Posted: 7/26/2009 6:42:24 PM EDT
| would a 38 spl speed loader fit 38 SW rounds? I know that may be a ridiculous question. |
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They'll fit. They won't stick out much, but it should be enough to get the rounds lined up in the chambers.
What are you planning to use this with, an old Smith & Wesson chambered in .38 S&W? If so, details and pics!!! BTW (for those that don't know): You should not fire .38 S&W in a .38 Special revolver. They're very similar but not interchangeable, bullet diameter is different. There is a short version of the .38 Special cartridge (for what purpose I'm not sure). |
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i have an old forehand arms 5 shot 38 S&W. I am thinking about trying it out at a local steel shoot. I just figured it would be nice to use a speed loader rather than fumble with rounds.
I am thinking about trying it out at a local steel shoot (in addition to my 1911). I really want to give it a shot since I scrubbed and cleaned and damn near refinished it by hand. I love the ugle little fucker! 
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HKS model 36 speedloader might work (5 shot .38 SPL, J frame). That model, I memory serves me correct the rounds are held tight (no jiggle). The HKS model 10 (6 shot for the .38/.357 K frame) has some jiggle to the cartridges (which also works on Colt D framed guns). You probally want one with a bit of a jiggle to have the rounds move into your charge holes. I do have some .38 S&W ammo and a HKS 36 speedloader but they are several thousand miles from me to check.
CD |
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That's the one that came to my mind as well.
Worse case scenario, the speedloader can be disassembled and thinned if it swallows the rounds. That will require shortening the center pin and drilling a new roll pin hole. A lot of work but it can be done. Interesting fact: In the heyday of the top-break revolver, many of them did have a device much like today's speed loaders that allowed a full cylinder of rounds to be inserted at once. |
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UPDATE!
Before I saw the post about the HKS 36 speedloader I picked one up for my new (used) taurus 85 5 shot 38 special and a speedloader for it that just happens to fit with perfect spacing the cylinder for my 38 sw! awesome. random question semi-related stupid question- i know that you can shoot 38 spl out of a .357, is the reason that you can't shoot a .357 out of a .38 a pressure issue or what? (in non-retardese, why can't you shoot .357 out of 38 spl?) |
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.357 Magnum is loaded to a much higher pressure.
Revolvers that are perfectly safe with the .38 Special may not withstand the pressure of the .357 Magnum. The .357 Magnum case is longer than the .38 Special to prevent it from fully seating in a .38 Special chamber. Strong, modern .38 Special revolvers may be loaded with +P ammunition. Higher pressure than a standard velocity .38 Special, but nowhere near the level of the .357 Magnum. The .38 Special +P is dimensionally identical to the standard .38 Special, and will fit in any .38 Special revolver. Care should be taken not to use +P in revolvers that are not designed to fire it safely. |
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Quoted:
There is a short version of the .38 Special cartridge (for what purpose I'm not sure). Actually, the .38 Special case is essentially an elongated version of the earlier .38 Long Colt case. So unlike the fatter .38 S&W, the .38 Long Colt fits nicely in a .38 Special or .357 Magnum cylinder. |
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Another bit of trivia: It was the .38 Long Colt (not the .38 Special as is often erroneously blamed) that failed against the Moros in the Philippines and led to the adoption of .45 caliber as the military standard.
The .38 Special was introduced shortly afterward, due in large part to the lackluster performance of the .38 Long Colt during the Moro Insurrection. |