help date bullets

[JUNKYARD DOG]

I was kicking around an old shed the other day and found these in a small box.
they are 6 Western 38 s&w spl and one Peters .41 L.D.A. any help I can get on manufacturing
date will be greatly appreciated. Thanks wes JYD.

[NOLA_Ken]

.38 S&W could be anywhere from early 20th century til now....they are still in production. .41 LDA (Long Double Action) is also known as .41 long Colt. Here's a link:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.41_Long_Colt

[Monty]

Note, there is a difference between a .38 Special and a .38 S&W. .38 S&W is a really short underpowered cartridge compared to the Special. From the picture it looks like the old .38 Special 200 gr. round nose loading. They were still making that loading in the early 1960s but I haven't seen them lately. I am guessing it was discontinued when much better powders were manufactured in the 1970s and 80s that would give a lighter bullet much higher velocities. I believe the Colt LDA came about to be used in the Colt Lightening, one of the first double action revolvers. It replalced the old .41 colt rim fire because of smokeless powder that wouldn't foul up the double action in the Colt.(An educated guess?) Monty

[JUNKYARD DOG]

thank you Monty and Ken for the info, its real nice having this forum and fellow treasure hunters
you can turn to for help and IDing. Take care and wish you all the best in the New Year. wes JYD...