AMMO WARNING! MFS .38SPL

[JBird33]

Perhaps the shooter has a .38 S/W and not a .38 Special. That would do it every time. A lot of people with older model 10 Smiths think they have a .38 Special in their hands when it is not.

[littlejake]

Perhaps the shooter has a .38 S/W and not a .38 Special. That would do it every time. A lot of people with older model 10 Smiths think they have a .38 Special in their hands when it is not.

IIRC -- the .38 spl case is longer than the .38 S&W -- 1.155 inches overall compared to 0.755 inches. The chamber should have a counterbore that prevents the .38 spl from chambering in a 38 S&W -- same thing that prevents chambering a .357 in a .38 spl chambered cylinder (unless you load the cylinder with a ball-peen hammer)

[f33dback]

Thanks for the heads up.

[juicemansam]

This

At the range today, someone was shooting their S&W .38. They were shooting this MFS ammo and had at least 5 case failures. I took some pictures to post. This was not reloaded ammo. It was purchased new from the store.

and this

I was not there while these were being fired. I don't think these were hot loads. I asked them if they ever had split cases before. They said no.

lead me to doubt that they could have been factory loads. Anybody can walk in with reloads packed in any given brand's box. I bought a bunch of aluminum-cased blazer ammo, and I've been to ranges where they only look at the box and say they're fine to shoot. Of course, if these MFS rounds are in fact factory rounds, then that's a concern. But for me there's a bit of doubt.

[tbhracing]

Thanks, will never buy that stuff.

[West coast]

WOW!!!!

[crazy]

This

and this

lead me to doubt that they could have been factory loads. Anybody can walk in with reloads packed in any given brand's box. I bought a bunch of aluminum-cased blazer ammo, and I've been to ranges where they only look at the box and say they're fine to shoot. Of course, if these MFS rounds are in fact factory rounds, then that's a concern. But for me there's a bit of doubt.

First, let me say that you can doubt all you want. I have no dog in this fight. This is not a case of some guy that's related to another guy that has a cousin twice removed that has a brother in law that shot this ammo.

I am a member at a gun club. The person shooting the ammo is a member of the gun club. They bought two boxes of this ammo from the gun shop in town. Some of the guys were examining the cases when I came back to the pistol range. When I saw the cases, I wanted to take pictures. After I took the pictures, I called the gun shop myself and spoke with the owner and told him what happened to the cases. He said he would pull the ammo and call the distributor or manufacturer on Monday.

So to conclude my thoughts about your comments, I posted this because I was concerned and I thought others might be concerned also. I don't own stock in a competing ammo manufacturer. If you want to buy this ammo and shoot it in your gun, be my guest. Just let me know when you are going to the range so I can be there with my video camera.

[JBird33]

IIRC -- the .38 spl case is longer than the .38 S&W -- 1.155 inches overall compared to 0.755 inches. The chamber should have a counterbore that prevents the .38 spl from chambering in a 38 S&W -- same thing that prevents chambering a .357 in a .38 spl chambered cylinder (unless you load the cylinder with a ball-peen hammer)

Usually that is the case, however a lot of those older Smiths were modified when they were brought back over to the US from England. They had the barrels chopped down, lanyard loop cut off, and cylinders reamed out to accept .38 Special. I own one of the darn things (cause who can turn down a gun for $150, even if it has been bastardized!)

I fired some .38 Special in mine just to see how it did and out of 50 rounds I had 1 case failure. Mine was just reamed a little tighter maybe?

[RogueSniper]

Crazy - Thanks for your contribution and warning. I bought some of the MFS from Cabela's, but in 380Auto. I've read that the ammo was extremely dirty but nothing about split cases. I agree that perhaps the QC has gone down but maybe other mitigating factors but those are unknowns.

Good for you for contacting the gun shop. I'm going to contact Cabela's about the possible problem.

Did anyone keep those rounds and any unfired ones? I'd be curious to know what the case thickness were on those that split and the unfired ones.

I'm going to disassemble one of those MFS rounds right now and check the wall thickness.

[crazy]

Crazy - Thanks for your contribution and warning. I bought some of the MFS from Cabela's, but in 380Auto. I've read that the ammo was extremely dirty but nothing about split cases. I agree that perhaps the QC has gone down but maybe other mitigating factors but those are unknowns.

Good for you for contacting the gun shop. I'm going to contact Cabela's about the possible problem.

Did anyone keep those rounds and any unfired ones? I'd be curious to know what the case thickness were on those that split and the unfired ones.

I'm going to disassemble one of those MFS rounds right now and check the wall thickness.

All the cases that were fired were collected and put back in the box. Two cases couldn't be found. There were about 20 unfired rounds and the rest were OK except for the 5 split cases. I told the guy that he should take them back and get a refund. That started the old "ammo is not returnable" argument. I said that the store owner would be a fool to not refund the money for those two boxes of ammo. My opinion was that if he didn't get a refund, post it here on Calguns and let everyone know. But I can't imagine that would be necessary.


My take on this is that I will not be buying any of that ammo for myself. The info was shared with everyone here and they can make the decision if they want to shoot it in their gun or not. If anyone "doubts" my sincerity or the accuracy of my description, that's OK by me. I know that most members appreciate the warning.


P.S. Second paragraph is not directed at you Roguesniper.

[Katana]

Just let me know when you are going to the range so I can be there with my video camera.

Bring a sheet of plexiglass.

[CornFedWB]

I had this happen to me with my mosin nagant. The paper wrapped russian ammo thats so popular. Must have gotten a bad batch, the case cracked at the rim in the back and shot hot gasses and burning powder in my face. That was from Cordova Guns.

[Ding126]

good heads up

[fabguy]

oh wow, I just bought some 7.62x39 MFS from cabelas last week. Now worried about shooting this stuff

[PolishMike]

Hey guys,

I was selling this stuff but have since pulled it off the shelves. There isnt much 38spl ammo available these days so I got these from a distributor.

I spent some of today researching it and it looks to be a problem with this stuff.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/125018-mfs-38-special.html

It is NOT a pressure problem. These are not overloaded but just have improperly annealed cases. I am trying to find some replacement ammo now.