The 38 Smith and Wesson Special is the full name for the 38 Special cartridge or revolver caliber with that designation, and so it is the same thing.
The 38 Smith and Wesson Special cartridge is not the same as the 38 Smith & Wesson cartridge or 38 Long Colt cartridge, and should not be able to fit into those revolvers, but in rare cases it may, so use caution.
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The .38 Special was a round brought to life by Smith & Wesson, hence the name 38 S&W Special. Eventually other companies like Colt got hacked off at having to mark THEIR weapons with "38 S&W Special" and came out with the .38 COLT Special- which was identical except for a flat tipped bullet. Eventually, everyone shortened the name to .38 Special- except S&W Company- who wanted to keep the name. 38 S&W Special and .38 Special are one and the same. 38 S&W (no special) IS a different round, and does not interchange. Make sense? so special refers to the round
The .38 Special was a round brought to life by Smith & Wesson, hence the name 38 S&W Special. Eventually other companies like Colt got hacked off at having to mark THEIR weapons with "38 S&W Special" and came out with the .38 COLT Special- which was identical except for a flat tipped bullet. Eventually, everyone shortened the name to .38 Special- except S&W Company- who wanted to keep the name. 38 S&W Special and .38 Special are one and the same. 38 S&W (no special) IS a different round, and does not interchange. Make sense? so special refers to the round
the 38 S&W cartridge is shorter the the 38 special and the 38 S&W cylinder is also shorter the the 38 special cylinder. both colt and S&W make the 38 S&W cartridge or 38 short cartridge..........................
.38 S&W. NOT .38 Special, but .38 S&W.
38 special is a full length 38 cartridge whereas a 38 S&W cartridge is also a 38 caliber but it has a shorter case.
if you allude to 38 S&W cartridge then you will find the case is shorter then a 38 Spl. case. You can fire a 38 S&W cartridge in a 38 Special but you can't fire a 38 Special in a pistol designed for the 38 S&W cartridge.
38 S&W ammo. which is a shorter version of the 38 special cartridge.
No. The .38 S&W is a different cartridge from the .38 Special. Basically, the .38 S&W is shorter, fatter, and has less energy. It will not chamber in a gun meant for .38 Special.
They are two different calibers, the 38 special round being a later invention. The 38 special should not fit into the 38 S & W chamber. But as the 38 special was not anticipated at the time the 38 S&W was first made, it can have a chamber that does fit the 38 special. As the 38 special is a higher pressure round, and comes in even higher pressure plus P cartridges, it is a bad idea to try to fire these in a 38 S&W revolver. It can crack or burst the cylinder among other things.
Are you looking for specs on the cartridge itself or a firearm for which it was chambered? To make your search easier, the .38 Colt New Police is the same as the .38 S&W cartridge. Not that this is not the same cartridge as the .38 S&W Special as they are totally different.
i have a 38 special smith and wesson,how can i tell if it is a chefs special or not.
No difference. CTG is the abbreviation for cartridge. A revolver marked 38 Special CTG, or .38 S&W Special CTG is simply indicating that it is chambered for a .38 Special cartridge. This IS different from .38 S&W, and older, shorter, fatter, less powerful cartridge.