38 special 125 gr ammo fit an automatic?

I inherited a lot of pistol/revolver ammo from my Mom. I mean a bus load of ammo; probably need a firearm dealer license if I were to sell all of it.

It is all Winchester ammo. The box says… 38 Special 125 gr. jacketed hollow pt. There is also a +P within a circle on the box flap.
These are Super-X center-fire cartridges.

My question is… is there an quality automatic handgun that these will fit? I have little experience in hand weapons; all my interest and training is in long weapons.
But since I now have enough ammo to start my own Mexican revolution (just what IS that anyway?) maybe I’ll get something to use it all up. I have ZERO interest in revolvers. Why? I don’t know.

So, any automatics out there using 38 special ammo? And what does +P within a circle mean?

Thanks, CedricR.

38 spl is a revolver round, and you need a modern one rated for +P ammo.

The rimmed case of a .38 special makes the problematic to feed in an autoloader, especially if it has significant recoil. It can, and has been done, but rimless cases make for a more reliable gun.

+P means that the ammo is loaded to generate peak pressures above the SAAMI spec for .38 Smith & Wesson Special (~17,000 psi). As the .38 Spl is an old round originally designed to be fired in low alloy steel frames, a higher pressure loading allows it to match velocities of comparable modern ammunition in good quality handguns. +P and +P+ is often fired out of .357 Magnum revolvers, but should be used sparingly in aluminum framed compact guns, and not at all in older revolvers like the common S&W Model 10 M&P.

I’m not aware of any autoloading pistol chambered for the .38 Spl. IMI makes a Desert Eagle that is chambered in .357 Magnum, but even if you could get .38 Spl rounds to feed reliably from the magazine they wouldn’t headspace properly, and would probably cause function problems with the gas system.

Stranger

long guns are available that should chamber that round as I understand it

http://www.chuckhawks.com/puma_92_carbine.htm

There are also some of the winchester 92’s IIRC that will take them.

The majority of rifles that chamber .38 will be lever actions. They should also load .357, and therefore be okay with +P (but check with manufacturer anyway).

Along with the two models mentioned by drachillix, Marlin (e.g. here) and Henry (e.g. here) also makes their own models.

S&W Model 52

Chambered for yes, but a 52 will not shoot any old .38 spcl round. It is a target gun that was built to only shoot rounds loaded with wad cutter bullets seated inside the brass. The most definitely will NOT shoot JHP rounds as mentioned by the OP.

.38 Special and .357 cartridges headspace on the rim.

Unless we’re talking about a fully automatic pistol, let’s people not call a SEMI-AUTO an “automatic”.

Semi-automatic pistols are commonly called ‘automatics’. This is a tradition over a century old.

For example (not quite a century old):

AUTOMATIC PISTOL 45 Caliber, MODEL OF 1911

Sure, but the cartridge won’t the as long as the chamber (the .357 Remington Magnum case is 0.135" longer than that of the .38 Spl) and thus won’t be seated properly in the chamber throat.

Stranger

That Henry looks like a fine gun! With the 38 ammo, it would work ok for home defense and with the .357, it would be an awesone hunting rifle.

It’s lloking like I might NOT be getting a handgun after all!!! :wink:

CedricR.

The Henry is less than ideal for home defense. Take a look at a S&W Classic or
686, or Ruger GP-100 or Blackhawk, in 4 - 6". They’ll grow on ya :wink:

He doesn’t fancy revolvers or I would have mentioned those. I like the SP-101 or the LCR as well. If he were to overcome his issue with revolvers, he could look at .357 mag offerings as well.

If you got a lot of the ammo, sell it on gun broker. Then, take the proceeds and buy a pistol in the caliber you want.

Kosher for Passover?

And magazines aren’t clips but even people who know better use the latter term anyway. One of my pet peeves.

A magazine is a magazine, and a clip is a clip. Using them interchangeably is just wrong.

But ‘automatic’ when referring to a semi-automatic pistol is correct, based on the nomenclature used at their inception. (See the image of the reprint of the 1914 manual for the Colt automatic pistol.) Why is it proper to refer to a semi-automatic handgun as an automatic, but not to refer to a semi-automatic rifle as one? I don’t know. But an automatic rifle is a machine gun, and an automatic pistol isn’t.

By ideal, I meant ideal for me personally.

My shotgun will make a heck of a mess if used against an intruder and my .308 could punch a hole through the intruder, through the wall, through my sleeping daughter, through the outside wall and rip up the cat’s butt as he sleeps on the hood of the car.

Being more used to long weapons, I would feel confident with the smaller rifle and could reach an acceptable skill level much more quickly that starting from scratch with a handgun. The Henry will handle the .38 round, is short/small enough to used effectively indoors, can be used outdoors with a more powerful ammo… and did I mention how damn trick that all brass receiver is?

$900.00? Maybe I’ll get a second or part-time job!