! That was the one and only box of factory ammo I bought. Not paying that kind of ransom again. Starline brass is plentiful, as are bullets.

Ive been loading those same Matts 200 grain "Webley MKI's" MCB posted, and with good results. The 146 grain S&W's shoot high in both of the above guns. The 200 grain bullets over 2 grains of Unique shoot POA in both. Accurate and fun to shoot out of both.

158 grain .357 LSWC's are somewhere in the middle POA wise, but seem to work fine too. Those 200 grain bullets Matts has are the thing you want for the Victory, Enfield, and Webleys if you reload.


I also picked up a Colt Police Positive in 38 S&W a couple of months ago, and was going to shoot the 38/200's out of it, but had second thoughts when doing a little research. I believe the Brits got the Colt Official Police (slightly beefier gun) in 38/200. Didnt see any references to the PP being sent to them.

The PP seems quite "petite", especially when compared to the S&W and Enfield, and when I miked the barrel and chambers, found its "tight", and more of a .357 (actually, slightly less) than a .361, so Ive been shooting 158 LSWC's out of it. They seem to shoot well too. Didnt think pushing a heavy, .361 bullet through it was a good idea.

I had a PP in 38 Special as a kid. It was my first handgun and had belonged to an uncle who was a detective I the Philly PD and was his service gun. I dont remember it being as small as the one I just got in 38 S&W though, so I wonder if there wasnt a difference in the frames between the two, even though they were the same model.
Click to expand...

The Colt Army Special was renamed the Colt Official Police and it is a larger "K" frame size gun.

Colt Army Special (AkA Official Police) over the Colt Police Positive:
medium800.jpg
​
AbE: 10-19-2018 : Just to keep things confusing Smith & Wesson also offered a Registered Police model.
 
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Interesting to hear about your 38 S&W revolvers. I have a Webley my Dad bought from a bus driver in Seattle back in the 50's. It sat on the top shelf in our coat closet for years. Always wanted to shoot it. Then he gave it to my brother about the time I left home. Some years later my brother asked me if I wanted it. Yep! It has a wartime finish and is marked as such. Can't hit the broadside of a barn (from the inside!) with it, but it's fun. I also have my grandpa's Iver Johnson 38 S&W. It's so loose that I've never fired it. Some folks say they were all that way and that they lock up enough when cocked that they're safe. Me? I'm not so sure.
 
Krogen

I had one of those "War Time" finished Webleys that I gave to my brother for home defense because he didn't own any handguns. I just remember how rough the metal on that gun was with lots of sharp edges everywhere!
 
The 38 S&W is a sweet little pinker. My old Lemon Squeezer is more accurate than some of my more modern 38 Spl snub nose revolvers using light wad cutter loads, despite the minuscule sights. I’ve also shot a 1932 Enfield . Very pleasant. I got some 200 grain .38 S&W lead bullets (I think .360” or so...can’t remember) a while back to play with. Never got around to them... yet.
 
In Regards to stopping power: From Hatcher's Textbook "The following is quoted from a letter received from the Western Cartridge Company: " A policeman shot a hold up artist in East St Louis the other day with his Super Police. Hit him square in the center of the back at 75 yards which was a darn good shot. When the Coroner dug the bullet out of the crook he fond it more than half way through him and flattened on the point to about the size of a quarter. ..."" Circa 1935.
 
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