.38-72 Winchester

.38-72 Winchester center fire
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Manufacturer	Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Produced	1895–1936
Specifications
Case type	Rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter	.378 in (9.6 mm)
Neck diameter	.397 in (10.1 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.427 in (10.8 mm)
Base diameter	.461 in (11.7 mm)
Rim diameter	.519 in (13.2 mm)
Case length	2.58 in (66 mm)
Overall length	3.16 in (80 mm)
Rifling twist	22
Primer type	large rifle
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 275 gr (18 g) 1,480 ft/s (450 m/s) 1,337 ft⋅lbf (1,813 J)
Test barrel length: 24 Source(s): The Rifle in America

The .38-72 Winchester, also known as .38-72 WCF is a rimmed, bottleneck centerfire rifle cartridge introduced in 1895 for the Winchester 1895 lever-action rifle.

Description and Performance

The original Winchester factory load consisted of a 275-grain (17.8 g) bullet at 1,480 ft/s (450 m/s). This straight-walled cartridge case was designed for black powder rather than smokeless powder.

.38-72 Winchester case dimensions.

Besides the Winchester 1895 lever-action, the .38-72 WCF was chambered in the Winchester 1885 single-shot rifle.

With the introduction of superior cartridges designed for smokeless powder, the .38-72 WCF became obsolete and was soon dropped as an optional caliber for the Winchester Model 1895 and 1885 Production of loaded cartridges by Winchester ceased in 1936.

Dimensions

See also

• List of Winchester Center Fire cartridges
• List of cartridges by caliber
• List of rifle cartridges
• 9 mm caliber
• 9.3×74mmR
• .375 Winchester
• .38-55 Winchester

External links

• .38-72 WCF
• 38-72 Winchester