If a 38 has a bore of .357, why is it called a 38?

[Oxford]

Now we're gettting somewhere. That's as clear of an explanation as we're going to get. Thanks Scott D and Jerry. You're my 38 guru's now. :nod:

[TIRANTE420]

ScottD,

Thanks so much for your response. Sorry I didn't catch your meaning in your earlier post. Makes sense now, it was a "marketing" tool. Can't wait to astound my buddies with my new found knowledge.

I am a shotgun shooter and have limited knowedge of hand-guns.

Great response from my first question as a member. I really appreciate the info. The question has always, as I said, "bugged" me.

Who would have thought, Big-Macs and 38's are a result of marketing.

Walter

[jerry]

This sounds logical:

"And why are .38s actually closer to .36s instead of real .38s in the first place? Primarily because when people first started loading .36-caliber lead balls into self-contained metallic cartridges in the 19th century, the result could be chambered in bored-through .38-caliber cap and ball revolver cylinders. So the .38 designation actually refers more to chamber diameter than bore diameter, and a .38 Special is actually a .36 Special."

http://hunting.about.com/library/wee...dguncartsa.htm

All shooters can t shoot .357 Magnm. It too hot for most shooter. Practice with the best! I do!

[jerry]

Yeah, girls have a hard time with it sometimes.

[BattleRifleG3]

I once shot with a girl who found it a challenge, but controllable. In fact. she outshot me her first time.

The .38 caliber M1889/M1895 Colt revolver was the forerunner of the modern large frame swingout cylinder revolver. Effectively the same pistol was also listed as the M1892/1894 Army Revolver.

It was the issue sidearm for US Navy personnel during the Spanish American War although it did see some service with Army troops. It was originally developed to replace the 1851 cap-and-ball revolvers that had been converted to centerfire in 1887 and approximately 5000 were produced.

Chambered for the under powered.38 Colt Long and the even less powerful .38 Colt Short cartridges (which were interchangeable), the original M1889 revolver suffered from several design flaws including weak springs and latches, and a very poor cylinder indexing system which led to frequent misfires. Between 1895 and 1900 most of these pistols were returned to Colt for modifications to correct the deficiencies resulting in the "M1895" designation pistols. These pistols had a 1:18 twist with a bore diameter of .363 to .369. The model was replaced in 1908 with the vastly improved (but still under powered) .38 Special caliber M1908 revolver.

The M1889/1895 revolvers saw action in the Spanish American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Philippine Insurrection where its very poor incapacitation ability (stopping power) against the Moro guerillas led to its being replaced in general issue by the 1873 Colt Single Action Army pistols in .45 Long Colt.

The .38 Long Colt was was a black powder centerfire cartridge and the forerunner of the .38 Special cartridge. It was originally designed as an "outside lubricated" bullet round for the Navy but this was changed to the "inside lubricated" bullet in 1892 and by 1897 all production of the outside lubed design was terminated. Because of the large bore diameter--based upon the outside lubricated bullet--when the inside lubricated bullet was adopted it featured a deep cavity in its base so it would expand to fit the bore upon firing. The powder charge was originally black powder but from 1900 on it was loaded with black, semi-smokeless, or smokeless powder.

http://web.utk.edu/~giles/third.html

[stangman]

The reason a .38 is a .357 is be cause of the early measure style . The .38 from the turn of the century was named and sized from the inside dimnisions of the grooves, after the turn of the century the size names were the size diminsion of the lands, hence the difference in name for the same size bullet.

[whirlwind]

i think the reason is it just sounded way cooler

[Oxford]

Stangman...what you wrote makes a lot of sense to me.

So originally the revolver was called a .38 , and after the turn of the century measurements were changed to the inside of the lands...thus .357, and therefore the lands were .023" tall.

That explantion has finally broken the mental blockage I had to understand the differences. :right:

[stangman]

Right, it was actually like .378 or something from groove to groove.I can't remember where, which article I found this piece of useful knowledge at but I have put it to the test with my calipers, jeweler grade for size-very small!!- and have won a few boxes of ammo or at least enough money for ammo with this trivia. And remember that it doesn't always work out exactlly correct especially for european pistols for some reason.

[troylaplante]

I have wondered the same things as were asked in the original post and have been reading with interest. Thanks, y'all. I have also wondered about the .380 auto. Is it really a .380? Why the zero on the end? Why is it also called a 9mm Kurz? Is it really a 9mm? If so, what is the big difference between the .380 and the 9mm? I went to Radio Shack. I had questions, they didn't have answers.

[stangman]

.380 ,9mm & .38 are with in .001" of each other so basically the same. .380-9mm Kurtz are .355", Kurtz meaning short, 9mm is .356 and .38 is .357". The reason for the 0 at the end probably has to do with identification. At the time that the .380 was introduced there were several other .38 rounds for auto pistols- my opinion-. Hope this helps.

[dave375hh]

The .38 special was named "38" simply because they were competing against the .38Colt cartridge. The lack of knoledge of people in those days would have been, ".38 must be better than .36 because it's bigger". To have named it a .36 or a .357 would have doomed it in those days, remember the .38 special appeared in 1898. If you question the intelligence of that era, remember there are still areas of this country where the locals claim you must have an '06 to kill deer, cause a .270 is too light..........DUHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Yes I have heard this statment made in an area just SE of Ohio

[ruger22com]

This was explained recently on the Outdoor channel on one of the shooting shows.

When the .38 was introduced, caliber measurements were done on ALL ammo by measuring the outside diameter of the shell case. Later in the century, they started measuring the actual bullet outside diameter (around the time the .357 was introduced)

This is why you can shoot a .38 in a .357 ..... But, You CANNOT safely shoot a .357 in a .38 though due to the magnum charge (can blow up the lighter frame gun ), but the round will fit in the barrel.

if you extract a round from both a .38 and a .357 magnum, both will have an outside diameter of exactly .357 of an inch.

[Thrawn]

I know that my j-frame has more satisfying recoil with .357 than it does with .38

[incucrash]

I don't really care for the history, I just know that it can be convient to shoot a .38 in a .357 mangum
:X