The most Special handgun caliber

[dverna]

I just finished reading Mr. Gibson's post on heavy loads for the .38 for the second time. Made me stop and think about my nearly 50 year love affair with the .38 Special....what a trusted companion she has been.

She was my first CF pistol round and I wish I still had the Colt Officer's Model that brought me to the party.

I have loaded more .38's than any other caliber. She was the reason I bought my first of many progressive reloaders. I still have the old set of Lyman steel dies bought in the early 70's when I lubed cases to save a few dollars...LOL

I learned to cast because of her. I am down to 11 molds, and 5 of them are for the .38/.357. My first mold was a 10 cavity H&G, and first sizer was a Star to keep the Colt fed with H&G 50's.

I am down to 7 guns in the caliber (two Colt SSA's, two 686+'s, two Marlin 94's and an Uberti 73) but no other caliber is as well represented in my little armory.

She was such a fine lady, they had to give her a big brother. But in a good gun, the .38 will be just as powerful as the .357

In some ways I feel sorry for the new crop of casters. Most of them get into casting to feed their 9mm's and AR's. Likely two of the most challenging platforms to start with. The .38 is so simple even I was successful right out the gate!

I have regretted selling every .38/.357 I let go. The Colt Officers, S&W M52, Clark Long Slide, K38, and M19. I have never had one that would not shoot and shoot well.

I have been looking for a quality bolt action or single shot .38/.357 for a few years. With so few good years left, I have decided to stop fretting about the cost and buy one of the baby rolling blocks. I came close to buying the Ruger 77/.357 a couple of times but reports of poor accuracy kept me hesitant. I just sent an inquiry to Taylor so we shall see how long the wait is. If anyone has one of the baby rolling blocks I would appreciate your comments wrt trigger quality and accuracy.

[onelight]

I just sent an inquiry to Taylor so we shall see how long the wait is. If anyone has one of the baby rolling blocks I would appreciate your comments wrt trigger quality and accuracy.

That little .357 Rolling block draws me back to Taylor's web sight often . If you get one be sure to give us a review.

[Petrol & Powder]

dverna, I too share your admiration for the 38 Special.
Of the cartridges that I reload, I have probably loaded and shot more 38 Special cartridges than all the others put together.

It is a wonderfully useful cartridge. Inexpensive, accurate, reasonably powerful, incredibly useful and just downright FUN!

For as long as I can remember, there has always been at least one DA revolver chambered in 38 Special in my possession. There are a few more than one now

The spent brass ends up on the ground near my feet, I don't have to search dozens of square yards worth of ground to find my casings. Those casings last for many reloading cycles. And while I have burned a lot of powder over the years, I don't burn a lot of powder per cartridge.

I have more than one dedicated Dillon 550 toolhead set up for 38 Special (so I don't need to readjust dies and powder measures for different loadings).

My EDC is a revolver chambered in 38 Special. I own more Safariland speedloaders than pistol magazines !


I load and shoot other cartridges but the 38 Special really is Special.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I believe Ruger has produced the #1 in .357 and had the bolt gun, the 77/357. I would guess the expected accuracy in these rifles did not occur due to lack of load development rather than actual rifle problems. With proper 'tinkering' and load development, the 1894 Marlin should shoot as well as any of them.

[Petrol & Powder]

I owned a Rossi lever action chambered in 38/357 and despite its low cost, it was a very good gun.
I regret selling it.

[trapper9260]

I have a Rossi lever in 38/357 and after I had some problems on the feeding and broke a part that I had fix it is one I will not let go ,The one that fix it needed to test fire it and open sites as I got it good at 100 yards with 357 loads from the factory for 6" plate he told me. I could not be leave how well it shot.

[bedbugbilly]

OP - you say it well!

I have more 38s than any other caliber in handguns. Everyone has their favorites, but to me the 38 Special is just a great all around cartridge - and I also enjoy playing with 38 Color Short and Long. Since I am "vintage" - I prefer the more vintage revolvers. If I could only keep one handgun, it would be my 5" S & W M & P - born the same year I was. It shoots cast very well and "just feels right" in the hand. I also have a 1910 Colt Army Special with a 6" barrel that I enjoy a lot.

I had a Handi rifle in 357 and I put a lot of 38s and 357 handholds through it. I sold it and have regretted it. Like you and several others, I keep taking a gander at Taylor's rolling block as I would love to have a single shot like that. I'm not getting any younger either and while they are not cheap, I think it would be a very enjoyable rifle to shoot - both in smokeless and BP loads. With
covid, supplies have dried up but hopefully Taylors and others will start to get some of the Italian guns back in stock again once things get better.

If you end up with one of their RBs - please post and let us know how you like it and how it shoots - or if any has one - we'd love to hear about it.

[Texas by God]

After decades of shooting and loading, my favorite revolver cartridge remains the .38 Special. It is just right. Weirdly enough, I don't care for .357 magnum, when I want louder power I drag out my second favorite revolver cartridge- the .41 magnum.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[veeman]

Interesting. While I have an OM Blackhawk 38/357, a Rossi 92 and 2 .38 special lightnings, I never shoot them. Got them for my wife to shoot CAS. I prefer the 44-40. Got 7 of those. Got nothing against the .38, just prefer the bigger caliber.

