too short .38 in .357 ok?

[waterhouse]

Yesterday I loaded up some .38s, 158 grain lead semi wadcutters over 3.3 grains of bullseye (max is listed as 3.6).

I'm very new to all of this, and I statrted by taking an empty piece of brass, putting a bullet on top, and slowly adjusting the seating screw until I had my desired overall length. I must have bumped something at some point, because my rounds started getting shorter.

Minimum overall length is listed as 1.420. What I have now are 6 .38 rounds that range anywhere from 1.396 to 1.415. I understand that seating the bullet too deep can cause pressure problems, so my question is: since this was a pretty light load to begin with, and since I'll be shooting them in a .357, are these safe to shoot? Or is it not orth risking?

 

[JDGray]

Make sure your seating die doesnt have any lube or lead buildup. Cant say on the pressure of shorter oal. Dont think it could be as high as a max load in .357 JDGray

 

[happy old sailor]

need more crimp

 

[ReloaderFred]

Go ahead and shoot them. As for the changing seating depth, like Mr. Gray pointed out, some bullets shave off lead and lube when seated, especially if you don't have enough bell in the case mouth. Some dies are also prone to loosening the adjustment nut, so you also have to check that fairly often.

Once I've set the depth, I tighten a second nut over the first on the seating stem, depending on the brand of dies I'm using. Some of the newer designs won't allow this.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[waterhouse]

Yeah, I fixed the length problem and added a touch more crimp, which made everything better, I just wasn't sure if I could shoot the couple that came out too short.

thanks for the tip on the gunk on the seating die. . .it looks clean for now, but I'm sure I'll run into this problem eventually

 

[Sunray]

This is an opportunity. Go buy a kinetic bullet puller. However, no .38 Special load will hurt a .357. The short rounds will just gunk up the cylinders a bit more. You'll also find that any .38 Special case will gunk up the cylinders. Using .357 brass loaded to .38 specs makes it go away. You should be able to use the same dies for .357 cases too. You will have to set them up again though.

 

[Hook686]

This is an opportunity. Go buy a kinetic bullet puller. However, no .38 Special load will hurt a .357. The short rounds will just gunk up the cylinders a bit more. You'll also find that any .38 Special case will gunk up the cylinders. Using .357 brass loaded to .38 specs makes it go away. You should be able to use the same dies for .357 cases too. You will have to set them up again though.

hmmmm I'm not sure that is correct and safe information to be giving a new reloader .... a .38 spl case can certainy be loaded to point the weaker .38 case ruptures ... not good I'm thinking taking the risk.

I also think that using Bullseye in .357 cases for a .38 spl light load is not a good idea ... a small amount of powder and lots more open air space than with the .38 shell ..... hmmm sounds potentially "explosive" to me ...

Hook686

 

[rick_in_lb]

The short rounds will just gunk up the cylinders a bit more. You'll also find that any .38 Special case will gunk up the cylinders. Using .357 brass loaded to .38 specs makes it go away.

Sunray, could you explain why using 38 special cases will gunk up your .357 revolver. I have heard this but do not understand.
Thanks

 

[ReloaderFred]

What actually happens is there is a residue buildup in the chambers of the cylinder at the case mouth. Since the .38 case is roughly .10" shorter than the .357 magnum case, the buildup of residue causes a constriction at that point, which won't be noticed as long as you shoot .38 specials in the gun. If you don't thoroughly clean the residue from the chambers, it will be hard to chamber the longer .357 magnum cases, and if they do chamber, will be hard to extract upon firing.

It's just a case of cleaning the chambers after firing the .38 specials, and before firing .357 magnums. All it takes is a good solvent and chamber brush. I use .35 caliber rifle brushes for cleaning the chambers of .38/.357 revolvers, and it works just fine.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Sunray]

"...sounds potentially "explosive" to me..." Nope. Been using .357 cases with 148 grain wc's and 2.5 grains of Bullseye for eons. No fuss or bother.
The residue/gunk Fred and I are speaking of is mostly cast bullet lube. Like Fred says, it's no big deal to clean out.