.38-40 Winchester

The .38-40 Winchester is actually a .40 caliber cartridge shooting .401 caliber bullets. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester in 1874 and is derived from their .44-40 Winchester. This cartridge was introduced for rifles, but in its reintroduction for Cowboy Action Shooting it has seen some popularity as a pistol cartridge. It is not particularly well suited to hunting larger game, but it was popular when it was introduced, along with the previous .44-40 Winchester, for deer hunting. It can be used successfully on smaller game animals, and for self-defense. Current loadings are intended for revolvers.

Design and history

It is unclear why this cartridge was introduced as it is very similar to the .44-40 from which it was derived. It has approximately 110 ft·lbf (150 J) less muzzle energy, and has a muzzle velocity about 110 ft/s (34 m/s) less than the .44-40. The bullet differs by only .026 inches in bullet diameter and 20 grains (1.3 g) in standard bullet weight from the original .44-40. The goal may have been to reduce recoil while maintaining a similar bullet sectional density. One unusual design element of this cartridge is that factory ammunition was loaded with a different case profile than the standard chamber for this cartridge, factory ammunition having a much longer neck than the standard chamber. Most reloading dies are designed to size fired brass to the chamber specification rather than that of the original factory ammunition case profile.

.32-40 Ballard

The .32-40 Ballard (also called .32-40 Winchester) is an American rifle cartridge.

Introduced in 1884, the .32-40 was developed as a black powder match-grade round for the Ballard single-shot Union Hill No. 8 and 9 target rifles. Using a 165-grain (10.7 g) bullet over 40 grains (2.6 g) of black powder (muzzle velocity 1,440 ft/s (440 m/s), muzzle energy 755 ft·lbf (1,024 J)), the factory load gained a reputation for fine accuracy, with a midrange trajectory of 11 inches (28 cm) at 200 yd (180 m). It was available in Winchester and Marlin lever rifles beginning in 1886. It stopped being a factory chambering around 1940.

It provides performance sufficient for deer at up to 300 yards (270 m) in a modern rifle, for which it can be loaded to about equal the .30-30. It is more than enough for varmints, including coyotes and wolves, or medium-sized game.

The .32-40 also served as the basis for Harry Pope's wildcat .33-40.

See also

.40-72 Winchester

The .40-72 Winchester, also known as .40-72 WCF is a centerfire straight-walled rifle cartridge designed for black powder rather than smokeless powder. It was introduced in 1895 for the Winchester 1895 lever-action rifle.

Description and Performance

The original Winchester factory load consisted of a 300-grain (19 g) bullet at 1,420 ft/s (430 m/s) or a 330-grain (21 g) bullet at 1,380 ft/s (420 m/s).

With the introduction of superior cartridges designed for smokeless powder, the .40-72 Winchester became obsolete and was soon dropped from production. Production of loaded cartridges by Winchester ceased in 1936.

Besides the Winchester 1895 lever-action, the .40-72 Winchester was chambered in the Winchester 1885 single-shot rifle.

References