bearman Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 i am amazed at the wealth of knowledge here on this forum,ive been trying to get info on my hand gun for the past week and going nuts, yesterday while reading this forum i think i got the info that i need, but still not sure on 1 safety issue. i have s&w 38 special us service ctgs, dec. 17, 01 ser.# 20977, f535, its been in the family as long as i can remember, im 57, had it a long time, dads gone, now its mine to keep. im not to knoweledgable with firearms and ive been getting different info for its ammo, after yesterdays read i assume it takes a 38 special shell, this shell fits perfect, the s&w 38 shell were short and to wide. something mentioned was a cowboy shell, i have no idea of what that is, i have purchased a box of winchester 38 special 130 gr fmj which are roughly 1 7/16 inch long, can this shell be used in this gun, i do not shoot very much, i am just concerned that this shell could harm the firearm (and myself), just a note, the shells that came with the gun were 38,s but were much shorter and the same dia. as the 38 sp. any help will be very appreciated, thankyou kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance.and.shoot Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Welcome to the forum bearman!!! I may not know a lot about handguns, but I now this is the place to be to learn! everyone on here is super nice and LOVES talking about stuff they know LoL! you'll make some great friends on here and gain some knowledge and helpful inside tricks/helps that you'd never learn anywhere else!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Welcome to the forums!!!!! Sounds to me like your revolver might be chambered for .38 S&W cartridges (.775" casing length) rather than .38 Special (1.155" casing length). When I say "casing length" I am referring to the length of the brass casing, minus the bullet. Your best bet would be to take the gun to a reputable gunsmith and have him identify the gun properly and inspect it for soundness before you try firing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearman Posted November 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 thankyou for the kind words i will take your advice and find a rep gunsmith. i have tried a box of s&w38 shells, the gun shop sold em to me after looking at the gun, the shells would not go into the cylynder, gun shop said go home and clean it real good, after a thorough cleaning they still would not go in freely, i then miked the s&w 38 cassing, .380, , roughly 3 thousands to big. i miked a 38 sp. cassing, .375, cylynder .377, im not a machinest, so these #,s are close not 100% accurate, unfortunatly, i left the old shells that were in the gun at the gunshop, for the lead, they were short, fit fine, 3 were s&w and 1 was colt, i never measured them, i am in n.h., there seems to be a shortage of shells, i had to travel to find this shop who had the shells, so running back there is a great inconvenience, plus, he sold me the wrong shells to begin with, hence, find reputable gunsmith. the first post was very nice, thankyou, that was the feeling that i got while researching my gun on google and opening real tree forums, mature people with respect for one and another. thanks kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye54 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 (edited) Hey bearman! Welcome to the forums. From what you described, it sounds like you have a Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1901. Not 100% sure on this. If that is what you have, it is chanbered for the .38 special or the .38 Long Colt cartridge. These were used in military service sidearms during that period. It is not for use with the shorter .38 S&W round. At the time, both the .38 special and the Long Colt were loader with black powder and the cylinders were not heat treated, so be careful with what you shoot in it. You can get cowboy rounds that are loeaded with black powder. Just to give you an idea of what a cowboy cartridge is, check this out : http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20837&id=0037466216113a&navCount=1&podId=0037466&parentId=cat20837&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true I would second the advice of Strut10 and take your gun to a reputable gunsmith to be 100% sure of what you have. Edited November 10, 2009 by Buckeye54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledrop Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 welcome buddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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