Sorry, but don’t see the draw of the 357 MAG

[cfullgraf]

True, you do have to shoot a lot of rounds to get enough buildup to make putting rounds in the cylinder tough, but I have had it happen. Maybe I was using dirtier powder....IIRC I used 700-X in .38 and Blue Dot in .357.

I agree.

But like entropy, I've fouled the chambers of my S&W 610 with 3-4 cylinders of 40 S&W rounds such that the 10mm rounds would not chamber.

I cannot say that I ever remember having chambering issues after shooting 38 Specials in my 357 Magnum Model 19.

It is a nice feature to be able to shoot several different cartridges in a gun.

But, since I reload, I can tailor my reloads to any level and I do not need to shoot the shorter cartridges in guns chambered for the longer cartridge.

 

[Archie]

Maybe I am an anomaly but I don't feel a real difference between carrying a L frame vs a K frame. I carry a 686+ in K-frame holster with factory self defense 357 mag ammo. With Hogue rubber grips, the recoil is very manageable.

I wasn't allowing for individual dress standards or body size. I stand just under five and one-half feet. I wear relatively 'tight' clothing or I look like a bowling ball.
I had a friend (now passed away) who was huge and could have probably managed an M-79 grenade launcher in a belt rig. We are all different.

I have fired factory 357 out of my LCR. The recoil was so bad that the factory WWB ammo I was shooter jumped crimp, and cause it to lock up in the cylinder. Was a PITA to fix.

Same sort of story; we are all different. Up until some ten to fifteen years ago my opinion of a K frame shooting full charge .357 Magnum loads was 'stiff' but not more than I could handle. I am now at the point where the recoil is unpleasant but manageable. .45 ACP from a lightweight Commander is toward the upper end of my comfort zone for recoil.

"Average" is a statistical fiction. Recoil tolerance varies between shooters for a myriad of reasons.

 

[375supermag]

I agree.

But like entropy, I've fouled the chambers of my S&W 610 with 3-4 cylinders of 40 S&W rounds such that the 10mm rounds would not chamber.

I cannot say that I ever remember having chambering issues after shooting 38 Specials in my 357 Magnum Model 19.

It is a nice feature to be able to shoot several different cartridges in a gun.

But, since I reload, I can tailor my reloads to any level and I do not need to shoot the shorter cartridges in guns chambered for the longer cartridge.

Hi...
I don't worry about shooting .38Spl cartridges in my .357Magnum revolvers because I can reload the .357Mag brass to whatever power level I desire. I also have a couple of .38Spl revolvers that I reload for and I never shoot .38Spl in my .357Mag guns.

Same policy for .44Magnum revolvers...I never shoot .44Spl cartridges in them. I have four dedicated .44Spl revolvers that I reload for and six .44Mag revolvers I reload for.
No reason to worry about carbon ring buildup in the chambers of my revolvers.

I do realize that not everybody wants to buy multiple revolvers and they might find it more convenient to shoot multiple cartridges in one gun rather than have multiple firearms. I have never felt that way and have multiple handguns in every caliber from.22LR/.22Mag(separate cylinders), .38Spl, .357Mag, 9mm, .45ACP, .41Mag, ..44Spl, .44Mag and .45Colt.
About the only handguns I don't have multiples of are .40S&W(one is more than sufficient, just a test platform and range toy), .357Maximum and .375SuperMag. It was hard enough to find one each of those two and I have never seen another.

 

[aaaaa]

So, is the carbon ring a problem if I can still chamber the magnums? Both my 44 and my .357 have the rings and chamber magnums with no problem. Tough to get these rings out. I may need to mount the brush in a drill to work the ring out, but if it is not hindering chambering magnums, do I need to bother? Will it eat away at the cylinder?

 

[Pat Riot]

So, is the carbon ring a problem if I can still chamber the magnums? Both my 44 and my .357 have the rings and chamber magnums with no problem. Tough to get these rings out. I may need to mount the brush in a drill to work the ring out, but if it is not hindering chambering magnums, do I need to bother? Will it eat away at the cylinder?

