Question about shooting .38 out of .357

[owenbright]

I was wondering if shooting a .38 out of a revolver designed for .357
can cause any problems in the long run.

I'm trying to decide between a Taurus 617 and a 817, and will be mostly
shooting .38/.38+p.
It would be nice to have the option for .357 as well...
So I was leaning towards a 617, but I am unsure if there are other tradeoffs.
Thanks.

 

[LoneCoon]

You can with no problems.

Some say that .38's are less accurate out of a .357, but I haven't not noticed a difference.

 

[HammerBite]

There is nothing wrong with shooting .38 Special in a gun chambered for .357.
One of the charms of the .357 is its versatility -- anything from full-house .357 to .38 wadcutter target loads -- it can be a lion or a pussycat or anywhere in between.

The only problem is that if you shoot a lot of .38 Special it can leave a ring of fouling in the chambers that can make loading or extraction of .357 difficult, so keep your chambers clean.

 

[Ala Dan]

Just stick a fired .357 magnum case in your range bag, and insert it into
the chambers every so often and it will help keep 'em clean~!

 

[Bruce333]

The only problem is that if you shoot a lot of .38 Special it can leave a ring of fouling in the chambers that can make loading or extraction of .357 difficult, so keep your chambers clean.

This is the only problem I've every had, and that was from being slack about cleaning. Get a chamber brush, and be diligent about cleaning, and you'll be able to keep it from happening to you.

 

[atlctyslkr]

Cleaning (brushing) after every 50 rounds or so will save you alot of headache. Best thing to do is load .357's at lower pressure - if you're a reloader. I'm not a reloader myself but I have a friend who is and he gives me a few boxes of low pressure .357's every so often.

 

[Seven High]

Question: If a shooter fires a lot of .38spl reloads thru a .357 revolver, then fires 357 ammunition thru it would the pistol experience higher than normal pressure in the cylinder from resistance of the leading from the .38 spl rounds? Is there any risk of the weapon "blowing up"?

 

[bakert]

I have two .357s and both have had many thousands of .38 Sp. through them. A bore brush or like noted a chamber brush is better, run through the the cylinder chambers a few times before shooting the .357s will stop problems before they happen. In my experience any .357 with a crud buildup in the chambers is one dirty a-- and neglected gun.

 

[owenbright]

Ah, thank you for the answers.

 

[Lou629]

Question: If a shooter fires a lot of .38spl reloads thru a .357 revolver, then fires 357 ammunition thru it would the pistol experience higher than normal pressure in the cylinder from resistance of the leading from the .38 spl rounds? Is there any risk of the weapon "blowing up"?

If you want a really quick fix to lead in your bore from .38's while at the range, make the last couple of .38's you fire FMJ, those will clean the thing right out for you. YMMV, but it works for me.

 

[Feanaro]

Question: Is there any risk of the weapon "blowing up"?

If enough gunk gets in the chamber and you jam a .357 cartridge in there? Yes, the danger exists. I believe a THR member experienced a kaboom! that was generally thought to be caused by firing a .357 round after a LOT of .38s. I cannot for the life of me locate the thread though. It probably isn't that likely and if you clean the cylinders that won't be a problem.

 

[DWARREN123]

I have found that some 38spl and +P ammo can be just as or more accurate than 357mag ammo (may be do to recoil). They do sometimes cause a build up of crud in the chamber and may make it harder to chamber 357mag rounds. just clean and go.
Be advised that full lead bullets will usually cause a lead build up faster than jacketed bullets.

 

[MCgunner]

I've owned two .357 revolvers that didn't particularly like any .38s I shot in 'em. One was a M19 and one was a Security Six. I had a Rossi M971 that was so, so, about 2" at 25 yards accurate with both mags and .38s. My Ruger Blackhawk and Taurus M66 are both 1" accurate with loads they like in .38 or .357. Both of them love my wadcutter load, the old standby 2.7 grains Bullseye under a Lee 148 grain WC. It's not a hollow base mold.

