.38 Special
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The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9×29mmR is a rimmed,
centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...
cartridge designed by
Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American Firearms manufacturer, firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith (inventor), Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the ...
. The .38 Special was the standard service cartridge for the majority of United States police departments from the 1920s to the 1990s. It was also a common sidearm cartridge used by United States military personnel in
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,
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, the
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, and the
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. In other parts of the world, it is known by its
metric Metric or metrical may refer to: Measuring * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics ...
designation of 9×29.5mmR or 9.1×29mmR. Known for its accuracy and manageable recoil, the .38 Special remains one of the most popular revolver cartridges in the world more than a century after its introduction. It is used for recreational target shooting, formal target competition, personal defense, and small-game hunting.


Overview

The .38 Special was designed and entered production in 1898 as an improvement over the .38 Long Colt which, as a military service cartridge, was found to have inadequate
stopping power Stopping power is the supposed ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a ...
against the charges of Filipino Muslim warriors during the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
.Barnes, Frank C. Ken Warner, editor. ''Cartridges of the World'', 6th Edition. Northbrook, Illinois: DBI Books, 1989. . The failure of the .38 Long Colt as a service cartridge caused the U.S. Army to insist on a .45 chambering for its 1907 pistol trials. Upon its introduction, the .38 Special was originally loaded with
black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
, but the cartridge's popularity caused manufacturers to offer
smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powder Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...
loadings within a year of its introduction. Despite its name, the
caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...
of the .38 Special cartridge is actually .357 inches (36 caliber/9.07 mm), with the ".38" referring to the approximate diameter of the loaded brass case. This came about because the original 38-caliber cartridge, the .38 Short Colt, was designed for use in converted .36-caliber cap-and-ball Navy revolvers, which had untapered cylindrical firing chambers of approximately diameter that required heeled bullets, the exposed portion of which was the same diameter as the cartridge case. Except for case length, the .38 Special is identical to the .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, and .357 Magnum. This nearly identical nature of the three rounds allows a .38 Special round to be safely fired in revolvers chambered for .357 Magnum. It also allows .38 Short Colt and .38 Long Colt rounds to be safely fired in revolvers chambered for .38 Special. Thus, the .38 Special round and revolvers chambered for it have a unique versatility. However, the longer and more powerful .357 Magnum cartridge will usually not chamber and fire in weapons rated specifically for .38 Special (e.g., all versions of the
Smith & Wesson Model 10 The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a K-frame revolver. In production since 1899, the Model 10 is a six-s ...
), which are not designed for the greatly increased pressure of the magnum rounds. Both .38 Special and .357 Magnum will chamber in Colt New Army revolvers in .38 Long Colt due to their straight walled chambers, but this should not be done under any circumstances, due to dangerous pressure levels up to three times what the New Army is designed to withstand.


