Help Identifying Old .38 Special Rounds (See Pics)

[osokne]

Digging through an old box, I discovered my Uncle Mikes belt shell carrier. To my surprise, it had 8 rounds of ammo inside! One of them was a lone 7.62x39 round, from waaaay back when I had an SKS. The other 7, were these .38 Specials... also waaaay back, when I had my Blackhawk. We're talking about 18 plus years ago.

What little I do recall, about the .38's, is that one of my buddies gave them to me, as a handful of loose ammo. No box & I don't remember which buddy. So, I don't have any info on grain weight, core, powder and such. Obviously, they're FMJ's... but they're "Pointed" or "Conical" or whatever. I'm not aware of any other outfit using the "Super-X" name, so it stands to reason that they were made by Winchester.

My concern is that they may be Armor Piercing (aka: "AP") handgun ammunition and therefore not legal and/or heavily regulated, here in the PRK. I did bring these into CA, from another state, during an actual move/relocation... not just a trip out and back. FWIW, I don't currently have anything that will chamber these and they're locked away, but I'm sure that makes no difference to the grabbers.



Any help in identifying these would be greatly appreciated.

[lazyworm]

Try a magnet test?

[osokne]

Try a magnet test?

Ah yes... Wise advice, thank you, Sir. I will give myself a "DUH!" on that one.

Okay... Magnet test is negative. No attraction, whatsoever. That rules out steel core then, yes?

[ojisan]

Super-X is Winchester brand.
Looks like some budget reloads using a Winchester case with pointy surplus 9mm bullets (that may be seated just a bit too deep).
Nothing to get worried about legally.

I would shoot them in a .357 gun if I was you as the loading power level is unknown.
For only 7 rounds I would not bother shooting them, not really worth the risk of gun damage.

[osokne]

For only 7 rounds I would not bother shooting them, not really worth the risk of gun damage.

I'm with ya there, for sure. The only .357 I have access to, is my father-in-laws, excellent (near mint) condition S&W 66... and I'm very much looking forward to inheriting that gun, in full working order.

Mainly concerned about the risk of breaking some libtarded ammo law... Managed to keep my nose clean all these years... somehow. Might as well continue the trend, I suppose.

[ojisan]

Actually, those are heat-seeking computer controled airburst bullets that can zip right through the front armor of an Abrams tank.
That whop-whoop-whoop you are hearing in the distance are the black helicopters on the way to your place right now.
Run, Grasshopper, run!

[osokne]

HA! LOL... I should be on the lookout for Gene Simmons then, I suppose.

[rsrocket1]

It looks like Winchester Super-x "Metal Piercing" round which was supposed to be used by police to pierce through car doors, etc.

Take a look here for more discussion and pics. I ran across this discussion a few months ago and read through it. It was pretty interesting.

Hope that helps.

[ojisan]

I took a look...according to the thread, seems like these are not the metal piercing rounds:
"The headstamps of the Winchester Metal Piercing read Super Speed 38 Special".

You really have to watch older ammo.
Those super-cheap guys who grew up during the Depression would load any bullet that would fit in a case.

[gunboat]

The old 38spl loads you really need to watch out for are the wwii "bomb release" rounds -- no special headstamp, winchester I think.
They have a hardened steel slug that your beautiful K model absolutely will not digest.
Fortunately they are very scarce.

[FLIGHT762]

I've seen a number of these Winchester metal penetrating 38 and .357 magnum cartridges over the years. Regardless of what someone on the internet says the headstamp should be, It is marked Winchester and it does look like the metal penetrating cartridges I've seen.

If you don't want potential issues, you should dispose of them.

[r3dn3ck]

yeah...it's a metal piercing bullet which means AFAIK they're federally regulated. Shoot them up and be rid of them.

[wtkaiser]

+1 on the metal piercing bullets. I'm with r3dn3ck - shoot them and be done with them. My very first box of magnum ammunition were WW .357s with these bullets and I found they would not penetrate metal fence posts. Why was I shooting fence posts? At that age, it was "why not" and at this age, it's "What's a fence post?" Anyway, I shot them and forgot about them.

[gunboat]

"failed the magnet test" -- How can they be metal piercing?

[FLIGHT762]

"failed the magnet test" -- How can they be metal piercing?

Do some reading here: http://iaaforum.org/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8713

The answer is in there if you look for it. Also about the "Super X" head stamp on a metal piercing cartridge. Click on the photos of the head stamp for a larger photo.

I still stick by what I said earlier, I believe the cartridge pictured is a metal piercing cartridge made by Winchester. These cartridges were made many years ago. There's not a lot of information on them and they could also have been made in regular brass cases.

It sure would be a kick in the pants to be prosecuted for possession of AP pistol ammunition and have an expert witness come to court with documentation and rare examples of said cartridge.

I wouldn't risk my freedom on some internet experts.