What I'm trying to say is, if someone says .38s are not accurate in a .357, they probably aren't in HIS .357. My Security six couldn't group Remington hollowbase wadcutters into 4" at 25 yards, and that's one of the most accurate factory loads I know of. Yet, it was a 1" gun with 140 or 125 grain Speer JHPs over 2400 in .357 brass. I never did quite understand that. I traded it for the Blackhawk. The M19 wasn't much better with .38s, but accurate with .357s. I sold it. I shoulda kept that Rossi, though. I liked how light and handy it was for a medium frame and it handled recoil of hot loads really well. But, the Taurus is more accurate and is a sweetheart to shoot, too.

 

[BluesBear]

Go ahead they're your eyes and fingers...

Think about it for a moment...
Have you ever seen a lead removal device (or any bore cleaning devixce) made like a jacketed bullet?

If you want a really quick fix to lead in your bore from .38's while at the range, make the last couple of .38's you fire FMJ, those will clean the thing right out for you.

Thirty years ago that method was touted often in the gun magazines.
But more recent testing has shown that shooting jacketed bullets through a heavily leaded barrel can create higher than expected pressures.



Also, years of experience have shown that shooting jacketed bullets through a lightly leaded bore will serve no useful purpose. Unless you consider packing the leading even tighter into the rifling a useful purpose.


The bottom line here is that using jacketed bullets to clean a leaded bore can be UNSAFE. DON'T DO IT.


But then again, they're your eys and fingers. Do what you want.

 

[.41Dave]

If enough gunk gets in the chamber and you jam a .357 cartridge in there? Yes, the danger exists. I believe a THR member experienced a kaboom! that was generally thought to be caused by firing a .357 round after a LOT of .38s. I cannot for the life of me locate the thread though. It probably isn't that likely and if you clean the cylinders that won't be a problem.

I seriously doubt that a kb was caused by residue buildup from a lot of .38s increasing pressure when a .357 was fired. A squib that lodged a bullet in the barrel is vastly more likely. If there was enough residue to increase pressure, it would take a hammer to get the .357 round chambered in the first place. Even then, I don't think a kb would be possible. The only problems you are likely to encounter if you fire a lot of .38s without cleaning before switching to .357 is difficulty in chambering the .357 rounds, or (more likely) difficulty ejecting the .357 cases after firing.

 

[Lou629]

Blues...

Thirty years ago that method was touted often in the gun magazines

.

And that's about how long i've been doing it too. While ANYTHING is technically possible, the liklihood of blowing the gun up is remote at best. For you to flatly say it's unsafe, period, don't do it, is not truly the whole story. As for the extremely remote possibility of an unsafe condition developing, i think i like my odds after 30+ years of this.

 

[BluesBear]

Well it's not just me saying it's unsafe.

And just because you've done something questionable for 30 years doesn't make it any less questionable.

If you notice I didn't flatly say you'd blow anything up.
What I flatly said is that it will NOT get the leading out of your barrel.

 

[Lou629]

"They're your eyes and fingers" didn't imply an explosion? Okay then Blues, not lookin' for an argument Just a slightly different outlook on the subject is all. It works for me, YMMV.

 

[pete f]

I use the jacket bullet ploy too, BUT i usually do it after 100 to 200 rounds of hard cast, not 1000 or more. I have never had a problem with it, I too have been doing it for close to 30 years. I have found it will not remove all the leading, but it will remove an awful lot of it, maybe 95 %.

I can see if you have a barrel where you can not see the lands because of lead but if you see a few silver streaks, i can not see it causing a problem.

 

[RustyShackelford]

+p, +p+, handloads, cheap "range" ammo

If you plan to buy a new .357mag/.38spl revolver I'd say becareful shooting the +p, +p+, and over powered reloads in lightweight/alloy frame guns. The .357magnum stings like a MFer after about 25 rounds in a small frame .357 like a Ruger SP-101 or Smith model 60.

Also watch the "range" ammo you buy at some gun ranges. The quality may be poor and can mess up your .357/.38. You factory rounds when possible or handload/reload your own .38spl rounds.

Rusty