.38 Special

.38 Special
.38 Special rounds
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Smith & Wesson
Designed	1902
Specifications
Parent case	.38 Long Colt
Case type	Rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter	.357 in (9.1 mm)
Neck diameter	.379 in (9.6 mm)
Base diameter	.379 in (9.6 mm)
Rim diameter	.44 in (11 mm)
Rim thickness	.058 in (1.5 mm)
Case length	1.155 in (29.3 mm)
Overall length	1.55 in (39 mm)
Primer type	Small pistol
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type	Velocity	Energy
110 gr (7.1 g) JHP	980 ft/s (300 m/s)	235 ft·lbf (319 J)
130 gr (8.4 g) FMJ	810 ft/s (250 m/s)	189 ft·lbf (256 J)
148 gr (9.6 g) LWC	690 ft/s (210 m/s)	156 ft·lbf (212 J)
158 gr (10.2 g) LRN	770 ft/s (230 m/s)	208 ft·lbf (282 J)
Test barrel length: 4 in (vented) Source: [1][2][3][4][5]

The .38 Smith & Wesson Special (commonly .38 Special, .38 Spl, or .38 Spc, pronounced "thirty-eight special") is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round. The .38 Special was the standard service cartridge of most police departments in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1990s. In other parts of the world, particularly Europe, it is known by its metric designation 9×29mmR.

History

First model M&P revolver designed in 1899 for the .38 Special cartridge. This particular revolver left the factory in 1900.

Letter from Roy Jinks, Smith and Wesson Historian. Provenance of first model M&P revolver in .38 Special.

Despite its name, the .38 Special caliber is actually .357–.358 inches (9.0678 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 (muzzleloading) Navy revolvers, which had cylindrical firing chambers of approximately 0.374-inch (9.5 mm) diameter, requiring heeled bullets, the exposed portion of which was the same diameter as the cartridge case (see the section on the .38 Long Colt).

Except for its length, the .38 Special case is identical to that of the .38 Long Colt, and to the .357 Magnum which was developed from the earlier cartridge in 1935. This allows the .38 Special round to be safely fired in revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum. The reverse, however, is not true; the .357 Magnum case was specifically designed to be longer than that of the .38 Special so that .357-caliber ammunition would not chamber in .38-caliber weapons, which are not designed for the greatly increased pressure of the magnum rounds.

The .38 Special was introduced in 1899 as an improvement over the .38 Long Colt which, as a military service cartridge, was found to have inadequate stopping power against the wooden shields of charging Moros during the Philippine-American War.^[6] Most hand-loading manuals and other references date the cartridge to 1902 and the Smith & Wesson Military and Police revolver variation of that year.

Although it was introduced thirteen years into the smokeless powder era, the .38 Special was originally loaded with black powder, but was offered with smokeless loads within a year of its introduction.^[7]

The .38 Special is very accurate in a quality revolver, produces little recoil, and remains the most popular revolver cartridge in the world more than a century after its introduction.^[8] It is used for target shooting and formal target competition, for hunting small game, and for self-defense.

In the 1930s, heavy framed revolvers oriented toward target shooting, such as the Smith & Wesson 38/44 Heavy Duty, allowed development of a higher pressure (and therefore higher power) version called the .38 Special Hi-Speed and eventually, the .357 Magnum. Today, versions of this cartridge loaded to slightly higher pressure are available, called .38 Special +P; these are usable in .38 revolvers rated +P and in .357 revolvers.

There is also a rarely seen high-velocity load made by manufacturers such as Federal and Winchester, usually labeled "For Law Enforcement Only" and designated .38 Special +P+.^[9] This ammunition is meant to be only used in .357 revolvers and can cause significant damage to firearms rated for only .38 Special or .38 Special +P.

Because the .38 Special also works in .357 revolvers, it is popular with users of the .357 for the reduced recoil, lower noise, and lower cost. A number of lever action rifles are also chambered in .357 Magnum and .38 Special.

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. By modern standards, the .38 Special fires a medium-sized bullet at rather low speeds. The closest comparisons are the .380 ACP, which fires much lighter bullets slightly faster than most .38 Special loads; the 9x19mm Parabellum, which fires a somewhat lighter bullet significantly faster; and the .38 Colt Super, which fires a comparable bullet significantly faster. All three of these are usually found in semi-automatic pistols.

The higher-pressure .38 +P loads at 20,000 PSI offer about 20% more muzzle energy than standard-pressure loads and places between .380 ACP and 9 mm Parabellum.

All of the above .38 loadings, and the .357 Magnum, are when fired from a 6 inch barreled revolver - reduce velocity by 80-100 fps when using the more standard 4 inch barreled guns. Power will, of course, decrease accordingly.

Only a minority of US police departments now issue or authorize use of the .38 Special revolver as a standard duty weapon, most having switched to the higher capacity and quicker to reload semi-automatic pistols in 9mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, .45 ACP or .45 GAP.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of handgun cartridges

References

External links

• The Snubnose Files
• .38 Special Videos