This post is primarily an RFI restricted to Aussies, apologies, but I have a Colt Government Model (Mk.IV Series 70) re-barreled to .38 JWH inbound to my meagre collection of historical Australian arms, albeit without dies or brass.

Most Aussies know that the .38-45 JWH was developed to stick it up our gun-grabbing Prime Minister John Winston Howard at the time, following his nation-wide ban on .45 pistols for most sporting disciplines, in the wake of the infamous Monash University shooting. Notwithstanding the fact that it was caused by a mentally unstable student (who was a Chinese national) shooting his academic nemesis and several others who got in his way, Prime Minister Howard was empowered by his unchallenged response to the Port Arthur massacre and went after law-abiding handgun owners. It was thought that having a pistol cartridge named after him would be the ultimate payback!

Apparently the .38 JWH was a bit of a bugger to get shooting well, and when the dust finally settled most pistol shooters moved to the .38 Super or .357 SIG, or those disciplines where the .45 was still allowed. This has left the .38 JWH as a largely forgotten blip on the timeline of Australian shooting history, but I am hoping there are still a few NEers out there who were an active part of that phenomenon.

As a collector I am looking for information: specifically
Who was the primary driving force behind the .38 JWH initiative?
Who made the form dies?
Were there standardized dimensions, and if so who did the drawings?
Did the order for Starline .38JWH-headstamped brass from Granite Arms ever arrive in Australia?
Was there a handgun journal or magazine article on the .38JWH at the time?

As a shooter/collector, I am looking for a set of dies, and any head-stamped brass that might remain out there somewhere.

...and I am aware of the similar wildcats developed stateside: ie .38-45 Clerke, the Casull version, and the Hard Head going back to Dean Grennell etc., but the only published article on the JWH I have found so far is in an ACCA Journal ~20 years ago.

Pics will be added when the gun arrives, but in the meantime I would love to hear from anyone who can add anything at all to this fascinating topic.