Author Topic: please HELP what diameter buletts should i buy for. 38 S& (Read 321 times)

opatriot · « **on:** April 20, 2006, 07:10:32 PM »

Gday friends....can anyone help ...what diameter bullets should i purchase to reload 38 S&W ......i know the factory rounds come in 147 grain ....but dont know what the factory diameter is ???? 357 ???...........................thanx ...davey

mjbgalt · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2006, 07:20:36 PM »

yep... .357 is the correct diameter.

-Matt

opatriot · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2006, 07:26:18 PM »

Thankyou kindly ..matt ......i wasnt shure because 147 grain is not common in 347 diameter.....it is in the 355 diameter 9mm ......thanx ...davey

Mikey · « **Reply #3 on:** April 21, 2006, 02:20:16 AM »

Ummmm, opatriot - somewhere in the back of my mind I recall the diameter of the 38 S&W to vary from .354 to .360 and that they most often used the .360 slug. I would do two things - I would first slug your barrel to find out what the bore diameter actually is on that revolver and I would also mic out the chamber mouths to make certain you have a consistency between the chamber mouth and the bore. For example - if your chamber mouths mic out at 358 and your bore is 360 you might not get good accuracy as the largest slug you could shoot would be 358 (but there are lots of .358 slugs avilable out there). If you get a good match twixt the chamber mouth and the bore, you can use 360 slugs.

BTW - the Brits called that round the 38-200 when it was loaded with a 200 gn lead rn bullet at only 600'/sec from a 4" Webley revolver - but it hit very hard and the Brits considered the 38-200 to be as combat effective as their 455 round. HTH. Mikey.

opatriot · « **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2006, 09:46:39 AM »

Thanx Mikey for the info...interesting info on brits .....this revolver was handed to me from gramps ...its a 38 S&W police special , nice condition ....looks like its from dick tracey erra ....been plinkin with it ...seems reliable and fun to shoot ........i put a mic to the chamber mouths and they read .359 - .360 ... but i duno what slug the barrel means ??..sure is a sloooooow round at 600' per sec..........like throwin a stone .....but i suppose it would do some terminal damage to fleshy critters....do ya think i can load 160 grain bullets or would that push me to long ???? thanx ..davey

Mikey · « **Reply #5 on:** April 22, 2006, 03:08:45 PM »

OPATRIOT: If your chamber mouths mic to .359 - .360, then you can shoot bullets up to .360 diameter. I checked my older Lyman manual and the diameter of the cast bullets for that caliber run up to .360.

Slugging the barrel means taking a soft lead slug, or fishing sinker or the like close to your suspected bore diameter and pushing it through the barrel so it takes a full imprint of the rifling and measure it to determine the diameter.

A 200 gn 38 caliber round nose soft lead bullet really does not have to be moving much faster than 600'/sec to be effective. Yes, they are slooow but thump surprisingly hard when they hit. I can remember shooting 200 gn rn 38 Specials from a snub-nose and seeing them fly downrange - it was a hoot (but ya learned to call your shots really well - lololol)....

You should not have any problems by going up from a 147 gn to 160 gn slug. The first step down from 200 gns the Brits made was to 177 gn and later due to the liability concerns over the older American made breaktop revolvers the slug was dropped in weight to 147 gns.

Your Colt revolver should be able to handle slugs right up to the 200 gn load without problem, if it is good condition. Even though you have shot it you should still have it checked by a gunsmith to make sure it is sound. HTH. Mikey.