.357 Magnum Chambering compatability

[Shopping A Round]

Can a revolver chamered in .357 Magnum safely fire .38 Special?

If so, can it also safely be used with .38 S&W?

Any other compatabilities?

 

[Yarddog]

38 S&W is a different round than 38 spl ; )
Y/D

 

[MrBorland]

You cannot (or ought not) shoot .38S&W in a .357mag or .38spl gun. As Yarddog indicated, it's a different cartridge altogether.

In addition to .38spl, .38 Long Colt and .38 Short Colt can be used in a .357mag gun. They can be used in a .38spl gun as well.

 

[Steve C]

The .38 S&W has a larger nominal OD case diameter (.3855") than the .38 spl/.357 mag (.3790") so it will not chamber in typical .38/.357 revolvers.

The .38 Colt Special is compatible and was the same as the .38 S&W Special, not to be confused with the .38 Colt NP (New Police) which is the same as the .38 S&W. Colt wouldn't put S&W's name on their guns so they renamed popular cartridges developed by S&W. The manufacturers names have long since been dropped from common usage for the ".38 special" and the cartridge is now normally known as the ".38 Special" only.

 

[1911Tuner]

The simple answer is...Yes. .38 Special ammunition can be fired in any .357 Magnum revolver.

The .357 Magnum cartridge is no more than a stretched .38 Special. Think of it the same as firing a 2 and 3/4 inch shotshell in a 3-inch chamber.