.38 S&W Special CTG

M

mrcharlie3531

New member
I just recently purchased this .38 S&W. I had a couple of questions about the ammo. I was told along as the special is on the barrel, It will accept .38 ammo. I assume it is not a good idea to use a heave grain bullet in a older gun.

The is nickel plated with original grips. The serial# is 5544xx. The barrel is 6". I am curious to know how old it is. Thank you

Semper Fi

Charlie

http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag121/Mrcharlie3531/th_001_zpsb211ceaa.jpg
 
Someone with a copy of the big book will come along and give you an idea of when it was made (I'm going to guess somewhere in the 1930s) but with regards to ammo-- don't use anything marked "+P" in it. As for heavier grain bullet...that's not an issue. You'd be best served by shooting exposed lead (unjacketed) bullets in it.

Actually, in certain scenarios, lighter weight bullet loads are much more punishing on some handguns. It's more a .357 Magnum thing that doesn't really relate to your revolver. But it's worth noting that bullet weight is but one part of the tales of a load. A heavy bullet at a loping pace typically ends up being a "soft" load, for both the handgun and the shooter holding it.
 
The CTG is "cartridge", as part of the caliber stamped on the barrel. It's not a model designation.

The .38 S&W Special means it's chambered for exactly that, which includes all bullet weights commercially offered.
It's pressures, not bullet weights, that you need to be concerned with.
Avoid +P loads, as Sevens says, and I'd agree on limiting it to lead to prolong barrel rifling life.
Denis
 
If it is a .38 S&W it will not take a .38 spcl. They are too long, and more narrow than the .38 S&W. If you find some .38 Colt New Police (good luck) it will load those as well.
 
M&P's from that time era were chambered in 38 Special.
It was the lend lease M&P's around WWII that were chambered in 38 S&W.

Jim
 
If the barrel's stamped .38 S&W Special CTG, that's what it shoots.
If it's stamped .38 S&W CTG, that's what it shoots.
Denis
 
+P ammo is the solution to a problem that doesn't exist, wasted money no matter the gun. Lighter loads are NEVER more effective than heavy loads, especially in 357mag. Your gun was designed for 158gr lead bullets. Stick with them, you won't be disappointed.
 
+P ammo is the solution to a problem that doesn't exist, wasted money no matter the gun. Lighter loads are NEVER more effective than heavy loads, especially in 357mag. Your gun was designed for 158gr lead bullets. Stick with them, you won't be disappointed.
Click to expand...
I've never seen anyone argue that standard pressure rounds are every bit as good for defense as +P rounds in .38 special. There may be adequate loads in standard pressure cartridges but just as good as +P? I am curious as to your reasoning.
 
.38 Special +P runs up a bit more pressure than the standard .38 Special (18.5k psi vs 17k) but achieves higher velocity by using lighter bullets. So it basically is the old "slow and heavy" vs "fast and light" argument that will never be settled unless or until the "progressives" confiscate all our guns and herd us off to the death camps.

With the relatively small difference in pressure, there are likely not many guns that would be OK with standard ammo, but would damaged by firing +P. Still, with older guns, I will weigh in on the side of caution.

(+P+, though, is a whole different ball game; some boxes advise use only in revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum.)

Jim
 
Nope, you can find +Ps in 158s, and 158s have been the "standard" .38 Special bullet weight for several decades.
They don't achieve their higher velocities ONLY in lighter bullets.
Denis
 
Correct, and my error. But my point was that those "hot" +P loads are mainly hot air. The velocity is not significantly greater than that of "standard" loads with the same bullet weight. I have loaded hundreds of .38 Specials with a lot more power than anything off the shelf and never had any problems.

Still I have a Model 1899 S&W that I would not feel comfortable shooting with any +P load.

Jim
 
The other day I was at academy and they had 6 boxes of cci blazer aluminum +p 38 spl.

I bought the whole lot of it and was darn glad they had it. Now I'm darn glad I have it.
 
How come they don't make a 38 S&W + P aka 38/200 + P. I mean, someone would need the MORE POWER advantage for their 100 year old revolver, right?
 
"How come they don't make a 38 S&W + P aka 38/200 + P. I mean, someone would need the MORE POWER advantage for their 100 year old revolver, right?"

They do.

It's called the .38 Special. :rolleyes:


:p
 
.38 Special is not a hotter .38 S&W, it's a hotter .38 Long Colt.
There is no familial relationship between the .38 S&W and .38 Special.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top