Saturate your chambers with CLP and leave them overnight. Run a .40 cal. nylon brush through and repeat if necessary. If it’s really bad you can remove the cylinder (if you are so inclined) and submerge it in CLP for 24 hours. Then brush and swab it out. That should do the trick.

 

[entropy]

So, is the carbon ring a problem if I can still chamber the magnums? Both my 44 and my .357 have the rings and chamber magnums with no problem. Tough to get these rings out. I may need to mount the brush in a drill to work the ring out, but if it is not hindering chambering magnums, do I need to bother? Will it eat away at the cylinder?

What Pat Riot said. CLP will not harm the cylinder.

 

[mcb]

I agree.

But like entropy, I've fouled the chambers of my S&W 610 with 3-4 cylinders of 40 S&W rounds such that the 10mm rounds would not chamber.

I cannot say that I ever remember having chambering issues after shooting 38 Specials in my 357 Magnum Model 19.

It is a nice feature to be able to shoot several different cartridges in a gun.

But, since I reload, I can tailor my reloads to any level and I do not need to shoot the shorter cartridges in guns chambered for the longer cartridge.

Given I have nearly 20,000 rds of 40S&W through a 610 in USPSA competition I find it hard to believe that 3-4 cylinders of 40S&W would foul a 610 cylinder bad enough to stop a 10mm from chambering. I have gone hundreds of rounds and switched to 10mm Auto without issue. Was the 40S&W ammo you used loaded with black powder and unlubricated lead?

 

[amd6547]

The old timers used to take an empty 357 case, slightly bell the mouth, and maybe give the edge a few twists on a stone to sharpen it. Attach a handle to the base, and you have a scraper.

 

[aaaaa]

What Pat Riot said. CLP will not harm the cylinder.

I can get some of the CLP, but would Hoppe's 9 that says it removes lead and copper deposits work? OR I have a can of Gun Scrubber.

 

[cfullgraf]

Given I have nearly 20,000 rds of 40S&W through a 610 in USPSA competition I find it hard to believe that 3-4 cylinders of 40S&W would foul a 610 cylinder bad enough to stop a 10mm from chambering.

It was a surprise for me as well. I've never had an issue with shooting 38 Special in my 357 Magnum guns. It is an example where sometimes one should never say "Never".

At the time the revolver was new with probably less than 100 rounds through it. Most recently, I've only used Accurate #7 powder but I have used 700-X in the past for a few boxes of ammunitions. Bullets are plated or jacketed.

What I was shooting was some ammunition that had been loaded in magazines for several years so it could have been some of those loaded with 700-X.

I'm in the pleasant position where I have guns chambered in each of the various length cartridges so I save the shorter cases for the guns chambered for those cartridges.

 

[ms6852]

Some people like redheads, or blondes, or brunettes and I like all of them. I personally carry a .357 because for me it is a caliber I can hit with consistently over a larger bore hand gun. You know the old saying better, to hit with something smaller than to miss with something bigger.
I also prefer smith and Wesson to colt pythons because as a southpaw the smith and Wesson is easier to work the cylinder for me. Just took the girls out yesterday for a spin. When the time comes that arthritis sets in I can go wimpy and do 38 or back to my 1911 ACP.

My carry gun.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Given I have nearly 20,000 rds of 40S&W through a 610 in USPSA competition I find it hard to believe that 3-4 cylinders of 40S&W would foul a 610 cylinder bad enough to stop a 10mm from chambering. I have gone hundreds of rounds and switched to 10mm Auto without issue. Was the 40S&W ammo you used loaded with black powder and unlubricated lead?

