.38-40 Winchester

.40 S&W, .38-40 Winchester .44 Special, and .45 ACP cartridges.

Type

Pistol

Place of origin

United States

Production history

Designer

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Produced

1874 to 1937, now in production again.

Specifications

Parent case

.44-40 Winchester

Case type

rimmed, bottlenecked

Bullet diameter

.401 in (10.2 mm)

Neck diameter

.416 in (10.6 mm)

Shoulder diameter

.4543 in (11.54 mm)

Base diameter

.465 in (11.8 mm)

Rim diameter

.520 in (13.2 mm)

Rim thickness

.058 in (1.5 mm)

Case length

1.30 in (33 mm)

Overall length

1.59 in (40 mm)

Ballistic performance

Bullet weight/type	Velocity	Energy
180 gr (12 g) SP	1,160 ft/s (350 m/s)	538 ft·lbf (729 J)

Source(s): Cartridges of the World, 11th ed

^[1]

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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

The renewed interest in this caliber can be explained by the increasing popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting.^[3] Several single-action revolvers have recently been chambered for this cartridge, including the Ruger Vaquero. Most modern reloading data for this cartridge is found in the handgun section of reloading manuals.

Performance

Though introduced as an "all-around" cartridge, traditional sources suggest the .38-40 performs inadequately on deer.^[3] Ballistically, commercial 'cowboy' loads are similar to the much newer .40 S&W, sharing the same bullet diameter, bullet weight, and similar velocity.^[4] A limited number of 'hunting' loads are available commercially, which produce about 25% more muzzle energy than the more common target ammunition.^[5]

Synonyms

.38-40
.38-40 WCF
.38 CFW
.38 WCF

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to .38-40 Winchester.

↑ 1.0 1.1 Barnes, Frank C. (2006) [1965]. Skinner, Stan, ed. Cartridges of the World (11th Edition ed.). Iola, WI, USA: Gun Digest Books. p. 92. ISBN 0-89689-297-2.
↑ Waters, Ken (1990) [1980]. Pet Loads, volume 2 (5th Edition ed.). Prescott, AZ, USA: Wolfe Publishing. pp. 443–447. ISBN 0-935632-33-6.
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jones, Allan, ed. (1998). Speer Reloading Manual (13th Edition ed.). Lewiston, ID, USA: Blount, Inc. pp. 394–400, 542–542.
↑ , Midway 38-40 Ten-X.
↑ , Midway 38-40 Winchester Super-X.

.38 caliber

Winchester firearms and cartridges

Rifles

Lever-action	Henry rifle Model 1866 Model 1873 Model 1876 Model 1886 Model 1892 Model 1894 Model 1895 Model 53 Model 55 Model 64 Model 65 Model 71 Model 88 Model 150 Model 250 Model 255 Model 9422

Bolt action	Model 1878 Hotchkiss Model 1895 Lee Navy Model 1900 Model 1902 Model 1904 Model 43 Model 47 Model 51 Imperial Model 52 Model 54 Model 56 Model 57 Model 58 Model 59 Model 60 Model 60A Model 67 Model 68 Model 69 Model 70 Model 72 Model 75 Model 121 Model 131 Model 141 Model 320 Model 325 Model 670 Model 770

Pump-action	Model 1890 Model 1906 Model 61 Model 62 Model 62A Model 270

Semi-automatic	Model 1903 Model 1905 Model 1907 Model 1910 Model 30 Model 63 Model 74 Model 77 Model 100 Model 190 Model 490

Full-automatic	Olin/Winchester FAL Model 1917

Falling-block action	Model 1885

Shotguns

Pump-action	Model 1893 Model 1897 Model 1912 Model 25 Model 42 Model 1200 Model 1300

Lever-action	Model 1887 Model 1901 Model 9410

single-shot	Model 20 Model 36 Model 37 Model 37A Model 41

double-barrel	Model 21 Model 24 Model 96 Model 101

Semi-automatic	Model 1911 SL Model 40 Model 50 Model 59 Model 1400 Model 1500 SX-1

Cartridges