Question 'bout Caliber sizes

[Rockrz]

OK, so is a .45 caliber bigger than a .44 caliber
Is a .38 the same as a 380?

What about .357? Is that smaller than a .44, or a .45?

I had this whole caliber thing explained to me when
I was a kid once down on the deer lease, but would
like to get a handle on it again (I forgot...)

Isn't there like a visual chart that shows the
different caliber sizes in reference to one another
to help a fella understand the differences?

[DJB.45acp]

I feel your pain, been there and had to learn them all over again.

First issue is that some calibers are given in diameter of bullet and some in millimeters.

Next issue is that case lengths differ greatly. And finally the case diameters can also be very different.

All that said, here is a short handgun caliber list that I'm sure will be added to.

Larger to smaller diameters:

.45 caliber = .45" diameter
.44
.41
.40 = 10mm
.380 = .38 = 9mm (they also call the .380 a 9mm short because of the case length)
.357
.32
.25
.22


I hope this helps a little bit.

David

[Rockrz]

Excellent, thanks!

Heck, while we're at it...maybe there could be a run down of
all common gun calibers, including long guns

[DJB.45acp]

No problem.

The exhaustive list is beyond my limited knowledge, so I'll defer to the experts.

David

[srothstein]

I feel your pain, been there and had to learn them all over again.

First issue is that some calibers are given in diameter of bullet and some in millimeters.

Next issue is that case lengths differ greatly. And finally the case diameters can also be very different.

All that said, here is a short handgun caliber list that I'm sure will be added to.

Larger to smaller diameters:

.45 caliber = .45" diameter
.44
.41
.40 = 10mm
.380 = .38 = 9mm (they also call the .380 a 9mm short because of the case length)
.357
.32
.25
.22

David has the basics down, but it can be confusing after that. For example, the 9mm and .380 are actually slightly smaller than the .38 special in bullet diameter. They use a .355 diameter bullet and the .38 is actually a .357 diameter.

And then the question is exactly what is "bigger"? For example, a .357 magnum has a smaller diameter than a .40 caliber but a lot more energy (read power). Many of the older revolver calibers have two versions, such as the .38 special and the .357 magnum. These two are the same diameter but the .357 case is slightly longer to allow for more powder and, thus, more power. other combinations that are similar are the .44 Special and .44 Magnum and the (auto, not revolver) .40S&W and 10mm.

For easy rules to remember, in general the diameter of the bullet is the name. If it is in English measurements, it is written with a decimal point and indicates the diameter in inches (.45 acp is just under one-half inch, .357 magnum is just over one-third, etc.). If it is in metric units, it is the diameter in millimeters and can be easily converted to inches if needed for comparison.

At least, this is my understanding, and there are some exceptions to any general rule.

[joe817]

For cartridge comparison sizes, here's a pretty interesting one from Glocktalk:

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And another:

http://www.genitron.com/Ammunition/Ammo.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jimlongley]

It also helps to remember that not all .45s are .45 in diameter, which just adds more to the confusion.

.45ACP is nominally .451 inches in diameter, while a .45 Colt (there's no such thing as a LONG Colt) may be .454, and a .45 Schofield slug will rattle down either bore at .45.

There is a pretty good list of cartridges on Wikipedia, with links to the stats for them.

[A-R]

Hornady has a good poster that shows full scale renderings of multiple rifle and pistol cartridges .... http://hornady.com/media_center/categor ... ory_id=147" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Medino]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_handgun_cartridges" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rifle_cartridges" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the names of the calibers are weird some are not even the caliber they say in the name. Just don't try shoving the wrong caliber in a gun you will regret it.

[Rockrz]

Wow! Sounds like I need to ask somebody if the ammo I'm buying will work in my gun.

So, what's the deal with my old Smith & Wesson .38?

When I went to buy rounds for it, they gave me standard .38 rounds,
but when I got home to try 'em they were too long to fit in the revolver.

So, I took them back and they guy said, "oh, you must have that
really old .38 that takes the short rounds" and so I bought the
last box of that type of rounds that they had in stock.

The guy even told me he was glad to sell that last box because
they were not going to stock them anymore since nobody
buys .38 short rounds anymore.

Does this mean my little .38 is really old?

It says "Regulation Police - 38 S&W CTS" on
the side of the barrel

On top of the barrel after the usual S&W, Springfield MASS
is says: Patented Feb 6.08, Sept 14.09, Dec 29.14

Reckon this means the gun was made in 1914?

[flb_78]

Looks like you have a 38 S&W CTG. Much different then the .38 special.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=353987" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mr.72]

On top of the barrel after the usual S&W, Springfield MASS
is says: Patented Feb 6.08, Sept 14.09, Dec 29.14

Reckon this means the gun was made in 1914?

No, it means it is covered by a patent issued in 1914.

[jimlongley]

Those dates are patent dates, the only way to determine the date of manufacture is to look it up by serial number.

The .38 S&W cartridge is much different than the .38 Special, but that in itself doesn't make the gun old. Since the patent dates show 1914, then the gun was obviously made after that, but notice should be taken that the .38 S&W cartridge was black powder and, generally, guns designed for shooting black powder cartridges have a marked tendency to disassemble catastrophically when subjected to the higher pressures of smokeless powder.

[TheBlake]

ok, while we are on this kick i have a question.

Any difference between .38 special and .38 special +p?

[flb_78]

+p has more powder then the standard 38 increasing the pressure. It allows for more velocity but the increased pressures can be devastating to a gun not rated to handle +p loads.