Shame, shame, mcb. You've been around long enough to know: every gun's different; every bullet's different. Just because your gun does something under a certain set of circumstances doesn't mean EVERY gun will.
And vice-versa.
And making fun of folks who are being sincere is definitely a no-go.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

The old timers used to take an empty 357 case, slightly bell the mouth, and maybe give the edge a few twists on a stone to sharpen it. Attach a handle to the base, and you have a scraper.

I'm an old timer. All I ever use is Hoppe's No.9 and a bronze brush. If I get stubborn leading, I might break out the Shooter's Choice D-Lead. If it's really, really bad, I may even use the (gasp!) 0000 bronze wool wrapped around a bronze brush. But that'd have to be a whole lotta lead deposits!

 

[mcb]

Shame, shame, mcb. You've been around long enough to know: every gun's different; every bullet's different. Just because your gun does something under a certain set of circumstances doesn't mean EVERY gun will.
And vice-versa.
And making fun of folks who are being sincere is definitely a no-go.

I hear you, and the black powder jest may have been a bit over the top, but I have run short ammo in multiple revolvers (38 SC in 38 special and both of those in 357, 40 S&W in 10mm, 44 Special in 44 Mag and even 45 GAP in 45 ACP) over the years and though I clearly have carbon and even etched rings in several of my cylinders from extensive use of short ammo in long chambers I have never created a carbon ring bad enough to cause issue with insertion or extraction of the longer ammo even after many hundreds of round of the shorter ammo with no cleaning before the switch.

-I am not denying that the carbon ring exist.
-I am not denying that the carbon ring, if it's allowed to get bad enough, could cause issues.

-I am asserting that it is way overblown by the internet and after 15+ years and many tens of thousands of short rounds through revolvers in USPSA competition I am fairly convinced that if this issue does crop up to problematic levels its almost always due to poor quality ammo.

IMHO it is one of those issues to keep in the back of your mind just incase you encounter it but I personally never worry about it or shooting short in a longer chamber. I have even tried to make it happen in more than one of my revolvers by going extended intervals between cleanings and I have failed on more than one occasion.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

IMHO it is one of those issues to keep in the back of your mind just incase you encounter it but I personally never worry about it or shooting short in a longer chamber.

Bingo and ditto!
Yes, it happens but I think it's become more gun lore than reality at this point.

I've shot .38LC in a single-shot rifle reamed to .357Maximum for plinking and dropped a .357Max in right after without issue. But I also HAD a Taurus 66 that choked if I shot one cylinder of soft Speer HBWC's over 2.7gr. Bullseye then drop in .357Mag's. Beats me as to why.

 

[Pat Riot]

I can get some of the CLP, but would Hoppe's 9 that says it removes lead and copper deposits work? OR I have a can of Gun Scrubber.

I would not submerge a cylinder in Hoppe’s no. 9 overnight, but I have swabbed chambers and left it sit for a few minutes or so then brushed and swabbed and redid it if necessary, but this is tedious and I didn’t want to risk bluing damage which is why I went the CLP for hardened carbon rings from shooting .38s in a .357.
I have very little experience with Gun Scrubber. It didn’t impress me when I tried it. I think I gave the remainder of the can away.

If you reload you may want to consider different powder in your .38 cartridges. I used to use Unique for all my handgun ammo. I got some gawd awful carbon build up in my .357 Vaqueros when I used them in Cowboy Action Shooting using .38 Special ammo. A few yeas ago I switched to Universal powder which was better for reducing carbon buildup, but the coolest thing I found is I tried out Winchester 244 powder. I only tried it because it was all that was available so I gave it a shot (pun intended). I really like this powder in .38, .357 and 9mm. It burns clean and I see little or no evidence of carbon rings in my .357 chambers. So far I really like it for these rounds.

 

[SwampWolf]

I carry a 686+ in K-frame holster

That holster must be a sloppy fit when carrying the K-frame it was made for.

 

[Tallball]

My 357 and 44 magnum revolvers mostly shoot specials.

I give the cylinders a rudimentary 2-pass per cylinder scrub after each range trip.

