Large Primer 38 Sp. Brass???

[Alan in Vermont]

I know that early 357 brass used a large primer.

I have one 38 Sp. case, that I found while loading a batch yesterday, which has a large primer pocket. Headstamp is "Peters 38 S & W Spl". I have no idea where it came from as I have bought and swapped into quite a lot of 38 brass. I caught it when I noticed a primer that "seated" ridiculously easy. Sure it was easy, the pocket is waaaay big. It's not a blown pocket, there is no distortion anywhere, the headstamp is totally readable even considering how small the characters are to fit into the space around that big hole. It looks like the case was run on a pocket cleaning tool as there are fresh scrape marks and shiny brass around the flash hole.

Anybody else ever see LP 38 brass?

[shorty500M]

the original .38-.44 loads were made by Peters as i recall. .38 Special case made for large primers. Think 158 metalcased slugs at 1100fps meant to only be fired in Colt SAA, New Service and S&W Outdoorsman models < the S frame that became the infamous Nframe>. It predated and paved way for .357 Magnum

[Alan in Vermont]

Shorty, I thought about that but wasn't sure if the 38-44 was ever loaded commercially. FWIW, this case has a slight reddish hue to it, as if it was higher copper content than modern brass. It pretty much matches the appearance of a couple U. S. Cartridge Co. cases I have and those date back quite a ways, I think pre-1927.

[Guesser]

I have cases head stamped 38-44 and 38 Special that take large primers. I don't remember the brand. The cases are stashed away somewhere here in this mess so they will be safe and not get lost. I also have several cases stamped 38 Colt Special, also safe and not getting lost.

[Travtastik]

I had a guy at gun show tell me he had a bunch of 38spl large primer brass that he was going to bring back to let me take a look at it. He never showed back up and that is the only time I have ever heard of it till now.

[softpoint]

I have cases head stamped 38-44 and 38 Special that take large primers. I don't remember the brand. The cases are stashed away somewhere here in this mess so they will be safe and not get lost. I also have several cases stamped 38 Colt Special, also safe and not getting lost.
LOL! We keep things safe like that here in Texas, too!

[country gent]

The original 38 spl cases were large primers. I have several here and asked a friend (Gunsmith in his 70s) about them. He claimed the 38 was large primer originally. I made some from a small batch of federal cases ( large pistol .105 flash hole) for shooting wax bullets. These were brass cases. Had cutter grinder grind up a drill .105 pilot square shoulders at dia for large pistol primer. Bored a soft collet to fit 38 cases and a stop on lathe tail stock. Did a 100 in a lunch break one night. I also have steel cased 45 ammo from WW2. a couple moon clips for the 1917 revolver and other assorted odities.

[9.3X62AL]

Hijo la! 38 Special cases with large pockets, and 45 ACP brass to fit SP primers. It's "The End Of Days", for certain. Off to the basement, to don my tinfoil sombrero! :)

[Stonecrusher]

I'd like to have a batch of large primer .38's right now. Plenty of LP but getting low on SP.

[9.3X62AL]

I'd like to have a batch of large primer .38's right now. Plenty of LP but getting low on SP.

I hear ya. I'm about outta patience with this shelf stripper/component & ammo flipper shortage bullsquat. My initial feeling on these matters was that the Chicken Littles and barracudas were the chief instigators of the problem, but as time goes on and the shortages continue I'm beginning to think that the manufacturers just can't pack the gear--or refuse to do so. I believe the market for guns/ammo/reloading components has changed, and expanded GREATLY. The old marketing formulae don't work any more--this is NOT a shrinking/declining market any longer, it is expanding apace. The mainstream makers need to get right, or they'll get left.

[km101]

I have 5 .38Spl cases that take large primers. I thought at first that someone had reamed them out to take plastic/wax bullets like the old Speer plastic cases that fired the plastic bullets using only a large primer. But the cases are nickel and the primer pockets do not show signs of having been reamed. I always thought they were a manufacturing mistake until now. But I guess they are just old. I have them in my cartridge collection so I wont misplace them.

[country85]

Post some pics, I've never head of LPP 38s

[rexherring]

I've read somewhere that the original .38's were large primer with 21 grs of black powder.

[rintinglen]

I don't know about the earliest 38 Specials, but I used to have a partial box of Peters "HI-SPEED" 38-44 armor piercing that were LP primed. The bullets were lead with a brass or copper cap over the nose. When the anti's were making a fuss over "cop-killer" boolits, I shot 'em up in a .357 and threw them away--30 years ago I had all the 38's I could load with out having to put up with odd size primers.

I had a cheap thrill not too long ago when a LP went bang when a Federal small prmer 45 ACP snuck past me and I tried to prime it. LUckily, nothing broke except my nerve, but you can bet I'll be on guard for those buggers in the future.

[Shiloh]

I just googled Large Primer .38 brass. This is what came up.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?201090-Large-Primer-38-Sp-Brass

Shiloh

[Char-Gar]

the original .38-.44 loads were made by Peters as i recall. .38 Special case made for large primers. Think 158 metalcased slugs at 1100fps meant to only be fired in Colt SAA, New Service and S&W Outdoorsman models < the S frame that became the infamous Nframe>. It predated and paved way for .357 Magnum

Probably picking nits, but there never was an "S frame" Smith and Wesson. After an accident in the factory where a dropped and loaded handgun discharged, Smith and Wesson redesigned the internal safety (about 1943) and took to marking their revolvers with an S prefix in front of the serial number to indicate the new safety. They continued this until they started to use an "N" prefix. With the change to the "N" prefix, the frame was shortened a skosh.

At any rate "S" was never a factory frame designation. It indicated a change in the internal safety.

[ReloaderFred]

Large pistol primed .38 Special brass was still common when I started reloading in 1963. The gun store I bought most of my supplies from had two large fish bowls full of fired .38 Spl. brass. One had large primer brass and the other had small primer brass. The brass was .02 cents each, your choice.

I still have some large primed .38 Special brass, and in the past I've had large pistol primed .357 Magnum brass.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Char-Gar]

learn something new everyday while I have seen the S - prefix before, I did not hear that they was S frames always heard them as N or Pre-N frames. I must be leading a sheltered life I have yet to run across a LP 38 SPL, probably have fired them but did not notice.

It is common for both collectors and shooters to refer to the S prefix large frame Smiths as S frames. Although incorrect it is logical, as the N prefix large frame revolvers are indeed N frame.

[Char-Gar]

that why I like this site just find out things ya never knew. Heck S&W produced the X-frame for a bit before I found out about it (think I was deployed when it came out).

That was for their revolving hand cannons. I messed up my shooting hand and elbow from years of big boomers before it came out, so I have never had any interest in the useless thing.

[TomcatPC]

I have a handful of .38 Special Cases with large primers lurking about somewhere as well.
Mark