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I don’t reload. Anyone know of ammo for pre 1900 Winchester. 1873. Thanks for any ideas. Jeff
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Jeff,
Buy the Winchester brand factory new ammo.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
April 26, 2015
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Bert H. said
Jeff,
Buy the Winchester brand factory new ammo.
Bert
Good question and recommendation! For everyday plinking, “cowboy action loads” also work well at 30-40% less cost.
But can Bert or anyone else here explain to me why Winchester gave this round the nomenclature of “38 Cal”?
Were the boys short on coffee or long on rye that day? Or perhaps there is a logical explanation. Thanks, BK
Calibers are merely suggestions:
45 Cal is usually around .452
44 Cal is usually .429.
40 Cal is usually .401, .406 or .409
38 Cal can be .401, .378, .357 – take your pick. 357 Magnum and 38 Special are identical except for the powder charge.
36 Navy is basically a 38 which in turn is really a .357
32 Cal can be .311 or .321
30 Cal is usually .308
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
Bruce Koligian said
Good question and recommendation! For everyday plinking, “cowboy action loads” also work well at 30-40% less cost.
But can Bert or anyone else here explain to me why Winchester gave this round the nomenclature of “38 Cal”?
Were the boys short on coffee or long on rye that day? Or perhaps there is a logical explanation. Thanks, BK
No, I can not, but as pointed out, it is far from being the only mis-labeled cartridge ever made.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 7, 2015
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Owning an 1873 in 38WCF is an excellent reason to reload, perhaps to cast.
On a side note, to further confuse matters, an .45 pistol can be .452, .454, or .455 but a .45 rifle is most often .459. OTOH I use .451 balls in my .44 C&B revolvers, but they’re still .44’s . I love to torment “.44” fans by using the correct caliber: .43. A .375 rifle is generally .375 but sometimes a .38 rifle is .375, sometimes it’s .380. A cartridge name is a marketing effort, it doesn’t need to be accurate. And yes, I’m well aware that the 38WCF is not a .38.
The .32’s and .30’s are a whole ‘nuther discussion, but I’m drunk, it’s late, and I need to load a bit before I head for the range tomorrow.
April 26, 2015
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I understand the “need” for proprietary nomenclature/numbering by manufacturers and that 38 Special sounds better than 357 Ordinary. But I also think they could’ve gotten a little closer to the mark. And why did Winchester stop making 38 caliber (switching to 375) 38-55, thereby forcing me to reload for accuracy? It’s early afternoon here in CA but Tex has the right idea. I’m gonna get drunk…only I’ll drink good rye, not the cheap stuff in the Winchester Office medicine cabinet.
Yes, I’m LOL. BK
November 7, 2015
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Just to clarify I waited until this morning to do my loading, lol. Just got finished mowing the yard, a drink sounds good now but I’m cleaning rifles. Yes the 38-55 bore size is a bit of a puzzle but my old 1905 vintage 94 and a commemorative built in 1985 both had .379 bores….but of course my 375 Big Bore is a .375 bore (imagine that!) so they might as well be two totally different cartridges.
I think the name of the 38-40/38 WCF cartridge is one reason I really like the cartridge. It’s also fun and cheap to shoot (if you reload) and I even enjoy loading for it.
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