Q: Will 38 in 357 @ target vel. cause problems?

[Rooster]

I've recently purchased a 357 revolver and have a considerable amount of 38 special brass I'd like to take advantage of. Will repeated target velocity loads of the 38 in the revolver do any harm to the cylinder due to gas erosion? I'd like to shoot full bore magnums out of it and use the plinkers for, well, plinking. I don't want to have empty brass ejection issues JIC I need it for home/self defense. Your replies are very much appreciated.

[Jtarm]

I know some folks are picky about that, but I've never seen any reason not to, and certainly never had any problems. And that's shooting lots of magnum-pressure ammo loaded in .38 and .357 cases in the same gun. Just keep it clean & you should be fine.

Besides, whatever your actual SD load is, you should be running a couple cylinders-full of it every couple of weeks to test and keep that crucial ammo fresh. That will tell you if you have any problems, whether or not they're caused shooting .38 brass.

[Dan Cash]

Keep the chambers clean and you will have no problem.

[Love Life]

Over 15,000 rds of 38 special in my Model 28 says no...

[gray wolf]

I load all the plinkers I need in 357 brass, 8 to 900 FPS and you can shoot accurately all day long.

As you know the 38 brass is shoter than the 357 so you will get an amount of fowling at the 38 case mouth and that will transcend to the cylinder. So cleaning after shooting
will be in order but I don't think you will destroy the cylinder.
Let the buildup get heavy cause you didn't clean the pistol and yes you could lock it up for 357,s

But again, why do it at all ? --- Because I have a lot of 38 brass is the answer I hear most times. You don't need to load 38,s for plinkers, can you ? sure, just do the cleaning.

[Shiloh]

No problems for me.
I have seen a flame-cut .38 though. I just shoot midrange loads though.

Shiloh

[Crash_Corrigan]

I pretty much just use 357 brass for everything. I load them down for plinking and training new shooters and I keep just a few full house rounds for social purposes. I seldom shoot .38 brass anymore at all. No reason to. A 148 gr DEWC over a small charge of Unique or W-231 works just fine for anything out to 25 yds. If I want the full monty I load up a full house round LRN round and blaze away at longer ranges. I keep my guns clean but I am not obsessive about cleaning the clylinder. Since all my loadings use a full length 357 case I have no fouling in the gap between the end of a .38 Special case and the end of a 357 load. I generally just wipe down the outside of the revolver and clean up the clylinder some. I seldom clean the inside of the barrel nor the chambers as nothing usually builds up. No leading since I fit the boolit to the gun and I do not try to achieve 1300 fps velocity.....

[Rooster]

It's good to know there is no damage done to the cylinder using the 38's. It is more of a peace of mind thing at the moment as I have a relatively limited number of 357 empties to currently use and a 5 gallon bucket of 38 brass available in the corner of the bunker. Thank you all for the replies and to you Dusty for the PM.

[alamogunr]

Go here:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?156622-75-000-Wadcutters-in-a-Model-27

Check what the OP has to say about many .38 loads in a .357 revolver. I read the entire thread awhile back but don't remember any specific comment about disadvantages to using .38 spec brass. I would think that many rounds would show up any problems.

[Jtarm]

Some competitors shoot .38 Long and even Short Colt (and lots of them) in .357 revolvers because the shorter case ejects completely from the chambers.,

Granted, that group probably does not include a lot of carry guns that will see much .357 ammo.

My suggestion: shoot your .38 spl brass till it's worn out and replace with .357. Or better yet, get a .38 to shoot it in and use magnum brass in the .357. I suggest that not because .38 brass poses a threat to your gun, but if .357s will be your carry/SD round, PRACTICE with them. It doesn't have to be the same load, but you need to train at speed reloading with the same length case.

Your skill at cleanly and quickly ejecting and reloading the longer cases will be more crucial than any potential stickiness created by shooting .38s (assuming you've kept the chambers clean.) That extra 1/8" can make a big difference in how easily cases eject/insert, and you may decide you better off with .38 special SD load.

[376Steyr]

Or you could get a 358156 with the double crimp grooves and use Skeeter Skelton's load of 13.5 grs of 2400 with the crimp on the rearmost groove with 38 cases. I use it a lot, and I can't remember the last time I put a 357 case in a 357 revolver.

[rockshooter]

A quick way to clean the ring of crud from .38 Sp in .357 cylinders is with a ratchetting M-14 chamber brush from the surplus dealers at the gun shows- perfect fit, works well. I just screw a screw into the hole for the cleaning rod as a handle.
Loren

[bedbugbilly]

I do it all the time and have never had a problem. I clean my pistols after shooting them and just make sure that the chambers are cleaned well. As far as worry about the 38s in a 357 due to length . . . I also shoot .38 Colt Short and 38 Colt Long out of the same revolvers and both are shorter than the 38 spl.

[Oleman]

I have shot 38 spec cast target bullets in my .357 for over thirty years without a problem. Just make sure you clean the cylinder well and you will have no issues.

[country gent]

There are no real problems with using 38 loads in 357 chambers. Clean well after wards as a carbon crud build up can sometimes make 357s sticky to chamber. A little solvent and a brush take care of it. I use a 40 cal brush for chambers and regular for barrel.

[wiljen]

In the model 27s and 28s you have to use 38 special brass in order to fit a 358429 in the cylinder when crimped in the appropriate location. I've fired 20,000+ rounds of 38 wadcutters through my 4" 28 and with regular cleaning after use have never had a problem and it still is capable of better accuracy than I am. I've also fired more than 2500 rounds of 358429 loads using near max charges of 2400 in my 6" 28 that goes hunting with me again with no ill effects.