Feeding .38 to a .357

Just run a brush with some kind of solvent through the chambers after a large number of 38s and you'll be good. This will prevent any sticky issues when you go to run 357s.

Don't freak out by "the internet" telling you that your gun will blow up if you shoot 357s after the 38s!

I shoot 38 specials 95% of the time out of my 357. Accuracy depends on the specific gun/ammo combination. Just clean the cylinder every couple hundred rounds as the shorter cartridge will cause a slight build up of residue in the cylinder.

No harm at all just clean her real good like you always should and your boy will be fine

Chuck up a bronze brush with some solvent in a cordless drill and give the cylinders about 30 seconds each to clean. Everyone shoots 38's through their 357. If you don't clean the cylinders, you may have a difficult time chambering .357 mags in it. Also, your POI will change from your .357 sight in, maybe a couple of inches depending on your loads.

I wouldn't even go as far as the drill brush technique. I shoot a ratio of about 10:1 .38s vs. .357s out of my LCR, and I'm not fanatical about scrubbing the chambers. I've never had the .357 rounds not drop right into the chambers.

+1.

RC should be along presently to tell you how he chucks a brush up in his drill motor and augers that fouling out of there without even breaking a sweat.

Its been done.

If you don't do it, you better take a mallet with you to the range when you shoot .357's behind those wax-lubed lead-bullet .38's.

Better yet, start reloading.

The .357 is the worlds easiest cartridge to reload.

You can load .357 brass to .38 Special pressure levels, and shoot it all day for little money, and little wear on the gun other than it will get very dirty if you shoot a lot of plain lead bullets.

Stock up on bronze brushes.

...and make sure your drill battery is charged.

Dropping into the chambers easily is not the only thing to be concerned with.

The hard carbon .38 & .44 Spl rings reduce the chamber diameter right where the .357 & . 44 Mag case needs to expand fully to release the bullet.

It can raise chamber pressure if it gets bad enough.


Yes, I have used a drill and bore brush to clean chambers for about 50 years.
One of the tricks of the trade they taught me in Army AMU 101 gunsmithing, 50 years ago.
Makes quick work of detail cleaning 25-30 K-38's all at once at the end of the season.

I even go so far as to wrap a tuft of 0000 Extra fine steel wool around the brush to get it all out of old neglected guns.

All kinds of creepy corrosion can hide under those carbon rings.

rc

Clean thoroughly as others have said. No problems

K-38's in the Army ? Tell me more.

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Not much to tell.
Army AMU's (Advanced Marksmanship Unit's) and other branches military match teams & civilians were still shooting them in NRA Center-Fire Bullseye competition in 1970.

Some shot 1911 .45 soft-ball guns, or S&W Model 52 .38 Specials.
Others shot better scores with 6" K-38's.

rc

After shooting a lot of 38 Spl. in your .357 mag, take a .357 mag case and bell it just enough to fit in the cyl., push it in and it will scrape all the buildup out, you may have to bell the case a few times, this has been working for me for 60 years.

Any other thoughts on this topic regarding using a mix of 38's & 357's in a lever action rifle?

Yes!

Clean the .38 carbon ring out of the .357 chamber in the carbine before switching to .357's too!

rc

Nothing wrong with shooting .38 Specials in a .357 Magnum. I'm only guessing but I would wager there are more .38 special rounds put through .357 Magnum revolver than magnum rounds each year.

My son just bought a GP 100 in California , where 357 ammo is very hard to come by.

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Time for your son to start reloading if he wants to shoot .357 Magnum ammo. Even @ current component prices he can probably build a box of 125gr JSP ammo for under $9. 158gr LSWC loads will cost him only $6/box...

I just finished sorting some brass. I had 18 357 cases and right at 400 .38 spl. I shoot one .357 and 2 .38s. I haven't shot a lot of .357 ammo over the past 10 years. No major cleaning of the .357 cylinder. Just some extra attention and brushing after EVERY trip.

I just got into reloading a few months ago and have loaded just about 100% .38 spcl. I have done a few 357 but have shot very few of them. I probably need to buy some brass.

rcmodel. Do you think it would be ok to use a dremel tool instead of a drill ? thanks spence

Granted, I didn't shoot nearly as many rounds as RC probably does, but I just ran a bore snake through each chamber in the cylinder when I cleaned my revolver after each range trip, and I never had trouble.

Even if all he plans is shooting .38s, then there are still advantages to the .357 revolver. They're usually tougher built and absorb the recoil better.

rcmodel. Do you think it would be ok to use a dremel tool instead of a drill ? thanks spence

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Oh Heck No!!!!!!

A 30,000 RPM Dremel could ruin a chamber faster then you could say 'Gosh darn'it, the mandrel broke off inside the chamber and took 1 minute 45 seconds to stop bouncing around in there!!!!!'

Use a cordless drill, the slower & more controllable the better!

Besides that?
If you chuck a bronze bore brush in a Dremel and turn it on?

It will immediately bend sideways, break off, and stick in your other good eye!!

rc

Shoot all the .38 spl you want from a .357 magnum....

kilibreaux said:

Shoot all the .38 spl you want from a .357 magnum....

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Exactly... Just clean the gun every now and then like you would if using .357...I never heard all this .38 crud ring business until I got the internet.

As everyone else said, just clean the cylinder well after shooting the .38s. Only ever saw a problem once, on a 45+ year old Colt Trooper .357, I bought used. I had to use the drill trick before I could shoot .357s in it.

There is no 38 special ammo, factory or reloaded, that the GP100 cannot shoot safely.