Caliber Question

What about the Fiocchi FMJ .38 CORTO S&W? Can this "short shell" be shot in a .38 special? What type of revolvers can shoot this type of ammo?
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Refer to my answer in the "Revolver" forum for the first half of your question. I believe it's .38 S&W, which is not compatible with .38 Special because of a slightly larger-diameter case and bullet.

Regarding which types of guns can use it, there were numerous vintage revolvers made in this caliber, but AFAIK all of them were discontinued by the late 70s. Smith & Wesson used it in the .38 Double Action top-break, .38 Safety Hammerless top-break aka New Departure aka "Lemon Squeezer", .38/32 Terrier aka Model 32*, and .38 Regulation Police aka Model 33. Colt initially called this cartridge the ".38 Colt New Police" because they didn't want to put their archrival's name on their guns. :rolleyes: Colts in this caliber include the Model 1892 New Army & Navy, Police Positive, Commando, Official Police, and Detective Special, although most of these models were also offered in other calibers. The cartridge was also used in some older H&R and Iver Johnson top-breaks, but I'm not very familiar with their product lineups.

*One of the ironies of S&W's sometimes illogical and confusing model numbering system is that their Model 32 was a .38. ;)
 
Nomeclature

Not much in this world, except Obama's popularity, makes less sense than cartridge nomenclature. Simply put as an example is the 38 Special. Nothing about it is "38" Why not 357 special, 357 magnum and 357 maximum? Simple, easy to grasp and to me, puts it all in perspective. And so it goes....
 
"Nothing about it is "38"

Well, not entirely true...

With a bullet seated, the maximum diameter of the case mouth is nominally .38...

The name is actually a hold over...

The .38 Special was developed as an improved, more powerful version of the then military standard .38 Long Colt round.

As originally developed, the .38 Long Colt, and the .38 Short Colt, DID have nominally .38 caliber bullets. They were heeled, not unlike today's .22 Long Rifle bullets.

Around the time the military adopted the .38 Long Colt, the bullet style was switched from heeled to a bullet that had an overall diameter the same as the heel, or .357.

To deal with the older guns that had the larger bores, there was a big hollow in the base of the bullet, forming a skirt. On firing, the skirt was supposed to expand to take the rifling. It more or less worked.
 
Interesting points raised.

I was under the assumption that the point of measurement of the 9mm and .380 was different. The 9mm is measuring the bullet diameter and the .380 from measuring the chamber inside diameter that the round is fired in (or is it the maximum case diameter?). Yes? No?

So, the diameter 0.380" is larger than the diameter 9mm and that can easily confuse those that are just figuring out guns. And that's why the ".38" can be shot from a ".357" even though it sounds like they wouldn't fit.

jb
 
If I understand your question correctly.... no.

The .380 ACP uses a bullet that is about... .355-.358 in diameter.

John Browning apparently chose the name .380 because the .38 was a well underdstood concept to American shooters.
 
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