.38 .380 and .32acp

[Ksail101]

I have never seen any of the cartridges next to one another. Is there a big difference or no. Are any of these interchangable with the fire arms they are made for. I guess I just dont understand the whole .38 and .380 thing, Whats the difference?

[Hazcat]

a 32 is .312 (diameter) x .680 (case)

1 380 is .356 x .680

a 38 special is .358 x 1.155

Completely different rounds and CANNOT be fired from same gun.

a 357 magnum is is .358 x 1.290   

A 38 special can be fired from a 357 magnum, but a 357 magnum CANNOT be fired from a 38 special.

does this help at all?

 

[Outlaw]

Good info! I wouldn't even consider using anything smaller than a .380 (with a hot +p personal protection round in it) for a carry gun. Sometimes I actually carry a Sig 232 with those hot rounds in it. Usually it's an XD9 with a hot round. For open carry it's an XD45 with a similiar round. Never a .32. But that's just me.

[Ksail101]

Yes this does help. I looked them up on wikipedia and saw all of the demensions, its I guess the way it is spoken makes no sense. .38 and .380 its like saying .1 and .10 my old math teacher would be having a fit. LOL Thanks Haz you are always good for info on here. And thanks for the bday wish as well. I would be down to go shooting sometime I always find it enjoyable to talk to all you older gun guys. I learn alot. Civilian shooting is something that I will carry on forever and I hope to pass it down. I really like the whole 1911 shooting and building side of guns. But with the gun world always producing things like the SR9 in the future I wonder what will happen. I bought a glock 19 as my first civilian handgun and probably will never buy another striker fire again. But since I have bought my Kimber Desert Warrior the gun has been flawless so there has been no need to tear it all down and file or do any of the things I read about guys having to do in Vietnam and stuff. So I feel that the actual getting to know your gun part of shooting and trying out different things on your own is starting to go away. It is easier to buy a fully built Night Hawk Custom then taking a colt or gen 1 Kimber and messing around with it. That is where guys like you come in. When I am at the range and something happens to Kimber, like the rightside safety broke one time, I panic and get on the net to find a pistolsmith in the area to help me fix it. I get someone that has torn these things apart for years and looks at it and shows me how to fix the problem and what safety he has used in the past that has not failed on him. Now of course having the custom Colt or NightHawk is always a goal and achievement, but that first Kimber or S&W is what should be used to learn and become a gun person. I was told once that if your gun didn't have a scratch or a nick on it, it was really being used. So I guess all this writing here just comes down to a thank you to people like you, and hope that guys my age will carry on this knowledge that guys like you have learned from your men ahead of you. I trying. It my dream to someday write an article for guns and ammo. Or even answer a 26 year old's question about guns that only experience could answer. Also I am not knocking all guys my age for I know there are some of us that are way ahead of me and have been shooting since they were in diapers. But I wasnt one of them and my experience and passion for this lifestyle comes from being in the military. And wanting to continue something that I learned I truely enjoyed.

[Hazcat]

Ksail,

You'll get there.  NONE of us know it all (though some of us think we do ) and we all started right where you are.

Ask all the questions yo want and we will give the answers we have.  Keep shootin' and keep learnin', it's a lifetime of FUN!

[Sponsor]

[DDMac]

And Ksail, follow Ole Hazcat's example of doing all you can to insure that your generation, and your childrens', will be able to hunt, shoot, and keep democracy alive, as do all the geezers on this site. These are dangerous times for the freedoms you served to defend. Thank You for your service.  Mac.

[Pathfinder]

And Ksail, follow Ole Hazcat's example of doing all you can to insure that your generation, and your childrens', will be able to hunt, shoot, and keep democracy alive, as do all the geezers on this site. These are dangerous times for the freedoms you served to defend. Thank You for your service.  Mac.

Geezers?

I resemble that remark.   

[DDMac]

Sorry, but I meant definition #3; Native American name - Venerable Hunters of the Great Grey Goose. That kind of GEEZERS! Mac.
BTW, went to Food Lion yesterday and picked up a bottle of Just For Men to try. Got to checkout and the girl looked at it, laughed loud enough to get all the checkout girls' attention, and asked me just what I intended to apply it to, as I am somewhat follicly impaired. Very embarrassing. And she is my niece! Wait til Christmas. BAH!!
Mac.

[Hazcat]

Sorry, but I meant definition #3; Native American name - Venerable Hunters of the Great Grey Goose. That kind of GEEZERS! Mac.
BTW, went to Food Lion yesterday and picked up a bottle of Just For Men to try. Got to checkout and the girl looked at it, laughed loud enough to get all the checkout girls' attention, and asked me just what I intended to apply it to, as I am somewhat follicly impaired. Very embarrassing. And she is my niece! Wait til Christmas. BAH!!
Mac.

Mac,

Did ya see the color of my beard in the Ruger shirt pic?  I started going grey at age 14 and now at (soon to be) 54 my forehead and the back of my head are have a race to the middle. Got a bunch of scars and wrinkles too.  My attitude?  So what.  It's just the way I am, grey and going bald.  It's called 'wisdom from experience' and it has made more than one youngster change his mind when he looked in my face.

How does that song go, "I ain't as good as I once was BUT..."

Be who you are and be proud of it.