cylinder residue, 38 vs 357 ??

[Sport45]

From S&W's Safety and Instruction manual for Modern Revolvers:

Locate the cartridge designation marked on the firearm. This information indicates the correct ammunition that must be used in this firearm. (Fig. 1).

You are responsible for selecting ammunition that meets industry standards and is appropriate in type and caliber for this firearm. Never use a cartridge not specifically designated for use in your firearm. The wrong type of ammunition may exceed the capability of your firearm and may damage or even rupture your firearm.

Never mix ammunition.

• Additional ammunition calibers can be fired from the
following list of select calibers.
Caliber on Barrel Can also Fire
.500 S&W MAG -----.500 Special
.460 S&W MAG ----- .45 Colt, .454 Casull
.45 Colt ----- .45 Schofield, .45 S&W
.45 S&W ----- .45 Schofield
.45 ACP ----- .45 Auto Rim (in revolvers only)
.44 Magnum ----- .44 Special
.357 Magnum ----- .38 Special, .38 Special +P
.22LR ----- .22L, .22 Short (in revolvers only)

A little further into the manual:

• Always start your shooting experience with the lowest bullet
velocity and lowest bullet weight available for your firearm.

Some examples are as follows:
- Use .38 S&W Special in place of .357 Magnum® loads.
- Use .44 Special in place of .44 Magnum® loads.
- Use “mid-range” or “target” loads rather than loads designated “high power”.

In fact the only 38 caliber ammunition they specifically warn against are +P+ loads and magnum loadings of less than 120gr.

From the Ruger GP100 Instruction Manual:

RUGER® GP100® revolvers will chamber the .357 Magnum, .38 Special +P, .38 Special +P+, and the .38 Special cartridge. Ruger revolvers are designed for use with cartridges of the correct caliber which are manufactured in accordance with the U.S. Industry Standards. Be certain to use proper cartridges of the correct caliber.

It is certainly safe and acceptable to shoot .38 special in a .357mag revolver. The only risk lies in letting the chambers get fouled.

 

[S&Wfan]

I shot a ton of light handloaded .38 Special in my K-frames during my competition years . . . and I'm talking big quantities of ammo. Most was light loads of "dirty" Alliant Unique power with lubed soft lead wadcutters, lead SWC and LRN bullets. I also shot these revolvers in .357 a lot too.

Cleaning every day? Are you kidding? LOL

But, when things got a little sticky I'd run a solvent brush down the barrel and cylinder holes a few times and rag the holes out real good too and the problem went away.

It is a ZERO issue to the occasional plinker using factory ammo and repeating urban legends from others who repeated the same unfounded urban legends too . . . and it is also a non-issue to the really active shooter/reloader/competitor too. Once the gun starts to gum up it just means it is time to say "hello" to Mr. Brush again.

 

[788Ham]

I read, on a non-remembered website, about using "Flitz" metal cleaner for removing the burnt residue on the forcing cone side of the cylinder. This stuff works like a champ on my 629 SS revolver, puts the shine back on the firearm before oiling and storing. I imagine it'll work on those revolvers that are shot and put away until "another time". LOL One could put a dab on a larger than normal cleaning pad, could even chuck the rod in a drill if you wanted to, and scrub the daylights out of the cylinder, run a bronze brush in and out and wipe it off. Can be used on blued revolver too, I imagine, they get dirty too.

 

[moxie]

Just for the heck of it:

.38 Special is not a caliber, it is a cartridge designation.

.357 Magnum is not a caliber, it is a cartridge designation.

"Caliber" is a measure of the diameter of a bullet, where one caliber = one inch. Therefore a .50 caliber machine gun bullet is one half inch in diameter.

The .38 Special and .357 Magnum "cartridges" are both .357 caliber, or .357". The difference is in case length. The .357 Magnum round was developed from the .38 Special round and the .357 is only .135" longer than the .38. This was done to prevent the more powerful .357 magnum rounds from being fired out of older guns chambered for the .38 Special. .38 Special cartridges may be fired from guns marked .357 Magnum, but not the reverse.

A similar situation exists with the .44 Special and the .44 Magnum. It gets really wierd here as both are actually .429 caliber with the magnum case being slightly longer. Throw in the older .44 Russian. Same caliber. Case even shorter than the special.

And there are many other examples. The problem is that the development of firearms cartridges developed over a long period of time in different places. There was no single person controlling the whole thing.

People sometimes/often misuse the terms caliber and cartridge (as well as others).

Hope this helps.

 

[DickM]

Therefore a .50 caliber machine gun bullet is one half inch in diameter.

.510, actually. (Sorry, couldn't resist. )

 

[moxie]

DickM is right. I was trying to illustrate the concept of caliber in a clear way and got trapped by the same problems I tried to illustrate later on.

 

[Hondo 60]

I haven't seen this issue in a single trip to the range, and I clean my guns after each trip. I'm guessing this is something that builds over time(?).

I've shot hundreds of .38 spls in the 66-2 & near a hundred in my SP101 (fairly new). I don't know if them being stainless makes a difference?

 

[.45FMJoe]

I don't agree. The barrel on my revolver only has "357" on it. The manufacturer's box only states 357. No where does the manufacturer suggest 38spl. We use 38spl in 357 revolver at our own risk.

This is flat out incorrect. Research the .38 Special and .357 Magnum cartridge history.