enfield #2 mk1 38 caliber.

1
last gunshow i went to they had one for a good price and since i have a sick fascination with top break pistols i wanted to buy it but had left my pistol purchase permit home. so another show is coming up in september and i'm starting to do my homework, and i find that it allegedly intentionally shot a heavy 200 gn bullet at low velocity (also low velocity because top breaks are not especially strong) so that it would keyhole, entering the target sideways, hence do more damage.
this tendency is apparently a good thing for shooting nazis at 10 yards, but if i wanted to shoot at longer ranges, does it impair accuracy? can it be corrected by using a lighter bullet, or faster, or some other ballistics magic?
Last edited by lurker on Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: enfield #2 mk1 32 caliber.

3
now that you mention it i believe they were all 38. i'll try to fix the title. how does it shoot at, say 10, 20, 30 yds?

bibliophile, i see. i'm trying to find good homes for mine. chances are very very good that i'll never reread the vast majority of them.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: enfield #2 mk1 38 caliber.

4
Any 38 S&W will do, so yes to lighter bullets. I'm a bit skeptical about the tumbling thing, but target may prove me wrong.

Marginal stabilization as a way of enhancing damage may (or may not) have been a strategy with Stoner's black rifle, but I'm nearly certain that the idea was absolutely not in play for slow moving lead that would only lose penetration with loss of stability.

Note that's NOT 38 S&W Special. Different cartridge.
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Re: enfield #2 mk1 32 caliber.

5
lurker wrote: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:47 pm now that you mention it i believe they were all 38. i'll try to fix the title. how does it shoot at, say 10, 20, 30 yds?

bibliophile, i see. i'm trying to find good homes for mine. chances are very very good that i'll never reread the vast majority of them.
To be honest, I haven't tried it much past 10 yards. I have some more boolits, so I'll try to get it out to the range again soon. It did fine at 10, for an unfamiliar DA pistol with 50 lb pull. :)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: enfield #2 mk1 38 caliber.

6
Marlene wrote: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:57 pm NOT 38 S&W Special.
NOT 38 special. :thumbup: ammo availability via mail order doesn't seem to be a problem, was planning to reload once i had a stockpile of brass. can 38 spcl brass be cut down for this?
SailDesign wrote: Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:21 pm To be honest, I haven't tried it much past 10 yards. I have some more boolits, so I'll try to get it out to the range again soon. It did fine at 10, for an unfamiliar DA pistol with 50 lb pull. :)
i know, it's a terrible imposition of me to ask you to take the old warhorse out for a run. i should be ashamed. i am ashamed, please accept my apologies. :sorry:
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: enfield #2 mk1 38 caliber.

7
Sadly cut down specials are too skinny, but star line makes new brass. It’s nice stuff. I have only shot a few from my little break top, but 148 hollow base wadcutters loaded long worked pretty good despite being nominally a couple thousandths under size (hollow base expands to fill the gap).
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Re: enfield #2 mk1 38 caliber.

8
lurker wrote: Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:36 pm
Marlene wrote: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:57 pm NOT 38 S&W Special.
NOT 38 special. :thumbup: ammo availability via mail order doesn't seem to be a problem, was planning to reload once i had a stockpile of brass. can 38 spcl brass be cut down for this?
SailDesign wrote: Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:21 pm To be honest, I haven't tried it much past 10 yards. I have some more boolits, so I'll try to get it out to the range again soon. It did fine at 10, for an unfamiliar DA pistol with 50 lb pull. :)
i know, it's a terrible imposition of me to ask you to take the old warhorse out for a run. i should be ashamed. i am ashamed, please accept my apologies. :sorry:
It IS a terrible imposition, it really is.... :D

But I'll do my best. :)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: enfield #2 mk1 38 caliber.

9
I've found the Hornady 148gr. Hollow-base wadcutter to perform well in .38 S&W revolvers. I load them over 2.5gr. of Unique with a CCI 500 small pistol primer and this has proven quite satisfactory in antique guns. You can reload this cartridge in .38 Special dies with a bit of fussing but this does not produce a proper roll-crimp, which sometimes leads to incomplete ignition. Not tragic, but you wind up with un-burned powder all over your shooting bench. Better to get a set of .38 S&W dies and do it properly.

This pic shows the loaded ammo with one of my favorite .38 S&W revolvers
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