. 38 Long Colt The . 38 Long Colt ( commonly known as . 38 LC ) is a black powder cartridge introduced by Colt ' s Manufacturing Company in 1875 , and was adopted as a standard military pistol cartridge by the United States Army in 1892 for the Colt New Army M1892 Revolver . It is slightly more powerful than the . 38 Short Colt , or . 38 SC . The . 38 SC and . 38 LC differ in case length , and in bullet diameter , weight , and design . Design and ballistics . The . 38 Long Colt ' s predecessor , the . 38 Short Colt , used a heeled bullet of at a nominal , producing muzzle energy . The cylindrical " shank " or " bearing surface " of the bullet , just in front of the cartridge case mouth , is in diameter , the same as the cartridge case ( exactly like the . 22 rimfire cartridges ) . A smaller - diameter portion of the bullet , the " heel " , is crimped inside the case mouth , and the lubricant is outside the case , and exposed . In contrast , the . 38 Long Colt uses a bullet , the bearing surface and lubricant of which are entirely contained within the cartridge case . This keeps the waxy lubricant from collecting grit which can damage the revolver ' s barrel . Colt , however , retained the single - diameter charge hole , so the bullet was grossly undersize as it traveled through the chamber throat . It was supposed to expand in the throat and be " swaged down " , or reduced again in diameter , as it entered the barrel , but expanded unevenly producing poor accuracy . Velocity was the same , but bullets weighed , resulting in a muzzle energy of . History and usage . The cartridge ' s relatively poor ballistics were highlighted during the Philippine - American War of 1899 – 1902 , when reports from U . S . Army officers were received regarding the . 38 bullet ' s inability to stop charges of frenzied Moro " juramentado s " , even at extremely close ranges . A typical instance occurred in 1905 and was later recounted by Col . Louis A . LaGarde : Antonio Caspi , a prisoner on the island of Samar , P . I . attempted escape on Oct . 26 , 1905 . He was shot four times at close range in a hand - to - hand encounter by a . 38 Colt ' s revolver loaded with U . S . Army regulation ammunition . He was finally stunned by a blow on the forehead from the butt end of a Springfield carbine . Col . LaGarde noted Caspi ' s wounds were fairly well - placed : three bullets entered the chest , perforating the lungs . One passed through the body , one lodged near the back and the other lodged in subcutaneous tissue . The fourth round went though the right hand and exited through the forearm . As an emergency response to the round ' s unexpectedly dismal performance , the U . S . Army authorized officers to carry M1873 Colt Single Action Army revolvers , chambered in . 45 Colt , and issued from reserve stocks . Army Ordnance also purchased a number of M1902 revolvers ( the M1902 was actually Colt ' s New Double Action Army Model 1878 , a . 45 - caliber rod - ejector double - action revolver ) for issue to officers deploying overseas . The . 38 Long Colt remained in service until 1909 , when the . 45 M1909 cartridge was issued along with the . 45 Colt New Service revolver as the new standard military sidearm for the U . S . Army . In civilian use , the . 38 LC was chambered in a number of Colt revolvers and saw some use among target shooters . Various U . S . police forces also adopted the cartridge . However , the cartridge became nearly extinct after Smith & Wesson ' s more powerful . 38 Special cartridge became widely popular as a civilian and police service cartridge . By 1908 , even Colt was chambering their new Police Positive and New Army revolvers in " . 38 Colt Special " , which was nothing more than the standard . 38 Smith & Wesson Special with a different headstamp . Shooters should be aware that both . 38 Special and . 357 Magnum will chamber in Colt New Army revolvers , due to the straight walled chambers , but should not be used under any circumstances , because of dangerous pressure levels , up to three times what the New Army is designed for .