38 army special question

[danyboy]

Just bought a Colt 38 army special revolver. I tought I could use 38 special ammo so I handloaded 50 rounds of 158 gr. SWC bullets in 38 special cases with 3.3 gr. of Bullseye powder. They seem to fit in the cylinder but before trying them I wanna be sure I could do this.
Question: Safe to shoot my handloads ?
Danyboy

[9.3X62AL]

Is the revolver marked as to caliber? (38 Special, or some other designation). Most Colt Army Specials were made in 38 Special or 32-20 WCF. Barrel markings should say "Colt Army Special 38" (or 22, 32, 41), per Serven (1954). Serven lists no other "oddball" 38 calibers being chambered in the Army Special, but never say never.

Does the revolver have a chamber step at the throat, or is it drilled straight through? THAT would be a dead giveaway to 22 or 41 caliber--besides the obvious diametric difference.

Regardless of caliber, the Colt Army Special is a VERY FINE revolver.

[Char-Gar]

Colt changed the name of the Army Special to Official Police in the mid-20s. If it is marked 38 it will fire the 38 Special rounds and your loads are not pushing the red line. So, go ahead and have a good time.

[danyboy]

Chargar,
Thanks for the good news, you made my day. Chamber step ? There is a little reduced diameter at the very end of the cylinder chambers, wright about where the protruding end of the bullet is. 38 special seem to chamber well and they don't stick out of the cylinder. I'll head out to the range beginning of next week.
Thanks,
Danyboy

[Harry O]

Colt has made so may guns that sometimes the terminology can get confusing.

The 1892 Series "New Army" (and "New Navy") revolvers were chambered for the .38 Long Colt. There is NO step in the front of the cylinder chamber. It is straight from front to rear. You could actually chamber a .357 Magnum in that cylinder, but shooting it would severely damage (or completely blow up) the gun. It was made to shoot a heeled-bullet with a shorter case than the .38 Special. More importantly, the barrel is 0.375" ID. A regular 0.357" diameter bullet will have miserable accuracy in this gun. You can use a lightly loaded 0.357" hollow-base wadcutter in .38 Special cases in this gun. You also have to use very fast powder (Bullseye is great, but it was made for BP) to expand the base.

To the best of my knowledge, the 1892 Series was never made in .38 Special.

The Colt Army Special (which replaced the 1892 Series in 1909) was chambered for the .38 Special and the .38 Long Colt, so you could have either one. The chamber in the cylinder will be straight from front to rear for the Long Colt, The chamber will have a step (a smaller diameter hole) at the front of the cylinder for the .38 Special. The barrel size is also different, so you could slug the barrel, but checking the chamber is easier. Check it and go with that.

[danyboy]

All wright,
I'll keep that in mind .
Thanks,
Danyboy

[danyboy]

I do have a step in the cylinder. Today, I slugged the bore: got .347" and a groove of .354". Funny feeling when I slugged it, lead slug was tight entering the bore, then loose all the way to the crown and tight again . I only have rifle slugging experience with rifles and it was always tighter at the muzzle. Here, it feels the same at the rear of the bore and the muzzle end !
Danyboy

[Tracy]

Revolvers do that a lot, because of the torque of screwing in the barrel. When they are tight in the forcing cone, it can help accuracy to lap out that tight spot. I wouldn't lap the muzzle end, though.
BTW, I also have an Army Special in .38 Special, made in 1915.

[danyboy]

Tracy,
Excuse my stupid question but what do you mean by 'lap the muzzle' ?
Danyboy

[Char-Gar]

danyboy...It is not unusual in vintage firearms to have some dings and damage to the barrel crown moving some metal into or infront of the bore making that a tight spot. It will also destroy and accuracy potential.

If you new Army Special won't shoot for beans consider the above first. It is a simple matter to recut the crown and it can be done with hand tools from Brownells.

I have a Smith and Wesson 1917 that would deliver two foot groups at 25 yards. I recut the crown and the groups droped down to the 3 inch range at 25 yards.

[smkummer]

Some were made in 38-200 and so stamped for WW1 Greece use. Since many of the internals are the same as a python, Colt will still work on these if needed. I have a 5 in. nickel gun that is one sweet shooter. Mike