Loading .38 SPL for .357 -- use .38 or .357 cases?

[ghh3rd]

My son purchased a .357 revolver, and want to (or have me) load .38's for it. He and I have plenty of .38 brass, but I was wondering if it would be best to use .357 brass (of which we have little).

If he shoots lots of .38, will it cause loading/unloading issues with the .357, or will good cleaning after each .38 session keep the problems away?

[HeavyMetal]

depends on how hot you load the 38 brass.

I once bought a 357 that had seen years of use as a PPC gun and I honestly don't believe it ever had a 357 round through it.

Fired 357 case stuck like a big dog and had to be hammered out with a piece of wood.

I have no idea what load the previous owner was using or how often he cleaned the gun bu t it did have the problem.

I have also purchased 22 bolt guns that had fired a steady diet of shorts these always have extraction issues when fired with long rifle rounds.

My suggestion is load 38's light and clean often and watch for pitting.

For my own use I'd find some more 357 brass

[geargnasher]

I personally buy .357 Magnum brass as I need it (often from other CB members) and load milder rounds rather than load .38 brass. Once you have the brass the cost is the same, and you don't get the carbon ring in the front of the chambers with the correct brass. As long as you keep away from .357's after shooting .38s, or at least clean the carbon rings out at the range before switching, there is no problem. I'm sure somebody here will be along shortly to hose me for my chosen loads that leave carbon rings, but if you can find a load/powder for a .38 that won't leave them I'd like to know what it is.

Gear

[shotman]

inter change will be only problem as said if you put 2 3 hundred 38s would be best to clean cyl before the 357s
A few years ago 357 was hard to find and I loaded 38 to 357 level they worked find but about 5 loads and brass would split but 38 brass is cheap

[lwknight]

I'm on about 400 rounds of 38s since the last cylinder scrubbing. So far the .357s are still chambering and ejecting with no problems.
I could not guess how many 38s it took to make me scrubb the cylinder but , it was a lot.

Gear , I'n using 5.0 grains WSF with 158 grain boolits. Its decently clean burning and full 38spl power at about 850 fps. Also very consistant and accurate.

I have said several times before though that WSF is no good for light loads when using light ( 125 grain or lighter ) boolits in the 38spl case. Velocity can vary as much as 400 fps. Thats radical.

[home in oz]

Seat boolit out further in .38 special case to .357 length for lighter loads?

[Bret4207]

I honestly never saw the huge problem with this. Your favorite solvent on a brush with some 4/0 steel wool and 90 seconds of work and she's 357 prepped.

[x101airborne]

I own 6 357's and have never had an issue. Clean regularly and you should be fine.

[dale2242]

I use 38s in my 357 all the time with no issues. I would load the 38 Spec cases to 38 specs. Loading 38 cases to 357 pressures can create a problem if they are fired in a light frame 38 Spec. If the carbon ring is an issue, buy a stainless steel brush and use your favorite olvent in the cylinder. The ring comes right out....dale

[44man]

If the chamber is kept clean or does not foul, no problem.
I have always found a shorter case for the chamber is not as accurate so it depends on what you do with the guns.

[Larry Gibson]

ghh3rd

My son purchased a .357 revolver, and want to (or have me) load .38's for it. He and I have plenty of .38 brass, but I was wondering if it would be best to use .357 brass (of which we have little).

For many, many years when most police were armed with revolvers many had .357s. The practice and qualification ammuntion was almost always .38 specials that were reloaded. Some agencies loaded their own but most bought reloads (exchanged brass) from several companies. probably milions, perhaps billions, of .38 Special cartridges were fired by police officers in .357s during training and qualification. Most of the loads were with swaged or cast lead bullets of WC or SWC style. The practice is still done by many sportsman and other shooters. O do it my self with the 4 .357s I have.

Thus I suggest you load .38 Special loads in .38 cases and .357 loads in .357 cases. Then you know what you have by the case they are in; .38s or .357s. Keeps it simple that way.

If he shoots lots of .38, will it cause loading/unloading issues with the .357, or will good cleaning after each .38 session keep the problems away?

