[pat86323]

i have a smith model 19 that i shoot mostly 38 through unless im hunting for the simple fact that its cheaper. Someone just gave me a box of 38special +P. Will this put unessisary wear on the gun i cant imagine that its hotter then a 357 load, but i will not shoot the ammo until i am sure it wont harm my gun. Any help would be great.

[Majic]

The +P has nowhere near the power of the magnum.

[LoneCoon]

.38 +p is a midway between .38 and .357. I personally prefer to shoot it because I like the recoil without the sting of .357. It's perfectly safe to shoot.

[DWARREN123]

Any 38spl (to include +P or +P+) should be good to shoot in a 357mag. The 38spl +P is getting into the lite load 357mag area.

[bakert]

.38 +P rds will work just fine in your model 19 and they will not damage it. Although some loads, usually the really hot .357 125 gr JHPs, have damaged some K frame guns usually from extended shooting of these loads, the K frames are tougher and much more durable than some would have you believe.

[Scooter72]

Any idea how many rounds of .357 magnum will wareout or loosen up a K frame? I have one that I have been practicing with .357 only, getting ready for the whitetail season. I have heard of this before and was a little dissapointed and worried. Thank you for any replay.

[bakert]

Scooter72, Although it's best not to hotrod a K frame indefinetly, with any reasonble load they'll last for a long time. Don't know what your hunting rds are but my model 66 has had a lot of 158 gr full power loads both jacketed and lead through it and a few of of the hot 125 gr loads although I don't use these anymore. My wife has shot a lot of the Win white box 110 gr jacketed loads in it too with no problems. Like I said before, the really hot 125gr bullet loads are what has caused problems in most guns. Most of my target shooting is with reduced lead reloads in the 900 to 1000 fps range.

[SaxonPig]

Oh my God. This myth of the +P is still completely out of hand.

pat85323- You are the third person I've seen ask about +Ps in a Magnum revolver and it was no less stunning to read it than it was the first two times. The .357 Magnum pressure limit is 35,000 PSI while the maximum for the .38 Special is 21,500 (althogh the major manufacturers do not get near this level in reality). Do you really think ANY .38 Spcial ammo will strain a Magnum revolver?

LoneCoon- The factory +P is nowhere near mid-way to the .357 Magnum. The .357 operates at up to 35,000 PSI while current factory +P is loaded to 18,500 which is well below the maximum allowable for the .38 Special let alone the .357 Magnum.

DWARREN123- The +Ps are not "lite .357s," they are in fact lite .38s being loaded well below industry pressure standards. In the past 50 years the ammo makers have been reducing the power levels on the .38 loads because of the many cheap (often imported) guns in this caliber. It has gotten to the point of being ridiculous* and they now hype +P as a powerful load when it is not. Current +P is actually weaker than what the standard loads were 30-40 years ago.

Some K frame Magnums have cracked their forcing cones and while the hot 125 grain loads are often cited as the culprit I have seen evidence that some guns have cracked that never used the 125 ammo and some have cracked after firing nothing but .38 Special ammo. This leads me to believe that there are continuing problems with the barrels rather than the trouble being hot ammo. My Model 19 was made in 1970 and shoots nothing but hot 125 loads and I'll be sure to let everyone know if I ever have any trouble with the gun.

* In the 1950s the standard load was a 158 grain bullet at 960 FPS. By the 1980s this was reduced to 870 FPS and current specifications are 730 FPS. Soon we will be able to throw the bullets by hand with greater effect if this trend continues.

[lowflash]

The industry standards have changed from copper crusher CUP mythology to the Strain Gauge PSI influencing the reduction in performance levels.

The design intent of the M19 was occasional use of 357 Magnum and the predominant use of 38 Special. The 125 grain 357 Magnum weren’t in existence when the design was conceptualized and placed in production.

[cyanide]

I have shot out S&W model 19's

it took about 10,000 15,000 rounds of real brutal hand loads. Now that isn't a hard and fast rule , just my experiences with them. And when I say brutal hand loads I mean real insane hot loads. Most of the time the forcing cone cracks before anything goes out of time.

I just sent them back to Smith and they sent them back good as new.

Enjoy the gun and stop worrying about it giving out. When and if it breaks, just fix it.

JMO

[Scooter72]

Thank you very much!! :)