357 load;38 cases-the rest of the question

[woodsie57]

For some reason my text portion vanished- I know its always good to follow load recipies exactly ;but heres my question. I loaded 30 or so .38 cases,158 lswc, 7gr. unique. A bit much for a .38 revolver; seem reasonable in my SW 686, though. Is the possiblity of these finding their way into a weaker gun the real danger? A big pressure difference just doesnt sound realistic, given the large amount of unused case capacity and the small length difference.

[HeavyMetal]

Lee's second edition reloading manual has loads with pressures listed. 158 gr. LSW load over 6.8 gr Unique ( no manufacturer listed) shows 33,900 PSI.

Loads for 38 Special +P are in the 17,000 PSI range.

The question is do you own a 38 special?

Do you shoot with someone who owns a 38 Special?

Are either of you comfortable with the nickname Lefty?

I'd be concerned and this is why I never load magnum loads ( even light mag loads) in 38 special, 44 special, or 45 Colt case's!

You just can't be every where all the time!

[Ben]

Safety is CRITICAL.

I don't think that many experienced reloaders would have anything good to say about this practice.

[pmeisel]

The question is do you own a 38 special?

Do you shoot with someone who owns a 38 Special?

That would be an important consideration.

[Onlymenotu]

here is your the starter thread lots of replys

[GrizzLeeBear]

I loaded 30 or so .38 cases,158 lswc, 7gr. unique. A bit much for a .38 revolver; seem reasonable in my SW 686, though. Is the possiblity of these finding their way into a weaker gun the real danger?.

Do you have kids, grandkids, relatives, etc. that might end up with your reloaded ammo. in the future? How would you feel if one of them were injured shooting those ".38 specials" out of an older .38?

If you're shooting a 686 or any other .357 why do you want to load magnum loads in special cases? Just to save a few bucks on brass? Not worth it. Load magnum loads in magnum brass. It's fine to load .38 loads in .357 brass, in fact I prefer to load my medium .38 target loads in .357 brass for shooting in my GP-100 so I don't have to worry about the carbon ring buildup from .38 cases preventing chambering of .357 loads.

[Rocky Raab]

It is just the same as storing rat poison in soft drink bottles.

In short, criminally negligent.

[zxcvbob]

Put them in a box marked ".357 or Rifle Only!" and (here's the important part) mark the case heads bright red with a Magic Marker. Even if they get separated from the box, only a fool would shoot unknown reloads that were marked like that.

[Bret4207]

Put them in a box marked ".357 or Rifle Only!" and (here's the important part) mark the case heads bright red with a Magic Marker. Even if they get separated from the box, only a fool would shoot unknown reloads that were marked like that.

Same thing I do. "Criminally negligent" is really too strong a term to use.

[atr]

I think it is dangerous and irresponsible.

I totally agree with "It is just the same as storing rat poison in soft drink bottles."

[Paul]

Years ago I loaded 357 Mag loads in some .38 cases... Cause I am shooting, Cause I marked the boxes, Cause I Knew.... But got real scarry shooting with friends, swaping ammo, thinking about my kids shooting (if I were not there, passed on, etc..) Bullets spilled and Picked up, put back in wrong boxes etc....

I DON'T DO IT.... NOT FOR ME... Chance of hurting a old gun, let alone hurt another person, family etc.

Paul

[Rocky Raab]

Amen, Paul.

The terms "reckless and irresponsible" apply no matter what. But AFTER the accident, you can be assured that the term "criminally negligent" will appear on the paperwork of the lawsuit.

[Rocky Raab]

Amen, Paul.

The terms "reckless and irresponsible" apply no matter what. But AFTER the accident, you can be assured that the term "criminally negligent" will appear on the paperwork of the lawsuit.

[zxcvbob]

I just wonder if any folks being the so vocal about "rat poison in a Coke bottle" have Ruger .45 BlackHawks and RedHawks or Thompson Contenders that they load for using the "Ruger Only" data from the back of the load books?

[Rocky Raab]

Clearly, that's meant for me.

And the answer is that I used to. I shot them up to avoid the issue that maturity caused me to realize. In the unlikely event that I'd ever need any 45 Colt loads like that again, I'd load only enough for that need and shoot them or pull them as soon as that need went away.

It is indeed true that thousands of large, strong guns can handle those old 38/44 style loads. But there are millions of guns that can't. A person who reads "Coke" where it wasn't written is liable to do something else equally careless.

[9.3X62AL]

"Criminally negligent" seems a mite vociferous to me, too.

I have CZ-52-level loads in 7.62 x 25, and also own A Tokarev TT-30/33 and a C-96.

I have Ruger-level loads in both 45 Colt and 45-70. And in 357 Magnum that would bend a K-frame S&W.

The operative word here is to NEVER shoot handloads of unknown origin. THAT is safety-consciousness, and also common sense.

If Jerry is indictable, I'm happy to be in such good company.

[Thumbcocker]

Dang Jerry That is some serious "revolver porn" in that picture. you done got me all worked up.

[Rocky Raab]

Jerry, we don't disagree all that much. The thread started not with warmish 38 loads, not even with +P 38 loads, but with the concept of loading full-pressure 357 loads in 38 brass. That's far beyond what you're doing, what some other folks here are doing and even what the companies you mentioned are doing.

I'm pretty sure that such ammo, fired in ANY standard 38 revolver, is going to cause damage to the gun, at the least. If the gun does what I call "spontaneous omnidirectional disassembly" then somebody is going to go looking for a lawyer. Whoever loaded that ammo is going to have a damn tough time explaining why, when proper brass is readily available.

To your genial postscript, I live in Ogden, and can see a passel of geology from any window I choose!

[Bret4207]

Huh, same as rat poison in a Coke bottle. In that case, NO reloading should be done, we should stick strictly to factory loaded ammo. After all, this is clearly too dangerous an activity for all of us "immature" fools to play with.

Sounds like ammo for the Brady campaign to me.

[anachronism]

For Pete's sake! Box them seperately & mark them clearly for .357 guns only. Just like the Ruger guys do with their .45 Colt Blackhawks & Redhawks.

I have a super-secret 38 Spl load that's off the charts too. When I have some loaded, I mark them in a similar manner.