I have never ever had a problem when I do shoot magnums.

Maybe a little bit of lazy cleaning is enough for that problem.

Come to think about it, "a little bit of lazy cleaning" is pretty much my modus operandi.

 

[Styx]

That holster must be a sloppy fit when carrying the K-frame it was made for.

I purchased the holster specifically to use with my 2.5" and 3" 686. Either way it will work for a K-frame still in a pinch.

 

[cfullgraf]

To kind of get the thread back on track...

I got all wound up in discussing revolvers but I forgot about my 10" Contender chambered in 357 Magnum. I bought it to shoot IHMSA handgun silhouette. It maybe is not the best combination for the game, but if the shooter did his/her part, the gun would deliver a good knock down with a hit. I was already loading 357 Magnum at the time which was another reason I went that direction.

The 357 Magnum Contender opens up some bullet options not practical for revolvers. I've shot some of the Speer 180 grain Spire point rifle bullets in my Contender.

As an aside, I later bought a 7mm International Rimmed Super 14 barrel for the Contender. I could use the Suoper 14 barrel in Open class and the 10" 357 Magnum barrel in Production class. Not a bad way to go for competing on a budget.

 

[cfullgraf]

I hear you, and the black powder jest may have been a bit over the top...

Naw, not over the top at all. I got the humor in the comment.

I like and use many powders folks call "flaming dirt". Guess I'm just old fashion.

 

[CraigC]

I would not submerge a cylinder in Hoppe’s no. 9 overnight, but......

I have. I got one of the big bottles of #9 and poured it in a small coffee can to do exactly that .To soak cylinders and .22 suppressors. Works great for getting the lead off the leading edge of revolver cylinders.

 

[aaaaa]

I have. I got one of the big bottles of #9 and poured it in a small coffee can to do exactly that .To soak cylinders and .22 suppressors. Works great for getting the lead off the leading edge of revolver cylinders.

I swabbed my cylinder bores with Hoppes #9 lead and copper remover last night and did the nylon brush on a drill. It helped, but there still is some crud left. That was the 44. I need to get a smaller nylon brush for the 357 or would it be okay to use the metal (brass?) bore cleaning brush on the cylinders in a drill? Someone (online) said use a .40 caliber brush in a .357. Alternately would I be better off to use this:
https://www.slixprings.com/SliXprings-Install-Instructions/SliX-Scraper-Instructions.pdf

I think both my guns came with the rings from the previous owner. Can't imagine I did that with as little as I have shot them (50 rounds in the 44).

Another thing I see online is folks saying to fire your lead bullets then follow with some jacketed bullets as they will clear out the lead fowling.

UPDATE: Did the .357 with the brass brush by hand, in and out 120 times for each cylinder. Cleaned it up pretty good, but still a bit of carbon still in there. But it is way better. Before I had to push a spent .357 case firmly to get it all the way in. Now the spent case goes in easily.

 

[Hal]

I've shot a ton of .38 and then shoved an empty .357mag case into each chamber to scrape it clean.
It helps to run the case into a die and slightly flare the mouth. Don't go too far or it will resize the case.

I do the same with .22 - use a spent Stinger case after shooting .22lr.

Bronze brushes get torn up pretty quickly since the same solvents that attack brass/copper attack the brush.
Use the correct size brush. Using one oversized doesn't work. That just flattens the bristles and they don't work.
The brush is made so that the tips do the work.

Another thing I see online is folks saying to fire your lead bullets then follow with some jacketed bullets as they will clear out the lead fowling.

Yeah - that old lie just keeps going around. All that will get you is some pretty jacked up pressures.

 

[Pat Riot]

I have. I got one of the big bottles of #9 and poured it in a small coffee can to do exactly that .To soak cylinders and .22 suppressors. Works great for getting the lead off the leading edge of revolver cylinders.

Thanks. I have always been afraid to try that. I have heard people say it’s bad for bluing so I never wanted to chance it.