Part of it might be that there is no handgun competition where the .357Mag is better suited than the .38Spl
.357 /.38 Special confusion
- Thread starter Mick Boon
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Glockula
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A lot of good advice on here.
I was looking at some .357s yesterday. I loaded 158 xtpfp's with new starline brass and 2400 as my bear load. I loaded 250 in 2012 and have 115 left. Never know where they could end up.
Overpressuring .38s is possible but there are good reasons its taboo.
I was looking at some .357s yesterday. I loaded 158 xtpfp's with new starline brass and 2400 as my bear load. I loaded 250 in 2012 and have 115 left. Never know where they could end up.
Overpressuring .38s is possible but there are good reasons its taboo.
tightgroup tiger
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If your really good at seating them straight and using an M-die, you can probably get away with that with no problem. If the chambers in the Blackhawk cylinders are tight like case gages for 9mm, then they are really picky and any extra dia at the mouth of the case will have to be dead on straight.
It will raise pressure some if you shoot them in a real 9mm barrel but were not taking about that.
It will depend on the chamber in the cylinder. The barrel is already made for them and that sounds like something I would already be doing if I had a convertible Blackhawk.
It should work just fine if the cases loaded with .357 125gr bullets fit the chambers and the bullet will pass through the throat with your fingers pushing it.
The .357 bullets will be too tight in the 9 mm cylinder throats. If you have a 9 mm cylinder try dropping a jacketed 38 bullet through it. You are not going to get it through with your fingers. The throat is tapered from 9 mm to .38 caliber. Note that the poster above does not have a 9 mm cylinder and has not tried what he is suggesting.
There is really no reason to do anything special. The 9 mm cylinder shoots 9 mm ammo through the .357 barrel just fine. And if, for some reason it does not, just put it in a drawer and leave it. You might as well just load for the .357 cylinder if you are using .357 bullets.
There is really no reason to do anything special. The 9 mm cylinder shoots 9 mm ammo through the .357 barrel just fine. And if, for some reason it does not, just put it in a drawer and leave it. You might as well just load for the .357 cylinder if you are using .357 bullets.
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skeeterfogger
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That's a good combination. I found the 9mm shoot really good and super easy on recoil.
fxvr5
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What does this mean?
fxvr5
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Jacketed 38 caliber bullets fall through my Ruger 9mm cylinder throats.
The throat is tapered from .355 to .357?? Not sure what you're trying to say but it seems a little backward.
sequins
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I don't own a convertible but I've heard the .355 9mm bullets are wildly inaccurate in .357 bore 9mm Blackhawks so I thought I'd ask and see. FYI to all that i indeed have never tried it though.
fxvr5
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My blackhawk shoots factory 9mm ammo with the same accuracy as it shoots 357 and 38 factory ammo. The most accurate load was a handload with .355" bullets in 9mm cases. They shot 24 rounds into 1.40" at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.
I can't say what other people's guns shoot, but my Blackhawk has no problems with 9mm ammo and .355" bullets.
mcb
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My Blackhawk shoots 9mm pretty well. It likes 124gr and heavier better that 115gr but it's not horribly with any of it.
tightgroup tiger
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The barrel is already a .357 mag. I thought I stated that pretty clearly.
If I had a .357 mag Blackhawk convertible, and was shooting the 9mm cylinder in it, I would be loading .357 125 gr bullets in my 9mm cases to shoot in it if they would chamber and the bullet would pass through the throat.
If my gun wasn't accurate with .355gr than why not.
fxvr5
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Not sure how to tell the difference, because SAAMI specs for 9mm barrels and 38/357 barrels are exactly the same = 0.355" + 0.004".
https://saami.org/wp-content/upload...FP-and-R-Approved-2015-12-14-Posting-Copy.pdf
tightgroup tiger
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That is exactly correct, there is no pressure problems with shooting the larger bullet through the 9mm cylinder, the barrel won't care as far as pressure is concerned, that's what I'm trying to say. If you happen to have a .357 Blackhawk convertible that doesn't like 9mm bullets, it won't hurt to try .357 bullets in the 9mm cases if they will chamber in the cylinder and will pass through the throats easily.
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Mick Boon
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I have found the throats of the chambers in my 9mm cylinder are tight, I think you could have a problem chambering the rounds easily with .357 bullets.
Kinda.
I have a GP100 in 357. I have no 38's,,,
There is 38spl. brass left all over our range. A couple months picking might get you a lifetime supply.
Didn't take me too long to realize I probably wouldn't live long enough to scrounge up a small bucket of .357, so I ordered 1k from Starline.
I'd like a 38 spl. Tons of snubbies out there today,,, Not really looking for a snubbie. (A S&W 67 would be more to my liking)
I also considered a 9/357 convertible Blackhawk before I purchased my GP. As I reload, the cost of consumables* for my GP100 'plinkers' isn't much more than those for my 9's (* Powder/primer/projectile) Went with the GP instead.
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Mick Boon
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I just loaded a few .357 rounds with some 158 grain.358 bullets I cast this afternoon. 5.5 grains of bullseye seems a pleasant load to shoot, I shot through the window ( I opened it first ) I will see what it's like for accuracy in the morning.
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Mick Boon
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Just 1.3 grains of Bullseye powder difference in my case.
FROGO207
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I always considered the 357 the primary round in One of those. I have one in SS and one blued both with 6 inch barrels and target sites. I figured the 9MM cylinder as a third option if things get crazy again and ammo choices are limited. FWIW the 9MM ammo that was most accurate in mine was all types of jacketed. The plated and lead not so however. I reload all three types of ammo and this is my findings over the years. YMMV
At lest for my convertible cylinder, The throat is tapered. It fits the 9mm bullet exactly at the end of the cartridge casing and it fits the .38 bullet at the front of the cylinder. Yes, the throat gets bigger as the bullet moves towards the bore. If that is "backwards" to you I think you do not understand what it is designed for. I think the idea is to get the bullet accurately started and maybe it expands a bit from the pressure. If you load a .38 bullet and get it chambered successfully then the throat is going to swage the bullet down to 9mm anyway.
Maybe all 9mm cylinders are not made this way? Mine is. I have measured each cylinder. And I was dumb enough to listen to the internet theory specialists about loading .38 bullets and tried it. It does not work in my cylinder. If you have a 9mm cylinder that is for some reason throated for .38 bullets then it probably will work. But those bullets will work well over Trail Boss in the .357 cases too. Or you could ream the 9mm cylinder to shoot .357 bullets and make special loads for it for a further project. And thus destroy the cylinder for what it is designed for. That is what the "experts" suggested a few years ago when I reported that .357 bullets did not work in the 9mm for me.
Maybe all 9mm cylinders are not made this way? Mine is. I have measured each cylinder. And I was dumb enough to listen to the internet theory specialists about loading .38 bullets and tried it. It does not work in my cylinder. If you have a 9mm cylinder that is for some reason throated for .38 bullets then it probably will work. But those bullets will work well over Trail Boss in the .357 cases too. Or you could ream the 9mm cylinder to shoot .357 bullets and make special loads for it for a further project. And thus destroy the cylinder for what it is designed for. That is what the "experts" suggested a few years ago when I reported that .357 bullets did not work in the 9mm for me.
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