History

The .38 Special was designed and produced in 1898 to be a higher-velocity round, with better penetration properties than the .38 Long Colt that was in government service in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War. The .38 Long Colt revolver round would not penetrate the shields of the insurgent Philippine Moro warriors, and the government contracted with Smith & Wesson for a new revolver round. The .38 Special held a minimum of 21 grains of black powder, 3 grains more than the then-current .38 Long Colt, and muzzle velocity (with a 158 grain bullet) was 100–150 feet per second greater. During the late 1920s, in response to demands for a more effective law-enforcement version of the cartridge, a new standard-velocity loading for the .38 Special was developed by
Western Cartridge Company The Western Cartridge Company was an American manufacturer of small arms and ammunition formerly based in East Alton, Illinois. Founded in 1898, it was the forerunner of the Olin Corporation, formed in 1944, of which Western was absorbed into. ...
. This .38 Special variant, which incorporated a round-nosed lead 'Lubaloy' bullet, was named the .38 Super Police. Remington-Peters also introduced a similar loading. Testing revealed that the longer, heavier .357-calibre bullet fired at low velocity tended to 'keyhole' or tumble upon impact, providing more shock effect against unprotected personnel. At the same time, authorities in Great Britain, who had decided to adopt the .38 caliber revolver as a replacement for their existing .455 service cartridge, also tested the same bullet in the smaller .38 S&W cartridge. This cartridge was called the .38 S&W Super Police or the 38/200. Britain later adopted the 38/200 as its standard military handgun cartridge. In 1930, Smith & Wesson introduced a large-frame 38 Special revolver with a 5-inch barrel and fixed sights intended for police use, the Smith & Wesson 38/44 Heavy Duty. The following year, a new high-power loading called the .38 Special Hi-Speed with a metal-tip bullet was developed for these revolvers in response to requests from law enforcement agencies for a handgun bullet that could penetrate auto bodies and body armor. That same year, Colt Firearms announced that their
Colt Official Police The Colt Official Police is a medium frame, double-action revolver with a six-round cylinder, primarily chambered for the .38 Special cartridge, and manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Released in 1908 as the Colt Army Special ...
would also handle 'high-speed' .38 Special loadings.Ayoob, Massad
"The Colt Official Police: 61 years of production, 99 years of service"
Guns magazine. BNET Web site – Find articles. Accessed 2 April 2011: Because of their heavy frames, these revolvers could withstand the higher-pressures generated by the new loadings.
The 38/44 high-speed cartridge came in three bullet weights: , , and , with either coated lead or steel jacket, metal-piercing bullets. The media attention gathered by the 38/44 and its ammunition eventually led Smith & Wesson to develop a completely new cartridge with a longer case length, in 1934. This was the .357 Magnum. During
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, some U.S. aircrew (primarily Navy and Marine Corps) were issued .38 Special S&W Victory revolvers as sidearms for use in the event of a forced landing. In May 1943, a new .38 Special cartridge with a , full-steel-jacketed, copper flash-coated bullet meeting the requirements of the Hague Convention was developed at
Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...
and adopted for the Smith & Wesson revolvers.Brown Jr., Edwards, "DCM Shopper's Guide", ''The American Rifleman'', (April 1946), p. 18 The new military .38 Special loading propelled its bullet at a standard from a revolver barrel. During the war, many U.S. naval and Marine aircrew were also issued red-tipped 38 Special
tracer ammunition Tracer ammunition, or tracers, are bullets or cannon-caliber projectiles that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. When fired, the pyrotechnic composition is ignited by the burning powder and burns very brightly, making the p ...
using either a bullet for emergency signaling purposes. In 1956, the U.S. Air Force adopted the ''Cartridge, Caliber 38, Ball M41'', a military variant of the .38 Special cartridge designed to conform to Hague Convention rules. The original 38 M41 ball cartridge used a 130-grain full-metal-jacketed bullet, and was loaded to an average pressure of only , giving a muzzle velocity of approximately from a barrel.TM 43-0001-27, ''Army Ammunition Data Sheets – Small Caliber Ammunition, FSC 1305'', Washington, D.C.: Dept. of the Army, 29 April 1994 This ammunition was intended to prolong the life of S&W M12 and Colt Aircrewman revolvers equipped with aluminum cylinders and frames, which were prone to stress fractures when fired with standard 38 Special ammunition. By 1961, a slightly revised M41 38 cartridge specification known as the ''Cartridge, Caliber 38 Ball, Special, M41'' had been adopted for U.S. armed forces using 38 Special caliber handguns. The new M41 ''Special'' cartridge used a 130-grain FMJ bullet loaded to a maximum allowable pressure of for a velocity of approximately in a solid test barrel, and about from a revolver barrel.''Military .38 Special Ammunition'', The American Rifleman (March 1982), p. 68TM 9-1305-200. ''Small Arms Ammunition'', Washington, D.C.: Departments of the Army and the Air Force (June 1961) The M41 ball cartridge was first used in .38 Special revolvers carried by USAF aircrew and Strategic Air Command security police, and by 1961 was in use by the U.S. Army for security police, dog handlers, and other personnel equipped with 38 Special caliber revolvers. A variant of the standard M41 cartridge with a semi-pointed, unjacketed lead bullet was later adopted for CONUS (Continental United States) police and security personnel. At the same time, .38 Special tracer cartridges were reintroduced by the US Navy, Marines, and Air Force to provide a means of emergency signaling by downed aircrew. Tracer cartridges in .38 Special caliber of different colors were issued, generally as part of a standard aircrew survival vest kit. A request for more powerful .38 Special ammunition for use by Air Police and security personnel resulted in the ''Caliber 38 Special, Ball, PGU-12/B High Velocity'' cartridge. Issued only by the U.S. Air Force, the PGU-12/B had a greatly increased maximum allowable pressure rating of 20,000 psi, sufficient to propel a 130-grain FMJ bullet at from a solid test barrel, and about 950–1,000 ft/s from a revolver barrel. The PGU-12/B ''High Velocity'' cartridge differs from M41 ''Special'' ammunition in two important respects—the ''PGU-12/B'' is a much higher-pressure cartridge, with a bullet deeply set and crimped into the cartridge case. In response to continued complaints over ineffectiveness of the standard .38 Special 158-grain cartridge in stopping assailants in numerous armed confrontations during the 1950s and 1960s, ammunition manufacturers began to experiment with higher-pressure (18,500 CUP) loadings of the .38 Special cartridge, known as 38 Special +P (+P or +P+ designation indicates that the cartridge is using higher pressures, therefore it is
overpressure ammunition Overpressure ammunition, commonly designated as +P or +P+ (pronounced Plus-P or Plus-P-Plus), is small arms ammunition that has been loaded to produce a higher internal pressure when fired than is standard for ammunition of its caliber (see inter ...
). In 1972, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
introduced a new .38 Special +P loading that became known as the "FBI Load".Ayoob, Massad, "Why are We Still Using the .38 – It's Still A Good Cartridge", ''American Handgunner'', San Diego: Publishers Development Corp., Vol. 6, No. 30, September/October 1981, p. 64 The FBI Load combined a more powerful powder charge with a 158-grain unjacketed soft lead semi-wadcutter hollow-point bullet designed to readily expand at typical .38 Special velocities obtained in revolvers commonly used by law enforcement. The FBI Load proved very satisfactory in effectively stopping adversaries in numerous documented shootings using 2- to 4-inch barreled revolvers. The FBI Load was later adopted by the Chicago Police Department and numerous other law enforcement agencies. Demand for a .38 Special cartridge with even greater performance for law enforcement led to the introduction of the +P+ .38 Special cartridge, first introduced by Federal and
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 ...
. Originally labeled "For Law Enforcement Only", +P+ ammunition is intended for heavier-duty .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers, as the increased pressure levels can result in accelerated wear and significant damage to firearms rated for lower-pressure .38 Special loadings (as with all .38 Special loadings, the .38 Special +P+ can also be fired safely in .357 Magnum revolvers).


