"you can shoot 357s out of that 38 special"

That's the thing. It's quite possible that the gun was actually chambered in .357 and the clerk was simply stating a correct fact for that model of gun rather than messing up the ammo switch info. After all, when it comes to new revolvers in .38 or .357 its safe to say that most ARE chambered in .357.

I suspect that MC Charlie in the post just above this got it right that the second employee just wanted to put the gun away until the whole "show" fizzled out.

Magnum ammo will occasionally fit in "Sp" chambers or in old blackpowder guns of hardly related calibers. Also many shooters are not knowledgeable about actual calibers/bores/pressures (Like someone joked above: hey, .38 is bigger than .357, so it's ok!).

Every discussion board and shooting range could actually display a list of compatible or interchangeable calibers. People are shy, proud, or simply don't know they should be asking for that kind of info.

So the more we try to clarify facts the better (It might be hard, I know.... ). As a manager I would want to know about my staff and what was missed during hiring and training.

cylinder won't close with 357's. dude can say all he wants. first time they try it, the mistake will be apparent.

He had a brain fart and got it bassackwards... you can't fit a .357 into a .38 spc.

Or he handed the guy the gun he pointed at and asked for as a ".38 snubnose" but was actually chambered in .357. When he informed the customer of this he got verbally jumped on by 5 other customers "en masse".

OP, did anyone actually find out what this gun was actually chambered for?

The clerk was right, the OP was wrong.
What he meant was, if you ream out the cylinder you can safely shoot 357 in a .38. He was boasting about the tensile strength of the steel used in his product. He knew more about it than you.

Or maybe not.

Well, the first thing I would do is go skipping down the aisle singing to myself..."I know more than HE does...I know more than HE does..."

ArchAngelCD said:

Personally, I think you should mind your own business. It's not your store and it wasn't dangerous so stay out of it!

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It sounded so good the first time I said it I wanted to say it again.

I have to agree with the several posts that suggested it was possible the customer actually pointed at a .357 Magnum J frame and the sales clerk was correct and all those who stuck their nose in something that wasn't their business were wrong.

if I'm okay with it I usually step in politely and try to help the customer myself. This kind of thing usually happens to me in motorcycle shops, not gun stores.

It's the opinions of gun store clerks I sometimes disagree with. I'm relatively impressed by most of the gun clerks I deal with. They often don't know the answer to a question, but they take the extra time to find out.

In this case I would have spoken to the customer myself.

People need to be careful. While a .357 magnum "usually" won't chamber in a .38 Special, and a .44 magnum "usually" won't chamber in a .44 Special, it can happen.

Years ago I owned a .44 Special Bulldog. It would indeed chamber some brands of .44 Magnum cartridges. I assume it would be capable of shooting a .44 magnum at least once.

The old Colt .38 longs would also chamber .357 magnums. Another bad combination.

As is a .38 Super in a .38 Special chamber. Fortunately, this one doesn't always work, but it can, and is definitely a high pressure situation in a small frame revolver.

Nobody has brought this up, but I wonder if there is a liability issue when a gun store employee gives incorrect information and someone ends up getting hurt?

The OP'r said

After I caught my breath me and about 5 other customers quickly corrected him.

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And...

After he was corrected he repeated the same thing he said before, at which point the other clerk took the gun from him and put it back up.

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I love this place... rather than just answering the question, so many like to jump all over the OP'r and question the validity and intelligence of the OP'r and in this case, "about 5 other customers". And then go on to SPECULATE a 100 other different tangents

C'mon now.... the correct thing for the employee to say about ammo is to use what the mfg'r manual says to use or whats stamped on the gun. Period.

For those that say ".357 wont fit and close" and/or "he'll figure it out the 1st time he tries to it" they are apparently are OK with sales people misleading or lying to customers (intentionally or not).

If a store wants to try to provide 'extra intelligence' on this they should say something similar to "that gun should also be able to shoot XYZ (or +P)...if thats of interest to you, we can check the manual to be sure."


I think a conversation with the STORE manager is in order. (the guns sales manager could be the problem and not listen becuase he knows everything).

I would specifically NOT name the employee even if I knew because if 1 employee is doing it, there are likely other(s).

it appears to me that this incident will never have a proper conclusion. no one knows who was right or wrong because the actual firearm in question cannot be identified. maybee it was a .38 only, maybee it was a .357. none of us know for sure including the OP. i am not questioning the validity or intelligence of the OP by any means. i am just stating, without concrete sureness of the actual make and model, i do not think it is in line to correct someone or go to their superior for an incident like this.

I definately would have to correct the sales person. The 38 shouldn't chamber the .357's but still.

I think a scarrier situation would be if he had told him something like "You know, you can shoot .454 Casull out of a standard Taurus Judge. That would probably chamber, wouldn't it? I don't know for sure since I don't own one, but it seems logical. That could be a real catastrophe!

I don't dispute that stance charlie,
but if YOU were there, or I were there, or ArchAngel was there, we would know what specific gun was being looked at.

