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To "muss" 380 acp

mazo kid
Your 380 acp ammo is the precurser to the 38 Super; they are dimensionally identical, BUT....the .38 Super is loaded to much higher pressure. You can shoot the 380 acp (38 automatic) in a 38 Super pistol, but NEVER shoot a 38 Super round in the 380 acp pistol!! Emery

"Well done is better than well said"
Ben Franklin
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9 comments

Date Votes
  • Der Gebirgsjager
    Did you mean to say, .38 ACP vs. .38 Super? A .380 ACP is a lot shorter (not of the same dimensions) and it's use in most .38 Supers is probably inadvisable.[;)] Conversely, you probably can't cram that .38 ACP/Super into most .380 ACP chambers.
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  • muss
    mazo, I got your email, thank you. I have 38 a.c.p. shells. they shoot out of the 38 super gun, as you said. I thought they were a precursor to the 38 super caliber.

    muss
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  • muss
    Hi guys, What I have is 38 a.c.p. and is exactly the same size as my 38 super cases. The 380 and 32 are completely diffrent animals. There seems to be some confusion on the caliber of 38 acp, I think it was originaly a colt caliber that developed in to the 38 super.
    I think I was told a while back that 38 acp was disbanded around 1930's in favor of the 38 super, If anyone has info on this topic I would like to know the real story.

    muss
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  • njretcop
    There certainly is a lot of confusion here!

    The Colt .32; .380; .38acp; and the .38 super are all different cartridges. They are not interchangeable! The exception being that you can fire a .38acp round out of a .38 super gun. NEVER, EVER FIRE A .38 SUPER IN A .38acp GUN!

    The .38 super was first made in 1935 to replace the .38acp. For re-loading purposes, .38 super brass is used to load .38acp.

    I own at least one each of the above Colt guns. I actually use a Colt model 1903 .38acp, made in 1912, as a CCW weapon.

    I hope this answers the questions.



    vic.jpg

    Charlie

    "It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com
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  • mazo kid
    Sorry, yeah I mispoke; should have said 38acp vs 38 Super. And my Colt mdl 1900 slide is marked 38 Rimless Smokeless. We need Iconoclast to step in here; I think it was he who explained the differences to me initially. There were a couple of years after the 38 Super was brought out that the headstamp on some cartridges was not headstamped as such and were loaded to 38 Super specs. Emery

    "Well done is better than well said"
    Ben Franklin
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  • muss
    njretcop, the 38 super auto came out in 1929, COlt produced the 1911 in this caliber, I have one of the first guns made in 1929 chambered for the 38 super.

    muss
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  • Hangfire
    quote:Originally posted by muss
    njretcop, the 38 super auto came out in 1929, COlt produced the 1911 in this caliber, I have one of the first guns made in 1929 chambered for the 38 super.

    muss


    Muss-Give or take 6 years is close enough for Charlie[8D][8D][8D][8D]

    Love them Pre-64's!!!!-Bob
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  • Der Gebirgsjager
    Say, njretcop, sounds like you're almost as much of a fossil as I am. That 1903 is a nice, flat pistol; sometimes I carry a Colt O.P., but lots of the year we get to wear coats here in Oregon.[:D]

    Hey, Mazo--I think you're coming along great as an expert; and honest, I wouldn't have said a word--but under the circumstances I just had to. I got to thinking about a comedy movie I once saw, can't recall the name, where these Mafia guys were going to make a hit on someone, and were on the way to the restaurant where it was supposed to happen in the back of a fish delivery van, all dressed in white smocks. The hitman, a midget, was trying to load the revolver with a cartridge that was a little too big, and was hammering it into the cylinder with a ballpean hammer. The expected result happened. So--I just had visions of a repeat with Muss. But, believe me, I highly respect your posts![8D]
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  • mazo kid
    Thanks for the kudus, but I really don't consider myself as an expert; just learning as I go. I pulled those numbers out of my memory and at my age that is not the thing to be doin'! I really enjoy this forum and have learned a lot from the guys and gals who post here; if I can help out in some small way, it makes me feel good. Emery

    "Well done is better than well said"
    Ben Franklin
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