Only if you do not clean the cylinder chambers after shooting and the carbon deposits in the front of chambers from the shorter .38s gets hard. If cleaned shortly after firing the deposits come out easily with normal use of a bronze brush in the chambers. In my .357 revolvers, after firing a couple hundred .38s (usually a 358477 over 3.5 gr Bullseye) a wiping of the chambers with a soaked patch (Hoppe's #9) and soaking for 5 - 10 minutes while I clean the frame folowed 3 - 5 passes through the chambers with a bronze brush(also soaked with Hoppe's #9) gets them clean. That is my normal cleaning regimine whether the .38s or .357s have been fired so it amounts to nothing extra.

Larry Gibson

[Old Grump]

Normal for me is to soak my cylinder in my fuel oil/ATF mix for a day or 3 and I spend
more time on the cylinder chambers than I do on the barrel. I shoot both loads a lot and the older I get the more the balance goes to light loads of 38 spcl. Last time I had a problem was nearly 20 years ago before I started shooting a lot of 38's. When I did shoot some I hadn't taken it into account so my usual lick and a promise cost me a stuck case and a separated case. Lesson learned, its not a problem. Just adjust your cleaning routing to account for it.

[beagle]

I've used .38s in .357 chambers since the early 60s and have never had a problem with extraction provided that I cleaned after every range session. This was with S &Ws, a couple of Colts and a bunch of Rugers and of course, my M1894 carbine.

I think that more rounds of .38 are fired in .357 guns than we really realize. Probably 90% of the firing is done with .38s.

Load the .38s to .38/44 velocities and enjoy./beagle

[geargnasher]

Common theme: Keep it clean and no problems. I usually can't shoot well enough to tell the accuracy difference between .38 and .357 fired in the same gun unless I shoot off a bench, and I'm not likely to be shooting fun/practice ammo off the bench anyway. I still prefer to reload .357 brass, though, it fits the gun better, but isn't necessary.

Gear

[.357]

Like everyone said, keep your cylinder clean. I have to get my .357 really freakin dirty with 38 specials in order to have a problem chambering .357s. I second again the notion further up to spend way more time on the cylinder cleaning then the barrel.
I never load 38s to .357 level pressures since i have several models that are just 38 specials and i'm found of my face and hands, plus the shortened case means higher pressures then when the same load is in a .357 case. and again my face may not be that pretty but it's what i've got.

Best of luck!

.357

[zxcvbob]

I shoot .38 Specials loaded to CIP levels (a little hotter than +P) with cast bullets 99% of the time in my .357's, although I've started also shooting Magnum wadcutter loads in .38 brass with the bullets seated long. I clean the bore after every trip to the range because I'm getting a little leading.

I clean the cylinder chambers after every few boxes of ammo whether they need it or not. :) Just a couple of passes with a .40 brush dipped in Dexron ATF. When I do load full-length .357's, they chamber just fine.

[lwknight]

I second the thought on never loading 38spl brass to .357 magnum.
I figure that any one of us could have a heart attack and die.
Then there is a good chance that the hot ammo could end up in a garage sale or something where someone might put in a gun that can't handle the pressures.

[Shiloh]

inter change will be only problem as said if you put 2 3 hundred 38s would be best to clean cyl before the 357s
A few years ago 357 was hard to find and I loaded 38 to 357 level they worked find but about 5 loads and brass would split but 38 brass is cheap

Until recently, .357 brass was scarce and hard to find. Midway is in stock on Winchester .357. Natchez and Midsouth are both out.

Shiloh

[zxcvbob]

I second the thought on never loading 38spl brass to .357 magnum.
I figure that any one of us could have a heart attack and die.

Until recently, .357 brass was scarce and hard to find. Midway is in stock on Winchester .357. Natchez and Midsouth are both out.

I've recently discovered that if you load a DEWC boolit in .38 brass to an OAL of about 1.35", it chambers just fine in a .357 Magnum and will not chamber in a .38 Special. (You can use .38 Super +P load data for this combination.) Best of all, I can load 11 of 'em in the magazine of my Marlin carbine.