Anyone know what this round is?

Gambani · April 17, 2011, 12:04 PM

Found this in a box with my recently passed grandfathers 1955 S&W .38, but its bigger than a .38 and I can't find anything similar except the winchester made henry .44 rimfire. And this is definitely not a .44. These pics are a comparison between my .357 ammo and the antique bullet. You guys got any ideas what it may be?

Double Naught Spy · April 17, 2011, 12:17 PM

Bigger than a .38? .41 Rimfire, .41 Swiss, or .42 Allen?

**James K** · April 17, 2011, 01:01 PM

What is the case diameter? It certainly looks like a .38 Rimfire, a very common cartridge in the old days. That one was made by Winchester.

Jim

tater134 · April 17, 2011, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Bigger than a .38? .41 Rimfire, .41 Swiss, or .42 Allen?

.41 Swiss would be larger and has a bottle necked case so thats out. Im also pretty sure that the .41 rimfire round is about half the length of the one pictured if I remember correctly. I'm going to go with Jim and assume its a .38RF.

**James K** · April 17, 2011, 09:29 PM

If it is the .38 Long RF, the case and rim diameters are the same (within tolerances) as the .38 Special/.357 Magnum. When Colt went to CF cartridges, they just made their CF .32 and .38 the same size as the RF rounds, saving the cost of changing their barrel and cylinder tooling. The .38 size carried over from the .38 Short Colt to the .38 Long Colt to the .38 Army service round to the .38 Special. While the .38 Special was an S&W development, they used the same case diameter as the service cartridge because they wanted to sell their gun to the Army.

Jim

Rifleman1776 · April 18, 2011, 09:28 AM

Did you measure it with a micrometer? That would help.

**Mike Irwin** · April 18, 2011, 10:33 AM

Looks like it could be a .41 Long Rimfire to me.

hornetguy · April 18, 2011, 11:02 AM

looks like it might have a heel-based bullet, if that makes a difference?

I'm not familiar with any of the rimfires, other than I've seen one type of .41, and like mentioned earlier, it was considerably shorter than that one. I've never seen a .41 long rf. I need to study more...

April 17, 2011, 12:04 PM	#1
Gambani Junior Member Join Date: April 17, 2011 Posts: 1	Anyone know what this round is? Found this in a box with my recently passed grandfathers 1955 S&W .38, but its bigger than a .38 and I can't find anything similar except the winchester made henry .44 rimfire. And this is definitely not a .44. These pics are a comparison between my .357 ammo and the antique bullet. You guys got any ideas what it may be?

April 17, 2011, 12:17 PM	#2
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague County, Texas Posts: 9,788	Bigger than a .38? .41 Rimfire, .41 Swiss, or .42 Allen? __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011

April 17, 2011, 01:01 PM	#3
James K Staff Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 16,611	What is the case diameter? It certainly looks like a .38 Rimfire, a very common cartridge in the old days. That one was made by Winchester. Jim __________________ Jim K

April 17, 2011, 09:29 PM	#5
James K Staff Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 16,611	If it is the .38 Long RF, the case and rim diameters are the same (within tolerances) as the .38 Special/.357 Magnum. When Colt went to CF cartridges, they just made their CF .32 and .38 the same size as the RF rounds, saving the cost of changing their barrel and cylinder tooling. The .38 size carried over from the .38 Short Colt to the .38 Long Colt to the .38 Army service round to the .38 Special. While the .38 Special was an S&W development, they used the same case diameter as the service cartridge because they wanted to sell their gun to the Army. Jim __________________ Jim K

April 18, 2011, 10:33 AM	#7
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 14, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 33,293	Looks like it could be a .41 Long Rimfire to me. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

April 18, 2011, 09:28 AM	#6
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,895	Did you measure it with a micrometer? That would help.

April 18, 2011, 11:02 AM	#8
hornetguy Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2011 Location: on the north side of DFW Posts: 710	looks like it might have a heel-based bullet, if that makes a difference? I'm not familiar with any of the rimfires, other than I've seen one type of .41, and like mentioned earlier, it was considerably shorter than that one. I've never seen a .41 long rf. I need to study more...