. 38 S W vs. 38 Special - Whats the Difference? - The Broad Side Smith Wesson developed the 38 Special, also known as the 38 Colt Special, for use in its Military Police Model revolver in 1902 as a replacement for the 38 Long Colt round The 38 Special saw much use by military and law enforcement
Identifying old S W 38 Special - The Firearms Forum It has a 4" barrel with a square butt plate On the left side of the barrel is inscribed: "Smith Wesson Springfield Mass USA" and just below that are a series of patent dates beginning with APR 9 89 and ending with JUL 7 03