.38 Specials Ammo

The .38 Special (also known as .38 S&W Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc) was developed by the Smith & Wesson company in 1898 when the need for a more powerful military caliber arose. During the Philippine-American War, .38 Long Colt round had a hard time dealing with the wooden shields of Moro warriors and couldn’t stop the attacker.

The .38 Special was adopted by many US police departments in the 1920s and remained dominant within the next 70 years until semi-automatic handguns flooded the market.

Though not used by law enforcement agencies anymore, the .38 Special is still a very popular cartridge for target shooting and self-defense. Some loadings are good enough for hunting small animals.

As far as naming is concerned, .38 is referred to a caliber with a bullet diameter of .357 inches. This caliber includes such cartridges as .38 Long Colt, .38 Super, .38 S&W, and others. The .38 Special is a variant of the .38 caliber. But today, if someone says .38, they almost certainly mean the .38 Special.

The .38 Special ammo was designed for revolvers, but it can also be used with semi-auto pistols and carbines.

As the .38 Special shares the same specs (except for case length) with .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, and .357 Magnum cartridges, it provides great versatility. The revolvers chambered for the .38 Special can fire the .38 Short Colt and the .38 Long Colt, and the .38 Special rounds can be used with .357 Magnum revolvers. Just mind that the pressure of all these cartridges differs. You don’t want to use powerful rounds with a revolver not designed to withstand high pressures.

The .38 Special cartridge is renowned for its accuracy and mild recoil. A .38 Special is considered to be one of the least powerful handgun rounds, especially compared to 9mm. But with advancements in bullet design as well as the handloading possibilities a larger case provides, modern .38 Special cartridges show good terminal performance.

Gritr Sports carries .38 Special ammo as well as other .38 ammo like the .38 Super Auto.