38 Special’s popularity only increased when modern smokeless powder replaced black powder as the primary propellant. But had it been, the increase in velocity would have certainly made the new round more effective in combat compared to the. And it was never tested against the feared Moros of the Philippines. 38 Special cartridge was no giant-killer. This boosted the muzzle energy to around 225 foot-pounds at the muzzle.
The powder increase boosted velocity by about 100 to 150 feet per second (depending on barrel length). It also nominally increased the bullet weight to 158 grains. 38 Long Colt revolvers) and added three more grains of black powder, bringing the charge up to 21 grains. The company decided to lengthen the Long Colt’s case a tenth of an inch (so it wouldn’t chamber in. 38 Long Colt’s abysmal failure, Smith & Wesson couldn’t chamber its new revolver in that cartridge. That M&P was later developed into the Model 10 revolver and spawned a large number of other variants. Smith & Wesson had also entered the double-action combat-revolver fray with its medium-frame “M&P” designed for military and police use. 38 Special tuned specifically for short-barreled revolvers Left: a 9mm jacketed hollow-point Right: a. These cartridges from Federal are solid reminders that cartridge development never really ends. Still, this failure in the Philippines didn’t deter Smith & Wesson from further developing the. 45-caliber cartridge would suffice as the official round for this nation’s first semi-automatic military pistol. I won’t belabor the point here, but this was the first major failure of an American military cartridge in combat. troops struggling to stop charging Moro tribesmen. 38 Long Colt cartridge resulted in a number of U.S. Army during the guerrilla war fought in the Philippines around the turn of the century.
38 Special was easier to control, which enhanced the intrinsic accuracy the cartridge seemed to possess. It delivered 166 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.ĭespite the power increase over the. 38 Long Colt offered a velocity of only 705 feet per second. It was easy to shoot and was the caliber of choice for the Colt M1892 double-action, six-shot revolver.
Originally a black-powder cartridge, Colt introduced the. Like so many other handgun cartridges, it was an improvement on an existing medium-bore round that was developed by Colt for military use: the. 38 S&W Special was not actually an original cartridge. 38 Special - more correctly termed the “.38 Smith & Wesson Special” - can easily be crowned the greatest revolver cartridge of all time.
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