Performance

Due to its black-powder heritage, the .38 Special is a low-pressure cartridge, one of the lowest in common use today at 17,000
psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...
. By modern standards, the .38 Special fires a medium-sized bullet at rather low speeds. In the case of target loads, a bullet is propelled to only . The closest comparisons are the
380 ACP The .380 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .380 Auto, .380 Automatic, or 9×17mm, is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge that was developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of ...
, which fires much lighter bullets slightly faster than most .38 Special loads; the
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
, which fires a somewhat lighter bullet significantly faster; and the .38 Super, which fires a comparable bullet considerably faster. All of these cartridges are usually found in semi-automatic pistols. The higher-pressure .38 Special +P loads at 20,000 psi offer about 20% more muzzle energy than standard-pressure loads, which places them between the .380 ACP and the 9mm Parabellum; similar to that of the 9×18mm Makarov. A few specialty manufacturers' +P loads for this cartridge can attain even higher energies than that, especially when fired from longer barrels, producing energies in the range of the 9mm Parabellum. These loads are generally not recommended for older revolvers or ones not specifically "+P" rated. All of the above specifications for 38 loadings, and the .357 Magnum, are applicable when fired from a barreled revolver. The velocity is reduced when using barreled guns. Power (muzzle energy) will, of course, decrease accordingly. Although only a few US police departments now issue or authorize use of the .38 Special revolver as a standard-duty weapon, the caliber remains popular with some police officers for use in short-barreled revolvers carried when off duty or for undercover-police investigations. It is also widely used in revolvers purchased for civilian home defense or for concealed carry.


See also

*
List of handgun cartridges This is a list of handgun Cartridge (weaponry), cartridges, approximately in order of increasing caliber. Table of handgun cartridges Other cartridges used in handguns Although not originally designed for handguns, several rifle and shotgun ...
*
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 ...
*
Smith & Wesson Bodyguard The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is a family of small J-frame revolvers with shrouded hammers manufactured by Smith & Wesson. They are available chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum. Models Model 38 The Model 38 is aluminum-framed, h ...
* Smith & Wesson Model 52 *
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


The Snubnose Files


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38 Special 38 Special or 0.38 Special or .38 Special, may refer to: * .38 Special, a revolver cartridge Music * 38 Special (band), an American rock band ** ''38 Special'' (album), the 1977 debut album of the band 38 Special * .38 Special (song), a 2022 ...
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1902 Rimmed cartridges Smith & Wesson cartridges