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A completed original 38 Long Colt cartridge with a heeled .375" bullet for use in 36 caliber Cap & Ball revolvers converted for use of cartridges. Notice the bullet diameter is the same as the case diameter. Attachment 277557. Top is a 38 Special cartridge with an enclosed inside lubricated .357" bullet.
I used 38 Special RCBS dies, and had to make a new flaring piece on my lathe. I still have the outfit, and will sell it to you for $15.00 plus postage. You can then load 38 Long Colt, 38 Special, and 357 Mag with the same set of dies. You need to put a spacer in the primer punch out to do the 357's.
The .38 Long is a "real" .38 caliber, going about .379" to the grooves, at least in the two rifles I own in it, You can trim .38 Spl brass down to 1.03," a trivial exercise, but the bullets are another story. Maybe Rapine offers a mould for a heeled boolit; I cast mine from the mould on an old Ideal .38 LOL reloading tool.
I must say the bolt & nut idea is probably a fairly good way to go. I can now use my 35 Remington Factory Crimp Die to crimp 35 Remington, .357 Magnum, .38 Long Colt, and .38 Short Colt. Simply set up a different bolt & nut for each caliber. Possibilities are unlimited.
A blunt round nose bullet loaded in a 38 special will almost look the same as a 38LC cartridge. You could even trim a 38 special to 38 LC length. 38 Special was originally a black powder load. So if you want historically correct, easy to load, and accurate in a 357; then load 38 special with black powder.
The early 1892 .38 Long Colt revolvers didn't have a chamber throat but were bored .379 straight through. Later models usually have chamber throats of .360-.361. SAMMI specs call for a .361 diameter bullet just like the .38S&W. The LC (and SC) should use heel base bullets.
The Vintage .38 Long Colt By Mike Hudson The .38 Long Colt cartridge has been the object of derision in the gun press for longer than any of us even remember. Its main claim to shame is that it so lacked in stopping power that the fanatical Moro tribesman of the Philippines were capable of digesting a cylinderful and go on to lop the head off ...
So I bought some .38 Long Colt brass, which is about 1/8" shorter than .38 Sp. brass and started shooting it as a .38 LC exclusively. So far I've had good results. The problem is that I am just fussy enough that I don't want to shoot typical bullets that the .38 Sp. calls for, but the 150 gr. RN FP that the .38 LC was loaded with.
get a modern repro in 38-40. get a .38 cylinder rechamber cylinder to .41 colt. Up until about 1930, COLT made the Official Police/Army Special in 41 Long Colt. I had an Army Special that dated to about 1925 in the 41 cal. Making a 38 Special into a 41 is doable. This would be the easiest and cheapest route to go.
The Colt 38 Short was the parent cartridge of the Colt 38 Long. It used a outside lubed heeled boolit and of course the casing was shorter than the Colt 38 Long translating into a smaller powder charge than the 38 Long and they functioned in the converted revolvers and worked just fine for many years.