OP has not replied that I noticed, as to specific model (correction noted, "not sure", missed that), and I don't do not blame OP for lack of clarification, considering some of the posts here

But I am willing to believe OP and whoever the other five customers were to have known what the specific model was. Maybe the shops I hang out at do not oft have six gun dummies for customers all at once who do not know the difference between a 38sp revolver, and a 357 revolver. (Well ok, they do, but those people are all over at the autoloader counter.)

sheesh

PS
autoloader people are not gun dummies, no
but some of them are revolver dummies

The gun community has way too many people who rely on folklore and way too many people who are obsessed with one-upmanship. I wish we could get rid of both.

I stick to my brain fart theory (he just got it backwards) =oP

Meh, I suppose you can cram some 357 and 44 mags into their special counterpart chambers, but something gotta be ain't quite right about it (never thought about the 38 long so shrug). Perhaps the chamber shoulder got fouled up and doesn't seat against the case throat. Or maybe the 357 is a hand load somebody roll crimped. Barring something like this if the case goes past the shoulder something is too big or another too small. But even if the 357 does go in, it's gotta be tight and this should be noticeable. In the end stuff happens, and the gun owner has to know enough to avoid it... like he should know if his gun is a .357 instead of .38spc. A person who takes on a gun, with all the training, safety and responsibility that's associated with it, has to be able to deal with this and not rely on the word of a salesperson with a brain fart (if ya gotta use a hammer to load it something just ain't quite right).

Superdave70_02 said:

To make it final I went back to academy and looked at the gun he was shown. It was a Taurus 38 special. I looked it up tonight and the model is 85B2.

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thanks Superdave, being certian of the gun model during the incident, maybee a polite low tone correction to the perspective buyer and the store employee together would have been ok. i still do not think going to the manager or making a scene in the store would have been the right way to go. a little correction to the employee by someone in the know (you) might make him take a second look at what he is actually selling. the customer should at least be halfway educated before making a purchase such as a firearm. unfortunately, that is not always the case. nice footwork to clear up the caliber debate,Superdave.

motorcycle-charlie said:

it appears to me that this incident will never have a proper conclusion. no one knows who was right or wrong because the actual firearm in question cannot be identified. maybee it was a .38 only, maybee it was a .357. none of us know for sure including the OP. i am not questioning the validity or intelligence of the OP by any means. i am just stating, without concrete sureness of the actual make and model, i do not think it is in line to correct someone or go to their superior for an incident like this.

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But that's exactly what you did.

Should anyone that posts a thread have pictures/finger prints/notorized transcrpits or witness statements/provide lie dectector tests before posting?

It was a fairly simple question that so many chose to questioin the OP rather than answer the question.

What in the world is so hard about that?

Ahhhh I see someone already posted why.....


eldon519 said above

The gun community has way too many people who rely on folklore and way too many people who are obsessed with one-upmanship. I wish we could get rid of both.

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danez71,i was not questioning the intelligence of the op by any means. i was also not trying to engage in one-upmanship. i was just discussing, in a discussion forum, a possible scenerio. it turns out that the op did return to identify the actual gun, and i commended him for this. i did also answer the question. while actually knowing what gun it was, i did say that i thought it is ok th politely correct the employee but not go to the manager. earlier i stated without actually being sure of the caliber, i would not have said anything to anyone. these are just my opinions, i know everyone will vary. never, did i call anyone a liar.

I am always amazed at the level of firearms knowledge on the Internet. In this case the OP is so knowledgable that he was able to instantly recognize from a distance that the firearm the clerk was handling was chambered in 38 Special.

Then the OP, 5 other customers and another employee quickly corrected him in public of his ignorance.

Not content with addressing the matter with the clerk for his mistake the OP now wants him "educated" by management. OP doesn't specify if the "education" is flogging, hanging or simple job termination.

I must confess I fit the description of the clerk. So many short barrel revolvers nowdays are chambered either in 38 or 357 that I can not recognized the correct chambering without checking to see what is stamped on the barrel. Worse yet I can not tell the difference between a 41 Magnum and 44 Magnum S&W N-Frame revolvers simply by looking at them from a distance.

One thing that is curious to me. Why someone that is knowledgable enough to recognize the correct chambering of a revolver at a distance would use the genertic term "snubby" which is somewhat vague and a slang word instead by the Manufacturer and model number?

BSA1 said:

.One thing that is curious to me. Why someone that is knowledgable enough to recognize the correct chambering of a revolver at a distance would use the genertic term "snubby" which is somewhat vague and a slang word instead by the Manufacturer and model number?

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It's fun to say snubby.

A polite correction is all that is necessary.

Perhaps this is the unintended consequence of the manufacturer's catering to the ignorant by advertising all .357-chambered revolvers as ".38/.357". Any shooter worth is salt knows that you can shoot .38Spl in a .357 but not vice-versa. As a dedicated enthusiast, the use of redundant, dumbed-down information does nothing but get on my nerves.