Ammo for Colt 38 Bankers Special

[oohrah]

I have come into possession of my grandfather's Colt 38 Bankers Special. Research and S/N indicate it was made in 1928 and was supposed to use "S&W 38" which supposedly is the same as ".38 Colt New Police" (a Colt proprietary equivalent), but other research indicates that this is NOT .38 Special ammo.

So question is ... can this use 38 Special or is there another 38 ammo I need? I don't have too much experience with 38s.

I have no idea how many rounds have been through it, and AFAIK, my Dad never shot it in the forty years he had it. It is a beautiful piece BTW.

[Keith B]

I believe this is the round you need http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/243344 ... -box-of-50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. However, it is pretty hard to come by. I think Fiocchi is the only one still making it.

EDIT TO ADD: There are other companies still making it apparently http://www.midwayusa.com/find?userSearchQuery=38+s%26w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ELB]

... It is a beautiful piece BTW.

That's nice that you have your grand-dad's revolver. I have never heard of this model, would you mind posting a picture or two of it?

Good luck with the ammo search.

[puma guy]

Other's have directed you to the ammo so I assume you know you can not shoot .38 Special ammo in this weapon. BTW Pictures would be nice.

[oohrah]

That was what I was assuming, concerning the vintage.

Here's a couple quick grabs. The barrel says "38 Bankers Special". I'm guessing the holster is same vintage but no idea. It's pretty hard, dried leather, maybe I'll try some mink oil on it. I have learned that these were only made up until WWII. Also, the serial number is 127xxx which doesn't jibe with any reference I've been able to find.

[G26ster]

You CANNOT use .38 S&W Special in a revolver esigned for .38 S&W. In the pic below, .38 S&W Special is on the left, and .38 S&W is on the right.


]

[oohrah]

and it looks like it's going to be hard to find that ammo.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

and it looks like it's going to be hard to find that ammo.

Maybe that's why pater never shot it. :-)

SIA

[oohrah]

quite possibly. It would be a shame to not shoot this thing.

Further research of serial numbers makes it to be 1920 or 1921 vintage. None of the pix I have found show the black plastic handles.

[G26ster]

and it looks like it's going to be hard to find that ammo.

Maybe that's why pater never shot it. :-)

SIA

It's readily available when all other calibers are available. It's not readily available online now, as are most other pistol calibers. When things ease up, there will be plenty available. I think I'm down to about 100 rds, so I'll be looking too.

if you want to pay double the normal price, you can get it here. Just select .38 S&W:

http://www.ammoengine.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[brhalltx]

and it looks like it's going to be hard to find that ammo.

Maybe that's why pater never shot it. :-)

SIA

It's readily available when all other calibers are available. It's not readily available online now, as are most other pistol calibers. When things ease up, there will be plenty available. I think I'm down to about 100 rds, so I'll be looking too.

if you want to pay double the normal price, you can get it here. Just select .38 S&W:

http://www.ammoengine.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Old Western Scrounger has it; vintage and new. And vintage shot shells. New is $34.95/50 rounds.

http://www.ows-ammo.com/store/index.php ... d=38+s%26w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RogueUSMC]

You CANNOT use .38 S&W Special in a revolver esigned for .38 S&W. In the pic below, .38 S&W Special is on the left, and .38 S&W is on the right.


][ Image ]

Interesting how crimped the short is...I bet it packs a good punch when you fire it. What is it's rated muzzle velocity?

[RogueUSMC]

From Wiki...

The .38 Short Colt (or .38 SC) was a heeled bullet cartridge intended for cartridge conversions of the .36 cal cap & ball revolvers from the American Civil War-era.

Later, this cartridge was fitted with an inside-lubricated bullet in the 125–135 grain range.

Interesting...

[cbunt1]

I'd love to see the gun. I'm being redundant here in saying that .38 Special is not the same round as .38 Smith & Wesson. This is definitely a case of buying or scrounging whatever brass you can, empty or loaded, and buying a reloading press if you don't already reload.

I don't have dies for .38 S&W, or I would offer you some handloads, or to let you use my gear to make some. Interestingly enough, I used to have some loaded factory rounds and empty brass for an old .38 S&W that a friend of my dad's used to have. The gun is long gone, but the evidence of it in the collection is still around somewhere. There are plenty of sources for reloading data and specs for the 38 S&W. Finding projectiles may be a bit of a challenge, but I *think* I have some molds around that could get you set up with cast lead bullets for it (that's all I'd want to shoot in such a gun anyway, and I've never seen a jacketed .38 S&W round).

A family heirloom like that is a wonderful way to get started reloading--in fact a couple of older, out of production calibers were what sparked my interest in loading for odd calibers and unique pieces.

Let me know how I can help!