Posted: 1/20/2013 10:11:19 AM EDT
In the last few months I've picked up a couple odd-ball police discard .38 Special revolvers for fairly cheap...
Not the handsomest guns...but perfectly servicable old service revolvers. Anyhow..revolver #1 is an old, old Taurus Model 82 4" revolver..just guessing and looking at pics of new and older models Taurus's..I would guess this revolver dates to approx. 1970's - early 1980's time-frame. blue steel 'K frame' size .38 Revolver #2 is a Rossi Model 841..(looks quite similiar to the .357 Model 971 still in production)...again a blue-steel and wood 'K frame' comparible .38 six-shot revolver...probably dates to approx. mid to late 1980's or so. I googeled around...but really didn't find much info regarding whether these two particular model revolvers are +P rated or not.. 
I did read in a Rossi down-load owners manual that Rossi 5 and 6 shot steel .38 revolvers were good for +P (and they had a rant referring to +P+ as taboo!!) So what say the revolver guru's??..Are old Taurus 82 and Rossi Model 841 .38 special revolvers suitable for occasional .38 +P loads?? |
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I don't think Taurus or Rossi small frame revolvers from the 70's or early 80's were rated for +P ammo.
Todays +P probably isn't going to blow one up, but the gun may loosen up rather quickly and start to have timing problems or excessive wear issues. These guns from the 70's-80's were not known for strength or quality. They were basic shooters. Remember that the owner's manual now online are not the same as they were back then. As the guns were upgraded, the manuals changed. The manuals back then likely said "No +P". A smart move would be to ask the experts, the people who made them. Just email them with the models and serial numbers and they'll tell you. |
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Ya' know really...I don't hardly ever shoot .38 Special +P in anything but .357 Mag revolvers anyway..
The more I think about it...these old products of Brazil do look pretty sturdy..however I also own a late 1910's/early 1920's S&W M&P .38 Special from a timeframe where S&W may or may not have heat-treated the cylinders...I don't shoot anything but standard .38 Special in it..my old Colt .38 Specials either. One of these old Taurus or Rossi's split a forcing cone or bulge a cylinder...it wouldn't be worth repairing!! 
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If I remember right the Taurus 82 looks similar to the Smith model 10. While I shoot +p in my model 10 I'm not so sure I would run it in
the Taurus and for sure not in the Rossi. Most of the loads I've run through my 38s have been 158 lead semi wadcutters at standard pressures(not +p). |
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Well...just for giggles..I did email both Taurus and Rossi about +P compatability of these revolvers.
No response from Taurus...Rossi did respond in courteous fashion with the statement that the only Rossi manufactured arms suitable for +P ammo are firearms factory chambered for .38 Special..no others. Plus they mentioned that my serial numbered revolver had not been imported by Rossi USA and therefore no further info was available. |