Never know what you'll find

[murf205]

My father in law was a gun guy and years ago, he left a bag of old cartridges when he passed away. I stored them away after a while and when I was revamping my loading facility, I opened the bag and gave the contents a closer look. There were several (10 or 12) 38 S&W rounds in the bag and since I have recently acquired a beautiful little Model 33 S&W in that caliber, I thought I would see just what these old rounds were loaded with. I knew that the 38 S&W was developed in the pre-smokeless yrs so I pulled a boolit and lo and behold, it had 10 grs of, what I believe is holy black. It fills the little case right up to the base of the .360 boolit which has a concave base. I am not going to shoot them in my gun but i am going to polish them a bit and put them in my display. Attachment 263123Attachment 263124 The boolit in the pic weighs 143 grs and no lube is present or it may be a dry lube that I cant feel. Of course it is probably 100 yrs old too.

[nun2kute]

might as well show us the gun too !

[Winger Ed.]

Shape a small sample of it into a little trail & light it with a long match.
It'll tell you pretty quick if its BP.

[murf205]

Attachment 263132Attachment 263133 Here is the model 33. When I got it, I believe it was unfired-not un turned-but close. I just couldn't stand it I had to shoot it and I am glad I did. I bought 100 rnds of Mag Tech ammo and after about the 1st 50 rnds I knew that it would do better. I pulled the factory rounds and they measured .358, one reason they leaded like hell. I had a 158 gr Accurate mold that drops at .361, thankfully, and after pc'ing they shot like a dream in this little gun.

[murf205]

Shape a small sample of it into a little trail & light it with a long match.
It'll tell you pretty quick if its BP.

I just poured it out but I am 99% sure it is black, looks like 3 or4 F

[Winger Ed.]

I just poured it out but I am 99% sure it is black, looks like 3 or4 F

Probably so. From the smokeless I've seen- it'd be hard to confuse it with BP.
But there may be some out there that might try and trick ya.

I'd have to shoot one or two just to see it.

[murf205]

Well.....I thought about it but decided against using 100yr old (or older) ammo in my little treasure find. Plus...my name is Murphy, you know. I wish they would have named that law after some one else!

[Winger Ed.]

...my name is Murphy, you know. I wish they would have named that law after some one else!

I'm ashamed of myself for laughing at that.

[murf205]

Actually, when I was much younger, I lived up to that law like it was a duty. That manifested itself by my penchant for experimentation (read:trying stupid things). Thankfully, our creator blessed me with a long enough life and an adept enough memory to quell such activity or continue to get to know the staff in the local emergency room!

[jdfoxinc]

Hold my beer.

[nun2kute]

Beautiful ! Thanx

[KCSO]

10 grains and 146 grain bullet was the standard load since 1876. I have a couple with my 1877 Baby Russian and an Ideal loading tool and mould.

[NoZombies]

...I wish they would have named that law after some one else!

Just your luck I suppose...

[murf205]

You are probably right but....since I have reached a slightly more sage period, I realize, now, that Murphy's Law is the result of a lack of fore thought. I have subsequently learned to not use suspect ammo the way I have gleaned most things...the hard way. If it was a single action revolver I wouldn't hesitate to try some black powder loads but the cleaning process for my gun involves removing the cylinder(or for blk powder that's what I would do) and I have seen the yoke retaining screw buggered on more than a few S&W's from this process. It makes a good case for buying a well used gun.