Craig Boddington was the senior contributing editor of our modern gun and ammunition caliber dictionary. Craig was involved in the development and testing of many of these and writes from first hand experience. This dictionary was written exclusively for Wholesale Hunter with unique information found nowhere else.
GUN CALIBER DICTIONARY
Handgun Ammo
38 Long Colt
Using a .357-inch ".38" or 9mm bullet, the .38 Long Colt was introduced by Colt as a blackpowder revolver cartridge clear back in 1875. It uses a 1.035-inch case, much longer than the .765-inch case of the .38 Short Colt, but with a 150-grain bullet at 770 fps it is a mild cartridge. Even so it was adopted in 1892 as the U.S. Army's standard revolver cartridge in the Colt 1892 New Army double-action. The .38 Long Colt remained in service until 1911, but reports from the Philippines of poor stopping power had much to do with its replacement by the .45 ACP. With low recoil the .38 Long Colt is frequently seen in cowboy action shooting, with Black Hills and Remington both offering modern loads. — Craig Boddington
