38 auto
I have a 1903 colt hammer which takes ammo marked 38 auto. I've been looking for that ammo on the internet, but can't find it. Is it real hard to find or will it be listed as something else?
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You are looking for the old .38 Auto or .38 ACP. I know of no other designations for this cartridge.
Have you checked the ammunition catalogs for the major manufacturers? A few years ago, the caliber was still in the Remington catalog, even though few retailers stocked it. If it is available, it will probably have to be special ordered.
I know this because I ordered some out for a fellow who had a Colt similar to yours, and had it loaded with the wrong ammo.
The Old Western Scrounger http://www.ows-ammunition.com/ has the ammo in stock. They manufacture it, and it is about $22 a box. OWS specializes in obsolete ammo.
There is a fellow named Mickey, I forget his last name, who operates The Ammo Depot, in Hunt County, Texas. Call directory assistance for area code 903 for the number. He will have a listing in either Greenville or Caddo Mills. Mickey has been known to stock a number of oddball calibers as well.
The .38 ACP cartridge case is dimensionally identical to the later and more powerful .38 Super, but the two are not interchangeable.
DO NOT TRY TO SHOOT .38 SUPER CARTRIDGES IN YOUR PISTOL!!!!!!!!!
Shoot they will, but you are likely to end up with a Colt slide embedded in your forehead. Not attractive.
I mention this only because .38 Super cartridges and cases are still available, and you could use the cases to handload cartridges for your pistol, using .38 ACP loading data.
Do not try to use any other cartridges other than the right ones for this gun. Actually, if the gun is in fine condition, I probably wouldn't even shoot it. If I did shoot it, I might replace the springs in it first. They are bound to be fatigued after nearly 100 years.
A while back, I came across a quantity of .38 ACP ammo cheap. I have an old Colt Commander in .38 Super. I shot the .38 ACP ammo in my Commander with good success. What that tells me is that the recoil spring in my Commander is weak.
Good luck!
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net0 -
By the way, I just checked the online catalogs of Winchester, Remington, and Federal. The .38 ACP does not appear in any of the catalogs.
Looks like it's OWS or handloading, or else finding a shop with some old ammo on the shelf.
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net0 -
I carry a Colt model 1903 in 38acp caliber that the Colt factory re-did for me.
Ammo is hard to find, but at gun shows I have picked up several boxes this past year. Also had a friend load some for me to factory specs so as not to blow up my collectable Colt. LOL.
Great guns! Enjoy it.
njretcop@copmail.com
Charlie0 -
Charlie; you just remember who wants it when you're ready to sell it!
Woods
"... there is much truth in the Italian saying, 'Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you.'" -- Benjamin Franklin0 -
WOODSRUNNER,
if CHARLIE wanted a "friend" to help him obtain some safe, suitable .38 auto ammo, why didnt he email me 1st???
i think owning a TOMMY GUN has swelled his head...
or maybe it was my reluctance to sell him my dads ARISAKA...
[:D][:0][:D][:0][:D][:0]
i think STARLINE may have some brass...
i will check my scources and if anybody has the correct componants i will post that info here for everyone.
i would also add...
do not try 9mm LARGO or 9X23MM in you gun.
best regards, mike.
What other dungeon is so dark as ones own heart, what jailer so inexorable as ones own mind.
contact me at the shop at waltsgun@aol.com best regards, mike.0 -
Pretty, isn't it?
njretcop@copmail.com
Charlie0 -
Samco Global recently had ammo for it. Swedish milsurp. Might still have it.
800-554-1618
"Every child had a pretty good shot,
To get at least as far as their old man got,
But something happened on the way to that place,
They threw an American flag in our face."
-Billy Joel, "Allentown"0 -
very cool piece 0 -
I have a Star bonifacio that shoots the .38 auto but used to shoot 9mm Fjastad wrote me to tell me that it was a spanisn gun demilled by making it a .38 auto. On the slide the 9mm is crossed our and stamped .38 still in the original box with 2 numbered mags with the Kliens sticker on the box. I've shot it and it is a great shooter, ammo is a different story. I find it here and there, go to some of the older stores in your area.
PJ
If nobody seen you do it, how could you have done it. NRA Endowment Member, AF&AM, Shriner Life Member, A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois "Chicago Chapter" Founding Member & Board Member0 -
theres a great debate about the STAR,ASTRA and LLAMA models with the dual .38 / 9MM slide markings...
guns with these markings were originaly chambered in 9MM LARGO but can usualy chamber and function with .38 super, .38 auto, .38 acp, .38 automatic colt, 9mm bayard bergman, and a few other oddball rounds.
its typical to see these guns mislabled as .38 supers in smaller shops or at shows.
post me a pic of your gun, the slide, and the other markings. i would be greatly interested in seeing it...
best regards, mike.
What other dungeon is so dark as ones own heart, what jailer so inexorable as ones own mind.
contact me at the shop at waltsgun@aol.com best regards, mike.0
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