New Vaquero shoot .38s? (hear me out!)

[def]

I know what you're thinking, "if you have a bigger gun that shoots .357s... why not shoot .357s?" Well, I'm playing with the idea of getting a New Vaquero and I'm leaning toward the .357 model. However, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but .38s are cheaper than .357s. Now, I don't make a whole lot of money and I figured I could get more rounds in at the range if I shot some .38s as well, instead of strictly sticking to .357s-so that's my line of thinking. I'm just curious if anyone has any experience shooting .38s out of a New Vaquero.

Thanks all!

 

[PT1911]

I dont know about the vaquero, but i doubt I would ever buy a .38. instead, I would buy a .357 and just shoot .38's out of it and keep some .357's handy. makes sense to me... why buy a gun that only shoots one type of round when you can have one that shoots two. not to mention how easy it is to shoot .38's out of most .357 framed guns.

 

[foghornl]

I have a 2003-vintage Vaquero in .357Mag.

I have shot quite a bit of .38Spl out of it with good success. One caveat..you may well build up a 'crud ring' in the cylinder where the .38Spl cases end, preventing full seating of the longer .357Mag ammo. This is particularly true of the .38Spl "Cowboy Action" loads. Those seem to be (in my experiences) quite a bit dirtier than other ammo, because of the very soft lead & lube used for making those Cowboy rounds.

A couple of extra passes with the brush will take care of that, though. Another option is to use a fired .357Mag case to clean out the cylinder. Don't have a pic, but I notched the end of a fired .357 case, punched out the primer, and expoxied a short piece of cleaning rod to the case...insert case, give it a couple of spins and pokes...crud ring gone.

 

[mainmech48]

I chose Door #3. The vast majority of the ammo I use in my several .357s are my 'standard' GP handload/reloads consisting of a 158 gr. LSWC over 5.5 gr. of "new" Unique in .357 cases. Basically .38 Spl. +P ballistics with no crud-related chambering issues to deal with.

This load is easy on my guns, ears and arthritis, accurate, relatively inexpensive and more than adequate for 97% of my shooting needs. It clocks about 870 f/s from my 4" DW M15-2 and just a tad under 1000 f/s from my IMI Timberwolf carbine.

As I gather you don't reload as yet, my suggestion would be that you buy commercial "remanufactured" .357 158 gr. LSWC loads for your practice and plinking. The cost is generally only very slightly more than .38 Spl. ammo using the same bullet from most outfits, and usually priced at less per box than new commercial .38 Spl., especially if you can arrange to buy in lots of 10 boxes or more. Some outfits offer a substantial discount with exchange of brass.

 

[ArmedBear]

.38s aren't significantly cheaper than .357s.

Buy a reloading setup. It'll pay for itself quickly. Excellent .38 fun loads cost $5/box to reload if you're not casting or anything, you don't buy bulk, and you buy top-quality bullets. AT $20+ per box at Wal-Mart, you'll pay for the equipment real quick.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm just curious if anyone has any experience shooting .38s out of a New Vaquero.

All good advice above.

But to answer your question, Yes, shooting .38 Specials in any .357 revolver is perfectly fine.

In fact, I would imagine many more .38's get shot in .357's then .357's get shot in .357's.

rc

 

[Daizee]

I figured I could get more rounds in at the range if I shot some .38s as well, instead of strictly sticking to .357s-so that's my line of thinking

everybody's doing it. ;-)

+1 on handloading.
The deal I made with myself when buying my first handgun was: reload or don't bother shooting centerfire.

For $90 you can have a complete Lee single-stage setup. Sure it's slow, but it's the best way to learn and will pay for itself in the first box of bulk bullets (500ct) you load. And you can load .38spl level loads into .357 cases as mentioned, and get a lot of miles from a pound of powder.

-Daizee

 

[ArmedBear]

You'll never regret owning a single-stage anyway. You will always use it for working up new loads, even if you have a high-end progressive.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

A few years back .38 Special ammo cost $6 a box while .357 Magnum ammo cost $15 a box. These days .38 Special ammo is $18 a box and the .357 Magnum stuff is only a few Dollars more. There used to be a BIG difference in price between the two but now .38 Special ammo is so expensive the difference is slight. (like said above) You can reload target .38's for just over $4 a box and the Magnums with Jacketed bullets for less than $6 a box.

You will really enjoy the Ruger Vaquero. I own a Bisley Vaquero in .45 Colt and a New Vaquero in 38/357. Both are a lot of fun to shoot and make good field guns too.

 

[RippinSVT]

I have a .357 New Vaquero, and it is a joy to shoot with .38's or super-light .357's. That being, it handles my hot .357 handloads without blinking.

 

[dat2]

I buy 38's for my brides 357 for regular shooting, it's a lot cheaper

 

[stiletto raggio]

The biggest savings in .38 over .357 is that most .38 loads are still lead bullets while most .357s are premium hollow points. You have to have some pretty hard lead to push it over 1000 FPS, but for powder-puff loads it is great. I am not saying lead is unsuitable for higher velocities, you just have to make sure you get really hard lead.