# 38 Special fun



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

my son picked himself up a 38 at the show we were working this weekend for the club . 

so of course we had to get out and shoot it.

so I made up a few boxes of 38spl just a mild load with a cast boolit and we went 38 plinking , you have to love a round that using my cast boolits with reclaimed lead our cost was around a nickel a round.

this is actually what got me into 38 special in the first place got my first during the ammo shortage.
I had been looking at 22lr pistols and found for the price and availability I could get a 38 and feed it cast.

A. I could load it on the cheap and B. I wasn't chasing brass
left pocket live rounds , right pocket empties ready to be loaded at home again brass lasts and lasts

also great for a walk in only range trip , when you have to park outside the gate and walk in knee deep snow to get a mid winter shooting fix.

a good functioning gun 250 dollars , 150 rounds of ammo $7.50 , ringing steel with your son till the the ammo and light are gone , priceless.


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## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

GCP...I'm glad y'all had fun. Takes me back to the many days spent plinking with my Dad, cousins, and great uncles before they passed on.

Thanks for sharing my friend.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

What did you get for a .38?
I think my first one was a Taurus 85, and I just love that little thing.
It's the Ultralte with the bobbed hammer, and it weighs nothing.
I later got a S&W 637, and some others. Before we got those, I was shooting .38s in my .357s quite a bit.
Sounds like fun, I need to get mine out again.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

he picked up a 
S&W 1905 early 4th change M&P, 38 special. nickle. rounded butt . 4 inch barrel with wood grips and s&w emblem in the grips it was a heck of a deal it still has 90% of it's nickle finish , barrel is clean and bright good lockup and cylinder play still tight.

there is some wear on the grips and near the muzzle I would guess it was carried for a while then put away for many years 

it is pre S&W trade mark on the frame which puts it between 1915 and 1920 from what I can tell

it is pre heat treated cylinder so no +p not that I feel the need to shoot any +p in a 38 for targets. 

it shoots well 50 foot groups would hold the black on a 50 foot bullseye target and he was hitting 100 yard 66% ipsc steel once he got his grip right.

I guess technically I picked it up as I had to give the guy the ok technically I was buying it , my son is 16 but has been shooting center fire handgun since 9 and shooting club level action pistol since he turned 12 but always on my hardware running a G17

he got himself his first "real" job a month after he turned 16 he has been washing dishes and busing tables at a local restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights.

but this is his first handgun , he got his first shotgun at 10 and first 22 rifle at 11 and first center fire rifle at 14 so he has been ahead of his peers on guns for a while. he has also earned himself a place as an rifle instructor in training this year.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

he told me he wanted to start a collection of historic and military guns but wanted shooters not safe queens now that he had some regular money coming in after having a job a few weeks. this certainly fits and it is a heck of a lot of fun and easy to feed.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

The pinnacle of .38 SPL fun:

This thing is a damned effective home-defense carbine, and stays tucked in behind that dresser thing at our front door, for varmint control etc, but it’s just crazy-fun to shoot too.

It’s the first rifle the wife has made her own, and it’s even a challenge for me to keep her in plinking ammo because she just likes to shoot it so much.

No ear-pro required, always at hand, simple manual of arms, and she can hit what she’s aiming at with confidence.

ETA: it’s kinda hot to watch her carry it out to the chicken coop or the barn, too. A confident woman with a rifle is something to behold.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> he picked up a
> S&W 1905 early 4th change M&P, 38 special. nickle. rounded butt . 4 inch barrel with wood grips and s&w emblem in the grips it was a heck of a deal it still has 90% of it's nickle finish , barrel is clean and bright good lockup and cylinder play still tight.
> 
> there is some wear on the grips and near the muzzle I would guess it was carried for a while then put away for many years
> ...


I've got a M&P 1905 4th change but mine is blued and a square butt.
It's a shooter and good shape mechanically.
As nears as I could find out, it was made in the late 20s.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Mine is a S&W model 29. Doesn't get shot much since I have a couple 357's capable of shooting the 38 rounds in.

 Al


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Cornhusker said:


> I've got a M&P 1905 4th change but mine is blued and a square butt.
> It's a shooter and good shape mechanically.
> As nears as I could find out, it was made in the late 20s.


do you have the trade mark S&W logo on the right , or left side ? it seems in between 1920 and 1922 they added the S&W first to the right side plate then later to the left side of the frame.
but prior to 20 it was only marked S&W on the barrel and grips and it wasn't till 1920 that they added made in usa to the right side of the frame
I would expect a late 20s to be left side frame trade mark S&W and sn# around 500,000 this is also above the point they started heat treating cylinders apparently at SN#316648

but I hear S&W sn# didn't exactly leave the factory in order that they had stocks of frames for the 1905 that took years to use up they had been making them as fast as they could for WWI the US used the 38spl and the Brits used them in 38-200


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> The pinnacle of .38 SPL fun:
> 
> This thing is a damned effective home-defense carbine, and stays tucked in behind that dresser thing at our front door, for varmint control etc, but it’s just crazy-fun to shoot too.
> 
> ...


that is a very nice setup. 
what do you use for a bullet and load do you worry about keeping sub sonic or just deal with a little crack?


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> do you have the trade mark S&W logo on the right , or left side ? it seems in between 1920 and 1922 they added the S&W first to the right side plate then later to the left side of the frame.
> but prior to 20 it was only marked S&W on the barrel and grips and it wasn't till 1920 that they added made in usa to the right side of the frame
> I would expect a late 20s to be left side frame trade mark S&W and sn# around 500,000 this is also above the point they started heat treating cylinders apparently at SN#316648
> 
> but I hear S&W sn# didn't exactly leave the factory in order that they had stocks of frames for the 1905 that took years to use up they had been making them as fast as they could for WWI the US used the 38spl and the Brits used them in 38-200


I'll have to dig it out and look at it, I'm not sure anymore


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> that is a very nice setup.
> what do you use for a bullet and load do you worry about keeping sub sonic or just deal with a little crack?


I haven’t loaded for it yet. We’ve shot everything from 158 SWCs to .357 JHPs. I don’t mind the crack so much since it’s still less sharp than a .22LR. 

I need to put some of the factory SPL loads through the chrono to see if they’re not going super sonic through the longer barrel.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

if you could find a plated .358 with the swagged hollow point , I have some Rainier Balistics .356 124gr , if some one would make a .358 150 or 158 gr it would be ideal for that carbine running sub sonic.

I have shot some raccoon with these 124gr in 9mm and they do a very nice job expanding even when shot from a 3.125 inch barrel if I recall that was about 910fps when i got them over a chrono but good expansion and results not moving all that fast 

a hytech coated .358 hollow point with a soft lead could make a very nice sub sonic 38 carbine round.

then it would be a matter of what weight can you easily get going 1070 in a 16.5 barrel and stabilize with a 1:16 twist.


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