.38 caliber is a frequently used name for the
caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore ma ...
of
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s and
firearm cartridges.
The .38 is considered a large firearm cartridge; anything larger than .32 is considered a large caliber.
[Wright, James D.; Rossi, Peter H.; Daly, Kathleen. (1983) ''Under the Gun: Weapons, Crime and Violence in America'' Hawthorne, New York: Aldine de Gruyter. .] Before 1990, the standard sidearms of police in the United States were revolvers that fired the
.38 Special cartridge, seconded by revolvers firing the
.357 Magnum, a lengthened version of the .38 Special.
Handgun cartridge table
:
See also
*
9 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-cen ...
*
38 (disambiguation)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:38
Pistol and rifle cartridges