[cowboy4evr]

The 38 special is what I have cast / loaded for the most . I started out with a LEE Classic Loader kit , the one that you pound everything together . I refused to buy a press till I had loaded over 1500 rounds with that LEE kit . I didn't have a dedicated 38 special gun for several yrs . Sure , I have several 357's but I prefer to shoot 357's in them . Then several weeks back I walked into my LGS . The owner walks back into the storeroom and comes out with a gorgeous Colt Police Positive Special . It looked " unfired " . Needless to say it went home with me . It is very light weight , incredibly accurate and just a ball to shoot . I too , truly enjoy the 38 special . I have always maintained that when people talk about how " anemic " it is . I remind them of the fact that there's a lot of " bad guys taking a dirt nap " because of the 38 special . It's " very special " to me . Regards Paul

[rintinglen]

dverna, I too share your admiration for the 38 Special.
Of the cartridges that I reload, I have probably loaded and shot more 38 Special cartridges than all the others put together.

It is a wonderfully useful cartridge. Inexpensive, accurate, reasonably powerful, incredibly useful and just downright FUN!

For as long as I can remember, there has always been at least one DA revolver chambered in 38 Special in my possession. There are a few more than one now

The spent brass ends up on the ground near my feet, I don't have to search dozens of square yards worth of ground to find my casings. Those casings last for many reloading cycles. And while I have burned a lot of powder over the years, I don't burn a lot of powder per cartridge.

I have more than one dedicated Dillon 550 toolhead set up for 38 Special (so I don't need to readjust dies and powder measures for different loadings).

My EDC is a revolver chambered in 38 Special. I own more Safariland speedloaders than pistol magazines !


I load and shoot other cartridges but the 38 Special really is Special.

Took the words right out of my Keyboard. I have a small wheel barrow full of 38's, ranging from J-Frame snubbies to 6 inch Target revolvers, and I have loaded lord only knows how many. I know that in two years I went through 32 lbs of Red Dot, 2.9 grains at a time. Cast up a 55 gallon drum of wheel weights to do it. Just finished loading 500 WC last month. If I could only have one gun, it would be special

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Free floating the 77/357 got my groups to a respectable 3" at 100 yards with the Lee 120 TC cast from wheel weights, powder coated and pushed with a max load of Promo (357 brass) for around 1500 fps. Perfect for plinking, like a bigger .22. I'm not done trying but I haven't found the sweet spot with the Lee 158 RNFP yet. I was underwhelmed with the 120's performance on game.

[bpatterson84]

My 77/357 was tuned just to shoot wonderful heavy loaded 38specials with a MP version of the 200gr Lee/rcbs 358 rifle bullet loaded long. Cut to 16”, Floated, Match trigger, a lil load development and 3” at 100 is more than doable. A Silencerco Omega 9k is super short and light, and rounds off the package just perfectly. This is the plinking rifle that all other plinking rifles are measured by. It’s so perfect in so many ways, and soooo quiet.

[Uncle R.]

I have been looking for a quality bolt action or single shot .38/.357 for a few years. With so few good years left, I have decided to stop fretting about the cost and buy one of the baby rolling blocks. I came close to buying the Ruger 77/.357 a couple of times but reports of poor accuracy kept me hesitant. I just sent an inquiry to Taylor so we shall see how long the wait is. If anyone has one of the baby rolling blocks I would appreciate your comments wrt trigger quality and accuracy.

dverna:

I have a BSA Martini Cadet that was rebored and chambered in .357 Mag. I believe those changes were done by the importer some time back in the 60s. The reboring job looks a little rough, like the rifling was cut with a dull file, but the dang thing is scary accurate with the RCBS 180 gr. Silhouette boolit. I confess that's all I've ever tried in it - never felt the need to work up a different load when it puts this bullet into groups I can't believe. I often get ragged holes at 50 yards and for this old duffer with iron sights that's just incredible.

The original rear sight is nicely adjustable, and it came with an exquisite trigger which I suspect it's had since the day it was made. I like rolling blocks a lot, but I like the striker-fired Martini even better since it doesn't have a heavy swinging hammer to move things around and slow the lock time. Plus - instead of a modern gun, I have a great shooter that's over a hundred years old and dripping with history.

They don't seem to come up for sale too often, but if you should happen to get a chance at one you might want to grab it. I sure do love mine.

Uncle R.

[dverna]

Uncle R

I LOVE the Martini actions but they are very difficult to get and not very affordable. There is one listed on Gunbroker in .357:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/880618599

Looks a bit rough and though it has a very nice aperature sight I would be mounting a scope.

[umwminer]

Don , can you point us to the Gibson article/post that you are referring to ?
Thanks !

[Uncle R.]

OhMyGoodness!
Are they really that expensive?

I see someone stocked that specimen with a nice piece of wood, and maybe they're trying to get their money back out. I would have thought you could get a good shooter for maybe 500 bucks, but I may be behind the times. (Again!)

As for "a bit rough" I think most of them are. Mine bears a lot of scars in the wood and the metal finish is none too fine, but it locks tight and shoots great.

I really do like rolling blocks too, and I'll bet that Taylor carbine would be a dandy. Either way, you can't lose!


Uncle R.