.38 ACP
Encyclopedia
The .38 ACP also known as the .38 Auto was introduced at the turn of the 20th century for the Browning designed Colt M1900
. The cartridge headspaces on the rim. It had first been used in his Model 1897 prototype, which Colt did not produce. The metric designation for the round is 9x23mmSR (SR - Semi Rimmed) (not to be confused with the modern 9x23mm Winchester
). It is also not to be confused with the .380 ACP
either.
, which was little more than the .38 ACP loaded back to its original ballistics. In the interests of safety, American ammunition companies always loaded the original .38 ACP loads in brass cases, while .38 Super ammunition was loaded in nickel cases. Sales of .38 ACP ammo no doubt enjoyed a modest spike during the surplus gun boom of the 1950s and 1960s, since the cartridges would usually cycle in Spanish surplus pistols like the Astra 400 that were chambered for the 9mm Bergmann-Bayard (9mm Largo), despite the fact that the .38 ACP was semi-rimmed and slightly shorter than the rimless 9mm Largo. Some Astra 400 pistols were stamped "9M/M&38" on the barrel, denoting that the barrel was specifically designed to chamber both 9mm Largo and .38 ACP. Europe would eventually favor the 9 mm Parabellum
cartridge developed from the 7.65 mm Parabellum. The Luger was ballistically similar to the .38 ACP but utilized a smaller case and higher pressures. Browning himself was not done with 9 mm cartridges and would soon introduce the 9mm Browning Long
(9x20mm) in 1903 and the .380 ACP
(9x17mm Short) in 1908.
Colt M1900
The Colt Model 1900 was a self-loading semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt at the turn of the 20th century. It also marked the introduction of .38 ACP, the round for which it is chambered ....
. The cartridge headspaces on the rim. It had first been used in his Model 1897 prototype, which Colt did not produce. The metric designation for the round is 9x23mmSR (SR - Semi Rimmed) (not to be confused with the modern 9x23mm Winchester
9x23mm Winchester
The 9x23 Winchester is a pistol cartridge developed by Winchester repeating arms. 9x23mm has a long and convoluted development history, but was commercially introduced by Winchester in 1996...
). It is also not to be confused with the .380 ACP
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
either.
History
Initial loadings of this cartridge were quite powerful. Reported ballistics for the first commercial loads were a 130-grain bullet at 1260 ft/s (384 m/s), and some experimental loads ran as high as 1350 ft/s (411.5 m/s).[2] However, these ballistics proved too violent for the Colt Model 1900 pistol, and velocities were soon lowered to below 1200 ft/s (365.8 m/s). Subsequent commercial loadings varied considerably in power. For example, Captain Hugh B.C. Pollard, writing in Automatic Pistols published in 1920, gives Winchester factory ballistics as a 130-grain bullet at 1175 ft/s (358.1 m/s) for 398 ft.lbf of muzzle energy; for Ely ammo, the figures were a 128-grain bullet at 1100 ft/s (335.3 m/s) and 344 ft.lbf and for Kynoch a 130-grain bullet at 1000 ft/s (304.8 m/s). (Part of the reason for the disparity may have been the result of the fact that the Winchester ammo was tested from a 6 inches (152.4 mm) barreled Colt Model 1902 while the British loads were probably tested from the shorter-barreled Webley auto pistol in this caliber.) Later U.S. commercial loads in this caliber had factory standard ballistics of a 130-grain bullet at 1040 ft/s (317 m/s) from the 4.5 inches (114.3 mm) barrel of the Colt 1903 Pocket Model. The .38 ACP was jinxed by two factors: By the time the Colt autos in this caliber were introduced, Army Ordnance was already favoring a return to a .45 caliber sidearm, and the pistols themselves were soon rendered primitive and obsolescent in comparison to the Colt M1911. However, they did see small but steady sales up until the introduction of the more powerful .38 Super.38 Super
The .38 Super or .38 Super Automatic is a pistol cartridge that fires a diameter bullet. The Super was introduced in the late 1920s as a higher pressure loading of the .38 ACP or .38 Auto. The old .38 ACP propelled a bullet at . The improved .38 Super Auto pushed the same bullet at...
, which was little more than the .38 ACP loaded back to its original ballistics. In the interests of safety, American ammunition companies always loaded the original .38 ACP loads in brass cases, while .38 Super ammunition was loaded in nickel cases. Sales of .38 ACP ammo no doubt enjoyed a modest spike during the surplus gun boom of the 1950s and 1960s, since the cartridges would usually cycle in Spanish surplus pistols like the Astra 400 that were chambered for the 9mm Bergmann-Bayard (9mm Largo), despite the fact that the .38 ACP was semi-rimmed and slightly shorter than the rimless 9mm Largo. Some Astra 400 pistols were stamped "9M/M&38" on the barrel, denoting that the barrel was specifically designed to chamber both 9mm Largo and .38 ACP. Europe would eventually favor the 9 mm Parabellum
9 mm Luger Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge was designed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken for their Luger semi-automatic pistol...
cartridge developed from the 7.65 mm Parabellum. The Luger was ballistically similar to the .38 ACP but utilized a smaller case and higher pressures. Browning himself was not done with 9 mm cartridges and would soon introduce the 9mm Browning Long
9mm Browning Long
The 9 mm Browning Long is a military centerfire pistol cartridge developed in 1908 for the 9 mm Browning pistol adopted by Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden...
(9x20mm) in 1903 and the .380 ACP
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
(9x17mm Short) in 1908.
.38 ACP pistols
- Colt M1900Colt M1900The Colt Model 1900 was a self-loading semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt at the turn of the 20th century. It also marked the introduction of .38 ACP, the round for which it is chambered ....
- Colt M1902Colt M1902The Model 1902 was a semi-automatic pistol developed by famous American firearms designer John Browning and produced by the Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in the early 20th century...
- Colt M1903 Pocket Hammer
- Star Model AS
- Webley-Fosbery Automatic RevolverWebley-Fosbery Automatic RevolverThe Webley-Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver was an unusual, recoil-operated, automatic revolver designed by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery, VC and produced by the Webley and Scott company from 1901 to 1915...
- Webley Automatic Pistol
- M1911 pistol (civilian market)