sammi minimum case lenght for 38 spcl.

[seabat0603]

I can not find in any of my reloading books the sammi minimum case length for my 38 spcl. I trimed all my cases to the same length wich is 1.132 if memory serves me right. Let me know where to look if someone knows. Thanks-seabat0603

[Maven]

Lyman's 48th Reloading Manual lists 1.155" as the maximum and 1.149" as the trim length. RCBS is about the same, giving 1.15" as the trim length, but neither source mentions a lesser dimension.

[Echo]

I believe the SAMMI values are all maximum dimensions...

[bigdog454]

can 38 s&w be fired in a 38 special??

[Echo]

Nope - case is too fat (OR SHOULD BE!) to fit in .38 Special chamber. Also, bullet diameter standard is .360 vs. .358. Don't even try...

[shooting on a shoestring]

I don't believe there is a minimum. Some of Speacials are so short they fit like .38s in a .357 chamber. It seems to be self limiting though. They split before they get shorter than 1.100". On some of my shorter ones, I back off the charge a couple of tenths.

Too bad there's not enough pressure in .38s to cause them to stretch longer. They only get shorter due to trimming.

I am getting more mileage out of my cases since I started annealing them in the flame of my Coleman lead pot heater. I chuck them up in my 1/2" drill and spin them in the flame until they start changing color, then drop them in a bread pan to air cool. Some of my .38 brass is from my Dad's pile which is 50's military he started shooting in the 60's. Most of that is in the 1.120 range. Works fine.

[sargenv]

While 38 S&W cannot be fired in a 38 spl/357 mag cylinder, 38 short and long colt have successfully been used by ICORE shooters when looking for a shorter bullet to throw into their cylinders. There are a few people loading 38 short colt with 170 gr RN bullets utilizing a small amount of Hodgdon Clays (Something like 3-3.4 gr) and loading them long (for a 38 short colt that is).

I was playing around with the idea of using .358 Jacketed Rifle Round Nosed bullets with 38 Long colt cases and they fired successfully and made power factor, but I ran out of time last year to figure out if they had the accuracy I wanted. And at $28/100, well.. testing ceased.. :D

I may later revisit this with a heavy boolit RN at a later date. Since I'm shooting my 610 this year, I'm not looking for the elusive accurate heavy bullet 38..

[Mack Heath]

SAAMI shows a spec of 1.155 - 0.020 inches for the allowable case length for the .38 Special. So the minimum length is 1.135". This is from ANSI/SAAMI Z299.3-1993.