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38 colt cases, the short and the long of it...


Muddog13A

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Assuming you use:

Pyrodex

777

or BP,  

would the loading flask and spout,20 grain FFF,  from my cap n ball days work for reloading 38 brass ? [ Either long case or short. ]

Just learning and i was curious,seemed like it'd be a waste, after getting a conversion, to just toss the flask if it were usable.

 

38'sB.jpg

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you need to dig into a manual, plenty out there.
But I will say  20 grs of black is a full power 38 special load. and IAW Hodgdon 15 grs is a max for long colt.  and pretty sure I used a 28 gr spout in my 44's. I doubt you can fit 20 grs in a short colt case. 

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FYI, the picture is mislabeled. That is not a 38 Long Colt.  The Long Colt case (1.031") is shorter than the 38 Special case (1.155), and the 38 Long Colt and 38 Special in the picture have the same case length. 

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1 hour ago, superdude said:

FYI, the picture is mislabeled. That is not a 38 Long Colt.  The Long Colt case (1.031") is shorter than the 38 Special case (1.155), and the 38 Long Colt and 38 Special in the picture have the same case length. 

 

Random crap on the interwebs is wrong? I'm shocked, shocked I tells ya :)

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The older double ended wadcutters were designed to be flush with the case. There are newer sharper edged wadcutters that have a crimp groove with more of the bullet exposed like the one pictured. I forget if it's Garrett  or Buffalo Bore that has self defense ammo loaded with them. I have loaded them for my 44 spl and 45 Colt handuns. Got them from Matts bullets.

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5 hours ago, superdude said:

FYI, the picture is mislabeled. That is not a 38 Long Colt.  The Long Colt case (1.031") is shorter than the 38 Special case (1.155), and the 38 Long Colt and 38 Special in the picture have the same case length. 

Well then you need to tell Fortunecookie45lc his day at the range and narration was all off...I just swiped the sc while he narrated.

 

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For clairity:  Not sure  of the length of a 357 case, but it apperas to be atad longer than the LC pictured, however:

38 sc = 19 mm.

38 LC =26 mm,

and 38 PS {Offically "Police Special" tho most shorten it] = 29 mm in length.

3.10 mark or so.

CMD/Muddog13A

 

 

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6 hours ago, Joe4d said:

you need to dig into a manual, plenty out there.
But I will say  20 grs of black is a full power 38 special load. and IAW Hodgdon 15 grs is a max for long colt.  and pretty sure I used a 28 gr spout in my 44's. I doubt you can fit 20 grs in a short colt case. 

Thank ya. came with the Uberti navy, pre conversion. Now that  ammo has flown off the shelves, I'm looking into  reloading a bit. This "panic attack" cleaned the shelves before I could restock anything. 

 

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35 minutes ago, Muddog13A said:

Well then you need to tell Fortunecookie45lc his day at the range and narration was all off...I just swiped the sc while he narrated.

 

 

The narrator in this video correctly identifies the two mid-length rounds as both being 38 Special.

 

 

 

Case lengths:

357 magnum = 1.290" (33mm)

38 special = 1.155" (29.3)

38 long colt = 1.031" (26.2mm)

38 short colt = 0.765  (19.4)

 

The 4 cartridges together:  from: https://gunsmagazine.com/gear/38-long-colt/

 

montana_ammo_oct18.jpg

 

 

 

 

Another picture of the 4 cartridges together:

 

image.png.3dc1ad33b4882a99c54f827663ea2451.png

from left to right: 38 short colt, 38 long colt, 38 special, 357 magnum.

 

all four cases have different lengths.

 

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45 minutes ago, Muddog13A said:

The Spec and the LC seem to be turned about, but his narration supports the label.

 

 

You might be confusing case length with cartridge overall length. They are two different things.  Ignore the length of the loaded cartridge (case plus bullet) and focus on the length of the case (brass only).

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