CNL vs. FMJ

[Merc]

Is there any good reason to continue shooting CNL cartridges in my 1923 Colt .38 cal. Army Special with a two inch barrel? The gun was a family members home defender and came with several boxes of CNL ammo. I thought about switching to FMJ cartridges in order to keep lead out of the shooting range’s berm, but I will shoot the CNLs if there’s a good reason to continue, i.e. age of the gun, etc. The gun is in good condition for it’s age (95 years old). The bore is clean although the rifling looks a little faint. It shoots the CNL ammo OK. I’m on human-size paper targets at 25 yards.

[Art]

I assume your revolver is chambered for the .38 S&W Special cartridge and not one of the Colt rounds. Either way it shouldn't matter as long as you use standard velocity ammunition. Most of the FMJ or "copper washed," which I assume you mean by CNL, or lead ought to be about the same. All of that plinking ammo is loaded pretty moderately and the jacket shouldn't hurt your barrel.

The faint rifling may be due to a bit of leading.

[Merc]

As far as I know, it’s a standard .38 Special.

B7E12160-ED64-4B6E-A9A8-41C0F1EEEF51.jpg.

I originally assumed it was an older Detective Special but after further study, I found it’s actually a 1923 Colt Army Special with a 2 inch replacement barrel that was meant for a later model DS.

CNL = Conical-Nosed Lead so the projectile is pure lead and has no jacket. I figured the lead has left some fouling in the rifling although it hasn’t effected accuracy.

[Art]

FMJ or lead round nose will work fine in your revolver.

Short replacement barrels are not uncommon with vintage Colts. I was once issued a Colt New Service .38 Special with a 2" barrel. If you think it was funny looking you're right. It was also hopelessly out of time. I told the "powers that be" I wanted a gun that worked or permission to carry my own re=instated. Shortly thereafter I was once again carrying my S&W 2" Model 15.

Nice gun by the way .

[Merc]

Thanks. It’s an accurate shooter for its age. From what I’ve learned, mechanically, this is more like a watch than a gun. It takes knowledge and experience to perform any repairs or adjustments on old Colt revolvers.