Talk to me about .38 Short Colt

[*chris*]

I see there is a 38 short colt that is a lot shorter than the 38 special or the 357 mag (0.75" vs 1.15" vs 1.29") This is interesting with target wadcutter loads as there is so little powder in the case, ignition is sometimes spotty with small loads of 231 (4gn or less.) How does accuracy suffer (with a 357 MAG chambered firearm) with the projectile having to travel such a long distance? I am thinking about buying some and trying them out. They are probably a lot easier to use with moonclips.

Chris

 

[Billsail]

They will work, but accuracy will suffer for the reason you state. .38 Short Colt is the parent of the .38 Special, and .357 Mag. .38 S&W is an entirely different beast, with similar but decidedly different dimensions.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

you should be able to get great accuracy out of wadcutters in 38 brass.
have you tried any other powder? maybe something like bullseye or clays thats super fast burning and not position sensitive. also clays is pretty bulky and would take up more room in the case

 

[Marcus99]

Not exactly the info you're looking for, but I reload a variant of .38spl for my Colt New Army & Navy M1901 that is chambered in .38 Long Colt. I use a 148gr hollowbase wadcutter that fills up the bore, which is a true .38 bore unlike the .357 bore of .357mag/.38spl. Accuracy is very good at 10-15yds, from the 100+ year old gun that has an (I think) 7" barrel with strong rifling. Just bought a 2nd almost identical M1901 and am expecting similar results.

 

[*chris*]

Bill, why do I see people recommending them for IDPA shot out of a mooncliped revolver? The idea is they are so short, they easily chamber. Are they accurate enough for that type of shooting? Does the easy of fast reloads circumvent the reduced accuracy from having to "jump the gap?"

Chris

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

if you're just looking for fast moon clip reloads the shorter rounds will help and accuracy will probably be good enough for run and gun stuff.
a buddy used to use 38 long colt (if memory serves me right maybe it was short colt) for that same reason.
you can also just trim down 38 brass if you have time on your hands and don't want to spend the $ on hard to find brass

 

[eisenhow]

Bill, why do I see people recommending them for IDPA shot out of a mooncliped revolver? The idea is they are so short, they easily chamber. Are they accurate enough for that type of shooting? Does the easy of fast reloads circumvent the reduced accuracy from having to "jump the gap?"

Chris

I doubt you've seen them for IDPA because they wouldn't be legal for IDPA, unless you could find a revolver that was chambered in 38 short colt.

They are popular for ICORE because they easily meet the lower 120 pf, they are shorter and reload faster. They may become popular for USPSA if they allow 8-shot minor revolvers with a recent rule change proposal.

Check out the revolver forum on enos fourm. There are lots of people playing with short colt and medium colt (38 spl or lc cut to 38 super length). The consensus seems to be that if the chosen projectile has a long enough bearing surface it will survive the jump with acceptable accuracy. The beauty of a moonclipped revolver is that is easy to get your brass back. From what I've read short, medium, and long colt loaded to minor pf have long brass life so the cost buying brass is not a big negative. Buying moonclips that hold that brass tightly is another story.

 

[*chris*]

Buying moonclips that hold that brass tightly is another story.

Thanks, I will check out the Enos forum.

Why are the HearthCo moonclips so stupid expensive? Because they can be?

Chris

 

[eisenhow]

Thanks, I will check out the Enos forum.

Why are the HearthCo moonclips so stupid expensive? Because they can be?

Chris

Because they are wire EDM'd rather than stamped. There is also the economy of scale, or lacktherof with 8-shot moonclip demand.