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FieldMarine (talk | contribs) Fixed link. |
m "Design & Ballistics" section - 1st paragraph correctly describes the heeled bullet of the .38 Short Colt as .374"-.375" diameter. Then 2nd para. stated: "In contrast, the .38 Long Colt uses a bullet which on the outside of the cartridge case is only .357–.358 in (9.07–9.09 mm), the wider .3775–.3785 in (9.59–9.61 mm) bearing surface and lubricant being entirely contained within the case" clearly wrong, and an impossibility. I amended that sentence to remove "wider .3775–.3785 in (9.59–9.6)" |
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The .38 Long Colt's predecessor, the [[.38 Short Colt]], used a [[heeled bullet]] of {{convert|130|gr|g}} at a nominal {{convert|770|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}, producing {{convert|165|ft·lbf|J|abbr=on}} [[muzzle energy]]. The cylindrical "shank" or "bearing surface" of the bullet, just in front of the cartridge case mouth, was {{convert|.374|or|.375|in|mm|2|abbr=on}} in diameter, the same as the outside diameter of the cartridge case (as in [[.22 Long Rifle|.22 rimfire]] cartridges). A smaller-diameter portion of the bullet, the "heel", was crimped inside the case mouth, and the lubricant was outside the case, and exposed.{{efn|This practice evolved as a way to convert cap-and-ball .36 caliber [[Colt 1851 Navy Revolver|Navy revolvers]], which had cylindrical or single-diameter "charge holes", or firing chambers, into cartridge arms.}}
In contrast, the .38 Long Colt uses a bullet which on the outside of the cartridge case is only {{convert|.357|–|.358|in|mm|2|abbr=on}}, the
In the [[United States Army]]'s original black-powder cartridge used by the [[Colt M1892]] revolver, muzzle velocity from the revolver's {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=mid|-long}} barrel with bore diameter {{convert|.363|in|mm|abbr=on}} ({{convert|.369|in|mm|abbr=on}} groove diameter) was {{convert|708|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}} with a bullet weighing {{convert|150|gr|g}},<ref>U.S. Army Ordnance Department (1893), pp. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015035036824&view=1up&seq=278 236] and 241</ref> resulting in a muzzle energy of {{convert|167|ft.lbf|J|abbr=on}}. In 1903, the Army changed its cartridge to [[smokeless powder]] and slightly tightened the revolver's [[Gauge (firearms)|bore]] to {{convert|.357|in|mm|abbr=on}} ({{convert|.363|in|mm|abbr=on}} groove diameter); the new muzzle velocity was {{convert|750|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}} with a bullet of {{convert|148|gr|g}},<ref>U.S. Army Ordnance Department (1917), pp. [https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcol00unitrich/page/11/mode/1up 11]–12</ref> giving a muzzle energy of {{convert|185|ft.lbf|J|abbr=on}}.
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