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The .38-40 Winchester (10.17x33mmR) is actually a .40 caliber (10 mm)
It is unclear why this cartridge was introduced, as it is very similar to the .44-40 from which it was derived. It has approximately less muzzle energy, and has a muzzle velocity about less than the .44-40. The bullet differs by only .026 inches in bullet diameter and in standard bullet weight from the original .44-40. The goal may have been to reduce recoil while maintaining a similar bullet sectional density. One unusual design element of this cartridge is that factory ammunition was loaded with a different case profile than the standard chamber for this cartridge, factory ammunition having a much longer neck than the standard chamber. Most reloading dies are designed to size fired brass to the chamber specification rather than that of the original factory ammunition case profile.
The renewed interest in this caliber can be explained by the increasing popularity of
, Midway 38–40 Winchester Super-X.
38 WCF , 38-40 caliber
Reloading .38 WCF for Rifles
The .38-40 - The ‘Frontier Forty’ — A sixgun/levergun natural
*
current 2019 Feb approved saami cartridge specifications #4, CENTER FIRE RIFLE, 2015/12/14 PDF, page 136 (148)
{{DEFAULTSORT:38-40 Winchester Pistol and rifle cartridges Rimmed cartridges Dual-purpose handgun/rifle cartridges Winchester Repeating Arms Company cartridges
intermediate cartridge
An intermediate cartridge is a rifle/ carbine cartridge that has significantly greater power than a pistol cartridge but still has a reduced muzzle energy compared to fully powered cartridges (such as the .303 British, 7.62×54mmR, 7.65×53 ...
shooting .401 in (10.2 mm) caliber bullets. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
in 1874 and is derived from their .44-40 Winchester. This cartridge was introduced for rifles, but in its reintroduction for cowboy action shooting
Cowboy action shooting (CAS, also known as Western action shooting, single action shooting, cowboy 3-gun, and Western 3-gun) is a competitive shooting sport that originated in 1981 at the Coto de Caza Shooting Range in Orange County, Califor ...
it has seen some popularity as a revolver cartridge. It is not particularly well suited to hunting larger game, but it was popular when it was introduced, along with the previous .44-40 Winchester, for deer hunting. It can be used successfully on smaller game animals, and for self-defense. Current loadings are intended for revolvers
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
.
Design and history
It is unclear why this cartridge was introduced, as it is very similar to the .44-40 from which it was derived. It has approximately less muzzle energy, and has a muzzle velocity about less than the .44-40. The bullet differs by only .026 inches in bullet diameter and in standard bullet weight from the original .44-40. The goal may have been to reduce recoil while maintaining a similar bullet sectional density. One unusual design element of this cartridge is that factory ammunition was loaded with a different case profile than the standard chamber for this cartridge, factory ammunition having a much longer neck than the standard chamber. Most reloading dies are designed to size fired brass to the chamber specification rather than that of the original factory ammunition case profile.
The renewed interest in this caliber can be explained by the increasing popularity of cowboy action shooting
Cowboy action shooting (CAS, also known as Western action shooting, single action shooting, cowboy 3-gun, and Western 3-gun) is a competitive shooting sport that originated in 1981 at the Coto de Caza Shooting Range in Orange County, Califor ...
and metallic silhouette
Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rif ...
shooting. Several single-action revolvers have recently been chambered for this cartridge, including the Ruger Vaquero
The Ruger Vaquero is a six-shot single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. based on the New Model Ruger Blackhawk frame and was introduced in 1993. It comes in blued steel, case colored, and a gloss stainless finish (the latter glo ...
. Most modern reloading data for this cartridge is found in the handgun section of reloading manuals.
Performance
Though introduced as an "all-around" cartridge, traditional sources suggest the .38–40 performs inadequately on deer. Ballistically, commercial 'cowboy' loads are similar to the much newer .40 S&W, sharing the bullet weight, and similar velocity. A limited number of hunting loads are available commercially, which produce about 25% more muzzle energy than the more common target ammunition., Midway 38–40 Winchester Super-X.
Dimensions
Synonyms
*.38-40 *.38-40 WCF *.38 CFW *.38 WCFSee also
*10 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Instances
* Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design
* ...
* .40 S&W
* 10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (also known as the 10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a powerful and versatile semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and l ...
* .41 Action Express
* List of rimmed cartridges
Below is a list of rimmed cartridges (R). Although similar, rimmed cartridges differ from rimfire cartridges (list). A rimmed cartridge is a cartridge with a rim, whose primer is located in the center of the case head; the primer is detonated by ...
* List of cartridges by caliber
Calibers in the size range of (mm, inches):
*2 mm caliber, 2 mm (.079+ caliber)
*3 mm caliber, 3 mm (.118+ caliber)
*4 mm caliber, 4 mm (.157+ caliber)
*5 mm caliber, 5 mm (.197+ caliber)
*6 mm caliber, 6 mm (.236+ caliber)
*7 mm caliber, 7 mm ...
* Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
References
External links
38 WCF , 38-40 caliber
Reloading .38 WCF for Rifles
The .38-40 - The ‘Frontier Forty’ — A sixgun/levergun natural
*
current 2019 Feb approved saami cartridge specifications #4, CENTER FIRE RIFLE, 2015/12/14 PDF, page 136 (148)
{{DEFAULTSORT:38-40 Winchester Pistol and rifle cartridges Rimmed cartridges Dual-purpose handgun/rifle cartridges Winchester Repeating Arms Company cartridges