.38 vs .38 Special

[AJC3708]

Ok so this caliber is a mystery to me I just learned that that I can shoot .38 special through a .357 Mag so here's my question, What is the difference between .38 and .38 special.

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[unklekippy]

Are you talking about .38S&W? They are a shorter case than the .38 Special and I have never attempted to fire them through a .357 mag. I own a S&W that was my grandfathers in the Air Force pre-WWII. The ammo is expensive and generally a 200 grain lead slug was(and still is) used, I believe. The goal with that round was "slow and heavy", which doesn't work as well as they hoped. Kip.

 

[AJC3708]

Are you talking about .38S&W? They are a shorter case than the .38 Special and I have never attempted to fire them through a .357 mag. I own a S&W that was my grandfathers in the Air Force pre-WWII. The ammo is expensive and generally a 200 grain lead slug was(and still is) used, I believe. The goal with that round was "slow and heavy", which doesn't work as well as they hoped. Kip.

Thanks. I believe from the internet searching I have done is that there are very few .38S&W guns being used for target practice.

 

[ArgyleAdams]

The ".38" in .38 special refers to the case diameter, strangely enough. The bullet has a diameter of .357, same as the .357 magnum. The only difference between the .357 magnum and the .38 special round is the case length/capacity.