Keith does not provide dates or footnotes for this statement, but I think we can infer that it was 21 grains of black powder. 38 S&W special cartridge with 21 grains of powder and a 158 grain bullet instead of 18 grains of powder and a 150 grain bullet of the. Both failed to stop the blood thirsty Moros. 38 Long Colt, during the war with Spain.No doubt some of these first long S&W guns were used in the Phillipines along with the Colt. This particular revolver left the factory in 1900." The S&W Second Model M&P was introduced in 1902.Įlmer Keith in his book "Sixguns -The Standard Reference" says, "The War Department gave Smith and Wesson a contract for 3000 revolvers with swing-out cylinders, caliber. This same entry shows a picture of a Smith and Wesson First Model 10 M&P revolver captioned, "First model M&P revolver designed in 1899 for the. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. "Special specials: what, where and why?". The superscript reference number (10) is : Smith, Clint (2005). 38 Special was originally loaded with black powder, but the cartridge's popularity caused manufacturers to offer smokeless powder loadings within a year of its introduction. 38 Long Colt which, as a military service cartridge, was found to have inadequate stopping power against the frenzied charges of Moro warriors during the Philippine-American War. 38 Special was introduced in 1898 as an improvement over the. I generally don't like Wikipedia but the following statement appears under the topic ".38 Special History", and at least it is supported with a footnoted reference: 38 Special rather than the black powder loading.
I don't own a Lyman's manual I suspect they are referring to the smokeless. There's a reason they called it the "Civilian model".Īccording to Lyman's reloading manual, the. At the distances we shoot the 4 3/4" is fine and it's easy to draw. Since I've gotten into 4 3/4" I'm really hooked. I used the 5 1/2" for quite a few years cause they handle nice and I think they're the nicest looking. You will just have to shoot some to see what fits YOU. If you were to buy a new pair of pistols - what would you want today?
38 special is quite different, and I don't have the experience to judge what might be the best long term choice in barrel length. For Bowling Pin shoots, it was great for being able to have have low felt recoil for good times with the power needed to blow those pins off the table. Of course, it also made it quite a heavy hogleg. An 8" barrel made even the most stiff magnum load manageable, that would have been no fun at all with a 4" tube. It sure felt like you were shooting entirely different guns depending which you were using. 41 magnum, so the same gun had interchangeable barrel lengths of 4", 6", and 8". By best, I mean the optimal combination of sight picture, gun handling, and recoil characteristics. You just need to pick the ones that suit your own physical and esthetic requirements.įor CAS, what is the best barrel length. They ALL, generally speaking, are reliable and serviceable. Personally, I don't buy into the thinking that the "toughest" or the "tank" description is a good reason to buy a revolver. I also agree, that it's best to ask around and see if you can get others to allow you to handle their weapons. I agree with the earlier-stated observation that the Colt 1851 Navy percussion revolver in the original 7 1/2" barrel length is probably the best handling, best balanced revolver.
38 revolvers have 5 1/2" barrels and balance very well for me, personally. 45 caliber weapon, due to the weight of the barrel. 38 Special are going to weigh considerably more than a. Given all that, there is the cosideration of weight. As all the replies suggest, it's a matter of how the weapon fills your hand, balance and maybe recoil.