I'm under the weather and killing time until my Bride gets home looking at the history of some of the items I am letting go of before I do. Colt New Army M1901
I was talking to a friend, yes I have those, about my Colt M1901 New Army .38 Long Colt Revolver and how I am thinking of moving it down the road because I don't reload for it. I have exactly 4 WWI .38 Long Colt rounds, I had 6 but Ryan and I each shot one. We could not help ourselves. My Buddy asked me why I don't load for it because I am set up to load for .357 Mag and .38 SPC. I said it is the same reason I reload 9mm but not 9mm Makarov and .380, they are to similar and there is a possibility that they can get mixed up at some point. I buy factory 9mm Makarov and keep it well separated from my .38 spc and .357 mag.
Below you can see the difference between the 3 cartridges: Left to right .38 Long Colt, .38 Special and .357 Mag.
The M1901 will hold all 3 rounds in its cylinder, the .38 SPC was a round (Funny, was around and WAS AROUND both work here.) when this revolver was made but the .357Mag would not come out until 1934. Per CIP (Commission internationale permanente pour l'épreuve des armes à feu portatives or in English Permanent International Commission for the Proof of Small Arms) established in 1914 the .38 SPC had a maximum chamber PSI that was 9000 PSI higher than that of the .38 Long Colt meaning there could be a catastrophic failure were the cartridges interchanged. The .357 mag had a CIP maximum chamber pressure that was 31,000 PSI higher than that of the .38 Long Colt, that could make for a very bad day. Because the M1901 could fit both the .38 long and .38 spc the M1903 was changed so the cylinders slightly tapered to not allow the .38 spc to go all the way in, thus also stopping the future .357 from going all the way in. (Just the tip.) As you can see in my M1901 all 3 rounds fit, although the .357 mag is just about 2mm to long to cycle the cylinder, A .357 mag wadcutter would fit and shoot though.
My Colt New Model Army of 1901 in .38 Long Colt was made in 1901, the first version with a lanyard ring. It was later reconditioned By Remington-UMC for service in WWI, thus the two inspector marks RAC (Rinaldo A. Carr who was a civilian employee of the War Department and was the sub-inspector on the revolvers) who initially inspected the pistol and LEB (Leroy E. Briggs who was an Army Captain that inspected revolvers rebuilt and refurbished at Remington-UMC's Bridgeport CT Plant 1898-1917).
