Where can I buy fresh .38-44 ammo online?

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Doug.38PR

Moderator
I'm looking to try some .38-44 ammo in my Colt Official Police as maybe a defense or outdoors round. Where can I find it online fresh and at a good price?

Also, why don't the large ammo makers (Federal, PMC, UMC, etc) still make this high powered round? It is more powerful than the .38+P.

Thanks

Doug
 
Let's see, you want an obsolete cartridge cheaply and conveniently, right?

The first reason nobody makes original type .38-44 ammo is that, as you say, it was apparently more powerful than current .38 +P, so it would have to be labeled +P+ for which there is no real standard to go by. That would open the maker up to liability for wearing out guns. A few small operators are willing to do that but not the major manufacturers, not without a government purchase order and waiver.
The second reason is, that no matter how fast you crank up a 158 grain lead roundnose, it is not going to be a whole lot more effective. Trends and technology have gone towards light hollowpoints.

Mostly. Buffalo Arms sells a 158 grain lead hollowpoint at 1000 fps at a +P rating. Whatever they do to make that happen, you will be paying a dollar a pop for.
http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#38spl

Probably just as well. According to Colt at the time, the Official Police was rated for .38-44 and other similar high velocity Specials. But then you could get parts and service. A high end factory load is not going to blow up your OP but steady use will put some additional wear on it. Who will you get to overhaul it if it loosens up? I sure don't know.

I recommend getting some of the BA chili peppers (as Col Charles Askins used to say) for when it really counts. Shoot some for familiarization and zero and save the rest for when your neck is on the line. Practice with something ordinary.

There is always handloading. A +P handbook load will exceed 900 fps with a 158 grain lead bullet in a real revolver, not a test barrel. Lead. Even .38 +P+ pressures are not going to get the velocity out of a jacketed bullet that they will with greasy lead. This will call for some extra cleaning but that is the price you will pay for top performance from what started out as a black powder cartridge.
 
There Has Been No 38/44 Ammunition Manufactured Since The Day

The 357MAGNUM was introduced, April 1, 1935 if memory serves. This is also why GOD and Fred huntington invented loading presses and loading dies.
I have just finished a run of well over 5,000 rounds of 38SPL heavy loads for use in my heavy frame 38SPL sixguns.
Incidently, your COLT OFFICIAL POLICE was not considered a heavy frame revolver in it's day for use with the original 38-44 factory loaded cartridges. The 38-44 cartridge was invented for the SMITH&WESSON HEAVY DUTY and the SMITH&WESSON 38 OUTDOORSMAN.
 
if you want that hot of a load you will have to reload it yourself. if you want factory ammo that meets those specs get a 357 mag
 
You can't buy 38/44 ammo because all factory ammo, particularly .38 Special, has been down loaded in the past 25 years because of people blowing up their cheap, pot-metal guns in this caliber and suing the ammo companies. If you asked Remington or Winchester to make new 38/44 ammo they would laugh. You will have to load your own. You should do this, anyway, regardless of factory ammo offerings.
 
Fresh? No source. NOS? The Old Western Scrounger. You can use +P loading data and make your own. The old Colt PPs and OPs were able and capable of running with S&Ws offerings. I do agree that any HOT loads will speed wear. You can safely shoot the hotter loads. You should not use them regularly for extensive target shooting. You can carry them in the field and use them if needed while out and about. I have only seen AP armour piercing 38-44 factory packed NOS cartridges lately. I believe they were $125.00 a box.
 
Modern +P .38 Special ammo doesn't even come close to the original 38-44 loading. A +P is usually a 125 at 975 FPS or a 158 at 925 FPS. The original 38-44 load was a 158 at around 1150-1200 FPS. Some older reloading manuals will list duplicates of this load but not the newer ones.

The bad news about the 38-44 was that it was a soft lead bullet that leaded the bore badly. My favorite .38 Special load for defense (yes, I carry handloads) is a 125 JHP at 1200 FPS and this load came from a manual published in the 1970s. Newer books don't go near this level.
 
If you search the collectors sites you can find some original 38/44 ammo. Just keep in mind that it has not been made fresh since around 1940 or so. Maybe you might find some special police runs into the 50's but I have not. The last stuff I bought was $2/round.

I think the buffalo bore or Double Tap may be the best chance at getting a modern equivalent.

By the way, out of a 5" HD you should expect 1060 fps on a 158 lead round. Out of a 6.5" outdoorsman you can expect around 1120 fps with the same 158 grn lead round.

Good luck.
 
Colt OP

The Offical Police was absolutely NOT for the 38/44 or similar loads. Colt's New Service , an even larger revolver than the bigh S&W guns. was chambered for the 38/44.

I would strongly urge you not to shoot any 38/44 you might find in an Official Police.

FWIW

Chuck



Well I was told by other posters like Sir William, Jim Watson, and DFarriswheel that the Official Police was indeed rated for .38-44 use.
 
John Taffin has some kind words for the .38/44 in this article:

http://www.sixguns.com/range/Toogood.htm

Bear in mind, that the .38/44 was just a souped up .38 Special, designed by S&W to be shot in their N frame six shooters.

Some years back, I had been gifted with a quantity of .38 Remington Nickle cases. I worked up a load using a Speer 146 gr SWHP bullet, and a lot of SR4756 powder. That load gave over 1350 fPS from a 6 inch Model 28 Smith. If you note, that is about what the 38/44 was turning out when handloaded back in the old days.
 
CXM, I have a book showing Colt ads from the 1930s and even the Police Positive Special, built on the same small frame as the Detective Special, was approved for using the 38-44 ammo. I doubt that the heavy framed Official Police (same frame size as the 357 magnum and Python, afterall) would have any trouble at all with 38-44 ammo.
 
Interestingly, most "+P+" .38 Spl ammunition from major makers is recommended to be fired only in revolvers that are rated for .357 Mag. (It was designed for departments that carried Magnum revolvers but who were prevented by political reasons from carrying Magnum ammunition. This "Magnum-in-all-but-name" stuff is probably the closest you can get in modern commercial ammo.)
 
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