Hot loads in 681 CRPD?

[Low Budget Shooter]

Hey Revolver Guys,

My brother doesn't shoot it anymore, so he loaned me his much-modified S&W 681. The 681 was a .357 model, but this one is from a special run for ConRail Police Department, chambered in .38 Special.

Here's my question: Can I safely run loads up past .38 +P into mid-range .357 loads in this gun, like a 140 or 150 grain bullet at 1200 fps ? The frame obviously will take it, but what about the cylinder? Is it the same cylinder as the .357 model, just cut shorter and reamed shorter?

Thanks!

LBS

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know if the 681 .38 cylinder alloy and heat treatment is the same as the .357's.

You might try to get in touch with Peter M. Eick on this board. He is a fan of the .38-44 Heavy Duty and its ammo and has done a good deal of work with overloaded .38s.

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Thank you for that info.

 

[Dave T]

I have one of the CRPD 681s and regularly shoot my 38/44 hand loads through it. No problems so far and I'm not going to worry about it.

Dave

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Thanks, Dave.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Did your brother keep the original cylinder? If yes you can always have it put back on your revolver and shoot .357 Magnum ammo in that originally magnum revolver.

If I remember correctly the M681 is the fixed sight version of the M686. I'm a fan of fixed sight revolvers and that is a good one alright...

 

[sgt127]

If its the version I'm thinking of, it was a special run chambered in .38 Special from the factory. East coast thing when the NYPD carried only .38.

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Right.

 

[sgt127]

Ya know, I would just buy some Buffalo Bore ammo for carry. Get the hottest, baddest .38 Special they make. That gun will take a lifetime of that stuff. If you're even a little like me, you will run out of money long before you run the gun into the ground.

I doubt it has a shorter cylinder. I'm betting its a regular .357 cylinder bored out to only accept .38. But, it's the same cylinder.

As a matter of fact, here's a picture of mine:



If your barrel extends further into the frame, then it's truly a .38 special cylinder, but, I doubt it.

I suppose if you really hot rodded .38's, you could get some weird pressure spikes as it is a lower volume case, so, I'm not going to say: yeah, you can safely load up to to .357 magnum velocities.

But, within reason? Have at it.

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

sgt127, did you just suggest that I buy ammo made by someone else? Oh, you've got to get into casting and reloading. Then, in time, such heretical sentiments will fade from your mind! LBS

 

[buck460XVR]

My concern would be because the gun has fixed sights, that they are regulated to .38 special loads.

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Yes, true, but it currently mounts a red dot scope!

 

[oldbear]

L.B.S., you din not state that you were planning on reloading or not. If you are going to use factory ammo SGT127's suggestion to use one of the Buffalo Bore Hot 38 special loads is an excellent one. I can also recommend the Underwood 158Gr. hard cast Keith load, expensive but well worth the price.

If you really want to be safe with your ammo selection. Call Smith and Wesson and see if they will sell you a .357 Magnum cylinder for your 681.

Best of luck

 

[sgt127]

Oh did I reload. I had two Stars. One dedicated for .38 Special and one for .45 when I started shooting IPSC.

Then factory ammo got pretty cheap so I shot that and stored brass. I have a metric S load of brass stored in 5 gallon pails. I may get back into it when I retire.

I suggested Buffalo Bore as a known safe alternative for a hot .38 for carry. I'm also pretty sure you can sneak up on full house .357 Magnum in that gun without a problem.

I'll get you the cylinder length in a bit.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm sorry, I just don't get it! I'm sure Buffalo bore makes good ammo but all I hear on the Internet is about how hot the stuff is. Velocity is only one part of the equation but it seems there are a lot of shooters out there willing to pay almost $2/round for .38 Special ammo!!! For goodness sake, it's only .38 Special ammo and no .38 Special (or any handgun ammo for that matter) is worth all that money.

It's amazing how the industry has made the .38 Special so anemic it's almost useless and them a company comes along who offers what everyone should be selling and everyone jumps on the band wagon. I just don't get it, it's only a .38 Special.

This "super-duper" hotter than Hades BB ammo is nothing more than standard .38 Special ammo from a time when the .38 Special was still special. (and it didn't cost you $2/round)

 

[Lucky Derby]

I'm sorry, I just don't get it! I'm sure Buffalo bore makes good ammo but all I hear on the Internet is about how hot the stuff is. Velocity is only one part of the equation but it seems there are a lot of shooters out there willing to pay almost $2/round for .38 Special ammo!!! For goodness sake, it's only .38 Special ammo and no .38 Special (or any handgun ammo for that matter) is worth all that money.

It's amazing how the industry has made the .38 Special so anemic it's almost useless and them a company comes along who offers what everyone should be selling and everyone jumps on the band wagon. I just don't get it, it's only a .38 Special.

This "super-duper" hotter than Hades BB ammo is nothing more than standard .38 Special ammo from a time when the .38 Special was still special. (and it didn't cost you $2/round)

Everything you say here is true.
However if you want real .38 Special, in a factory loaded cartridge, (for whatever reason, can't, don't reload, liability concerns about handloads for SD etc) BB and perhaps a few others are your only choice.
While pricey, a box or two a year probably won't break the bank for most of us, and will give you enough ammo to test function, POI etc and load the gun and a couple of speed loaders

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Everything you say here is true.
However if you want real .38 Special, in a factory loaded cartridge, (for whatever reason, can't, don't reload, liability concerns about handloads for SD etc) BB and perhaps a few others are your only choice.
While pricey, a box or two a year probably won't break the bank for most of us, and will give you enough ammo to test function, POI etc and load the gun and a couple of speed loaders

I agree with you. One of my concerns is, if enough people pay those outrageous prices it will become the norm and not the exception. I refuse to pay $2/round for ammo. Lucky I do load my own so I don't have to pay their prices but there are times I do want factory ammo and the prices are out of hand. (I can not duplicate the accuracy of Winchester 145gr Silvertip .357 Magnum ammo no matter how hard I try lol)

 

[Confederate]

You can have your gun safely reamed for .357 as heat treat is the same. It would actually be more expensive for Smith & Wesson to have separate heat treat for the two guns. It's the way the chambers are bored that's the difference.

I bought a couple of .38 Special Ruger Speed-Six revolvers years ago and had them reamed for .357. And since I had a great gunsmith, he did so very precisely. Afterwards, I dropped a 125gr JHP bullet in each chamber and in each one the bullet stuck. (Although bullets falling through in some chambers isn't a cause for concern, competition shooters sometimes will mark such chambers.)




.

 

[Low Budget Shooter]

Thanks for that info!

 

[MartinS]

"...if enough people pay those outrageous prices it will become the norm and not the exception." It already is the norm and if nobody buys the BB and Underwood hot stuff they will stop making it and then we'll all be underloaded, underpowered and our girlfriends will laugh at us.