Chamber variance

Roadkill · 11-28-2002, 10:34 AM

Got bored yesterday, was to windy to hunt, took a Webley .38 SW down, inventoried ammo, don't shoot it much cause of ammo cost & anemic loads available. Had a coffe can full of .357 nickel cases, are nearly impossible to size, did a little measuring, took a dremel tool and cut down the cases to S&W length, polished, deburred, ect, loaded wqith 5g of Unique with a 125g lrn bullet. As I sized them I noticed they are loose in the Webley but don't fit in the chanmber of my Colt .357 trooper. Can't get a real measurement on chamber, don't have tools for that. The Webley is 1944, War Finish marked, no safety problems, should the rounds be loose in the chamber? How much loose is "too" loose?

rk

lugerholsterrepair · 11-28-2002, 12:20 PM

Roadkill, I can't really answer your question but if you have a dial caliper there is usually a projection on one end that will measure inside diameters. All the dial calipers I have ever had have this feature. Jerry Burney

Stu · 11-28-2002, 12:28 PM

I can't answer the question, but certainly the clearance of commercial 38 S&W in both my Webley and Enfield is a little greater than, say, 357 in a modern revolver, but only by a fraction.

Can you quantify it in some way and I could check mine in the same manner ?

Stu

Roadkill · 11-28-2002, 12:36 PM

Always wondered what those things were for. I'll check it out later. Turkey time. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

rk

unspellable · 11-28-2002, 04:05 PM

The nominal diameter of both the case and the bullet of the Webley 38/200 or 38 S&W is larger than that of the 38 Special/357 Magnum family. You are likely to end up with split cases if you use shortend 38 Special or 357 Magnum brass. Stick to 38 S&W brass and get the proper dies for it. Note also, that the bullet should be larger.

This problem usually pops up when somebody gets a S&W M&P that was originally chambered for the 38/200. It ends up back on this side of the pond and somebody runs a 38 Sepcial reamer through the chambers, ignoring the fact that the rear part of the resulting chamber will be oversized for a 38 Special.

In my own case, I do so little shooting with my 38 Webley that I don't bother loading for it, just use factory stuff. Incidentally, the difference in a revolver "chambered" for 38/200 and 38 S&W is in the height of the front sight. The 38/200 is traditionally loaded with a 200 grain bullet while the 38 S&W is usually loaded with a 148 grain bullet, although a 200 grain factory load was once available.

Roadkill · 11-28-2002, 05:07 PM

Just got back, fired 40 cut down .357s loaded with 124g lrn w/5g unique in the MKIV, flawlwess and reasonably accurate. Got about a 10" consistent grouping at 20 yds. Checked chamber diameter (thanks Jerry) it is .388 in the Webley, .364 in the Colt 357. No split cases, probably cause the .357s are thicker at bottom and are nickel coated. Wouldn't be my first choice, second or third either, maybe, but not bad. Also fired a MKVI in .45 acp, 185g swc using 7g of Unique, very accurate, 6" groups at 20 yds. Later, thanks all.

rk

11-28-2002, 10:34 AM	#1
Roadkill User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,632 Thanks: 1 Thanked 28 Times in 17 Posts	Chamber variance Got bored yesterday, was to windy to hunt, took a Webley .38 SW down, inventoried ammo, don't shoot it much cause of ammo cost & anemic loads available. Had a coffe can full of .357 nickel cases, are nearly impossible to size, did a little measuring, took a dremel tool and cut down the cases to S&W length, polished, deburred, ect, loaded wqith 5g of Unique with a 125g lrn bullet. As I sized them I noticed they are loose in the Webley but don't fit in the chanmber of my Colt .357 trooper. Can't get a real measurement on chamber, don't have tools for that. The Webley is 1944, War Finish marked, no safety problems, should the rounds be loose in the chamber? How much loose is "too" loose? rk

11-28-2002, 12:20 PM	#2
lugerholsterrepair Moderator Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Arizona/Colorado Posts: 7,761 Thanks: 4,857 Thanked 3,101 Times in 1,427 Posts	Roadkill, I can't really answer your question but if you have a dial caliper there is usually a projection on one end that will measure inside diameters. All the dial calipers I have ever had have this feature. Jerry Burney __________________ Jerry Burney 11491 S. Guadalupe Drive Yuma AZ 85367-6182 lugerholsterrepair@earthlink.net 928 342-7583 (CO & AZ) Year Round 719 207-3331 (cell) "For those who Fight For It, Life has a flavor the protected will never know."

11-28-2002, 12:28 PM	#3
Stu User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 451 Thanks: 4 Thanked 25 Times in 16 Posts	I can't answer the question, but certainly the clearance of commercial 38 S&W in both my Webley and Enfield is a little greater than, say, 357 in a modern revolver, but only by a fraction. Can you quantify it in some way and I could check mine in the same manner ? Stu

11-28-2002, 12:36 PM	#4
Roadkill User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,632 Thanks: 1 Thanked 28 Times in 17 Posts	Always wondered what those things were for. I'll check it out later. Turkey time. [img]biggrin.gif[/img] rk

11-28-2002, 04:05 PM	#5
unspellable User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 768 Thanks: 0 Thanked 18 Times in 10 Posts	The nominal diameter of both the case and the bullet of the Webley 38/200 or 38 S&W is larger than that of the 38 Special/357 Magnum family. You are likely to end up with split cases if you use shortend 38 Special or 357 Magnum brass. Stick to 38 S&W brass and get the proper dies for it. Note also, that the bullet should be larger. This problem usually pops up when somebody gets a S&W M&P that was originally chambered for the 38/200. It ends up back on this side of the pond and somebody runs a 38 Sepcial reamer through the chambers, ignoring the fact that the rear part of the resulting chamber will be oversized for a 38 Special. In my own case, I do so little shooting with my 38 Webley that I don't bother loading for it, just use factory stuff. Incidentally, the difference in a revolver "chambered" for 38/200 and 38 S&W is in the height of the front sight. The 38/200 is traditionally loaded with a 200 grain bullet while the 38 S&W is usually loaded with a 148 grain bullet, although a 200 grain factory load was once available.

11-28-2002, 05:07 PM	#6
Roadkill User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,632 Thanks: 1 Thanked 28 Times in 17 Posts	Just got back, fired 40 cut down .357s loaded with 124g lrn w/5g unique in the MKIV, flawlwess and reasonably accurate. Got about a 10" consistent grouping at 20 yds. Checked chamber diameter (thanks Jerry) it is .388 in the Webley, .364 in the Colt 357. No split cases, probably cause the .357s are thicker at bottom and are nickel coated. Wouldn't be my first choice, second or third either, maybe, but not bad. Also fired a MKVI in .45 acp, 185g swc using 7g of Unique, very accurate, 6" groups at 20 yds. Later, thanks all. rk