The .38-40 Winchester (10.17x33mmR) is actually a .40 caliber (10 mm) intermediate cartridge shooting .401 in (10.2 mm) caliber bullets. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester in 1874 and is derived from their .44-40 Winchester. This cartridge was introduced for rifles, but in its reintroduction for cowboy action shooting it has seen some popularity as a revolver cartridge. It is not particularly well suited to hunting larger game, but it was popular when it was introduced, along with the previous .44-40 Winchester, for deer hunting. It can be used successfully on smaller game animals, and for self-defense. Current loadings are intended for revolvers. One unusual design element of this cartridge is that factory ammunition was loaded with a different case profile than the standard chamber for this cartridge, factory ammunition having a much longer neck than the standard chamber. Most reloading dies are designed to size fired brass to the chamber specification rather than that of the original factory ammunition case profile. Ballistically, commercial 'cowboy' loads are similar to the much newer .40 S&W, sharing the bullet weight, and similar velocity. A limited number of hunting loads are available commercially, which produce about 25% more muzzle energy than the more common target ammunition.

Dimensions

thumb|center|500px

Synonyms

  • .38-40
  • .38-40 WCF
  • .38 CFW
  • .38 WCF

See also

  • 10 mm caliber
  • .40 S&W
  • 10mm Auto
  • .41 Action Express
  • List of rimmed cartridges
  • List of cartridges by caliber
  • Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

References

  • 38 WCF | 38-40 caliber
  • Reloading .38 WCF for Rifles
  • The .38-40 Winchester (.38 WCF)
  • The .38-40 - The 'Frontier Forty' — A sixgun/levergun natural
  • current 2019 Feb approved saami cartridge specifications #4, CENTER FIRE RIFLE, 2015/12/14 PDF, page 136 (148)