38 Colt Special?? w/pics

[SteveM]

I found these while sorting through a bucket of 38 special brass I got from and older gentlemen. They have the same dimensions as the rest of the 38 specials and have balloon heads. Does anyone have any info on these? Thanks.
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w656/stevemikel1/100_2351_zpsdea4d9d6.jpg (http://s1334.photobucket.com/user/stevemikel1/media/100_2351_zpsdea4d9d6.jpg.html)

[Mk42gunner]

Steve,

Back about 100 years ago, manufacturers did not like putting competitors names on their guns. The .38 Colt Special was the same as the .38 S&W Special, except the factory loaded projectile was a flat pointed bullet vs. the standard round nose of the S&W. The Lyman 358416 was a fairly close copy.

The .32 Colt New Police was the same as the .32 S&W Long.

.44-40 instead of .44 WCF.

.38-40 instead of .38 WCF.

There are many more examples, the most common one I can think of even got the original manufacturer to change what is stamped on the gun -- .30-30 instead of .30 WCF.

Regarding the balloon head cases, I think I would just stick them back in my collection instead of trying to load them.

Robert

[SteveM]

Thanks!! I have no plans to load these, I'm going to keep them on a shelf.