Ready To Start Reloading .357 and .38 Special

[Petrol & Powder]

"I've read/heard people say the same thing too many times for me to want to use .spcl cases.................."
While I don't doubt Tazman encountered a problem; I've never been that unfortunate. Whatever the issue is, I've never experienced it.

As for reading & hearing things - I've read and heard about bigfoot, mid-Atlantic cougars, opportunities to purchase the Brooklyn bridge and many other things. Reading and/or hearing something is hardly the threshold to establish something as legitimate.

Now maybe there is some unusual combination that can cause some difficult to remove debris but I've never come across it.

[apen]

It doesn't need to be proven in my case. I shoot magnum level loads and I shoot 38 spcl loads. I believe it is possible that the crud ring forms and might be difficult to remove. I believe it is possible that the people saying this really had had this problem. I don't want to be fiddling with a die when I go back and forth. I'm not doubting for a minute that you never had a problem.

Edited: I don't find .38 spl brass lying around on my range. If I had a lot of it, I would shoot it in my 357 and see for myself.

[Petrol & Powder]

believe whatever you want

[apen]

Clymer have been making a special reamer to clean this crud ring out for many years. Some years back, I bought one, thinking I might need it some day. I have never used it.

I wonder why they bothered to make such a thing? Why would they do that?

[Petrol & Powder]

I wonder why they bothered to make such a thing? Why would they do that?

Because someone will believe what they've read & heard and BUY IT.

It is a great business plan !

[apen]

I wish I had made a video of the problem I had getting the "crud ring" out of my 357. It would have made a believer out of anyone.
Since I changed bullet lubes, I haven't had the ring since. Those of you who have never experienced it have just never used the combination of ingredients that cause it. The crud ring is a real phenomenon and until you have to deal with it, you simply won't believe how difficult it cam be.
The last time that happened to me was after a single afternoon of shooting. It took much more than a "good scrubbing" to get it out.

Come clean Tazman...Tell us the truth. Of all the things to lie about-shooting 2" groups with a revolver at 500M.....banging cheerleaders 2 at a time....solving a NY times crossword in under a minute...all these are entirely plausible, but when you claim to have difficulty in cleaning a revolver cylinder because you used 38 cases in a 357 length cylinder, I have to call BS. You should be deeply ashamed of yourself. I don't think you are fully aware of the ramifications of your claim.

[Petrol & Powder]

Come clean Tazman...Tell us the truth. Of all the things to lie about-shooting 2" groups with a revolver at 500M.....banging cheerleaders 2 at a time....solving a NY times crossword in under a minute...all these are entirely plausible, but when you claim to have difficulty in cleaning a revolver cylinder because you used 38 cases in a 357 length cylinder, I have to call BS. You should be deeply ashamed of yourself. I don't think you are fully aware of the ramifications of your claim.

You really should use the purple sarcastic font when you post that type of argument, particularly when it is directed at me and not Tazman.

[tazman]

Come clean Tazman...Tell us the truth. Of all the things to lie about-shooting 2" groups with a revolver at 500M.....banging cheerleaders 2 at a time....solving a NY times crossword in under a minute...all these are entirely plausible, but when you claim to have difficulty in cleaning a revolver cylinder because you used 38 cases in a 357 length cylinder, I have to call BS. You should be deeply ashamed of yourself. I don't think you are fully aware of the ramifications of your claim.

I'm not entirely certain how to take that statement.

[Petrol & Powder]

I think it was directed at me.

I don't doubt that you had a difficult time removing the debris from a magnum chamber after shooting 38 Spl. cartridges.

I do think the issue is rare.

[apen]

It means I believe your account Tazman. The sarcasm may have a been a little thick. It means I don't think other accounts I've heard about are in the same league as bigfoot sighting.

[Petrol & Powder]

But you have no personal experience either?

Can I interest you in ownership of a very lucrative bridge that connects Manhattan to Brooklyn?

[tazman]

I think it was directed at me.

I don't doubt that you had a difficult time removing the debris from a magnum chamber after shooting 38 Spl. cartridges.

I do think the issue is rare.

It only really happened the one time. Undoubtedly a special set of circumstances.
400 rounds in one afternoon. I was using a lube that I hadn't used before and no longer use because of this. Full power loads of Bullseye.
The build up was heavy enough that it completely filled the space between the 38 special case and the front of the 357 chamber. The stuff was hard. It didn't want to dissolve and wouldn't soften with anything I had. I wore out three brass brushes working by hand without getting significant portions of it out. I ended up using a small wire brush on my cordless drill to get the most of it out. The smaller bits finally softened with a heavy dose of Hoppes left overnight. Even those smaller bits were enough that I couldn't insert a magnum case all the way in until they were cleaned out.
Shortly after that I switched lubes and haven't had that kind of problem since. What dirt there is now cleans out easily.
I think my Lyman 45 still has the last of that bad lube in it. I will need to clean it out before I can feel safe using it again. I still have some boolits with that lube loaded up. If I only shoot a few at a time it doesn't become that bad. Also I can shoot them in my 38 special which I didn't have at the time and avoid the problem all together.

[Windwalker 45acp]

I've only just started, within the past year, casting and shooting .38spcl/.357m and I almost exclusively shoot .38spcl cases in a Smith M28-2. I've never, ever had crud built up and I shoot Unique.
Having said that, I don't discount tazman's claim at all.... when you get to a certain age you will have experienced a lifetime of weird and unexplainable things.

I've learned to just shrug it off, especially if it isn't repeatable.

[Harry O]

1) DO NOT LOAD .357 LOADS IN .38 CASES. SOONER OR LATER ONE OF THEM WILL FIND ITS WAY INTO A .38 SPECIAL CYLINDER.

3) I have never owned a .38 Special revolver. I have owned around 30 - .357 Magnum revolvers. I currently own 2 Rugers and 4 Smiths. I own around 200 .357 Magnum cases and upward of 5,000 .38 special cases. I load .357s in batches of 50 and .38s in batches of 300.

The first statement bears repeating.

As far as the second statement, you really owe it to your self to get a S&W K-38 Masterpiece or a Combat Masterpiece and try it. A .38 Special cartridge is more accurate in a .38 Special revolver than it is in a .357 Magnum revolver. From my experience, sometimes it is a lot more accurate. I shoot .38 Special cartridges in .38 Special revolvers (almost all are the K-38 and Model 15). I shoot .357 Magnum cartridges in .357 Magnum revolvers (there are an assortment of them -- S&W, Colt & Ruger). It works out well for me that way.

[salvadore]

I may have said this before, but if you are unable to keep your high pressure .38s separate from your saami spec .38, then you shouldn't load .38 cases to higher pressures. I don't have that problem.

[tazman]

I am quite able to keep my high pressure loads separate from the standard loads.
My only issue is, I am old enough now that some of my ammo may outlive me. Who knows whether the info I put with the loads will remain with the specific containers and loads after I pass on.
My spouse and children have no idea what the notes might mean and may end up mixing things up. I would much prefer not to be haunted by some one who blew up a gun because they used a load of mine in the wrong gun.
I no longer load 38 special cases with magnum loads for that reason. I only have about a box of heavy +P loads(not full magnum but would be +P+ these days) to burn before I don't have to worry about it any longer.

[Windwalker 45acp]

you could leave them to me in your Will, Tazman!

On a serious note, i've thought about the same thing as to +p+ ammo I had made and whether or not my wife and kids would even understand the difference and with what firearms they need to be used with.

Telling them before really won't help either. I recall having many discussions with my own father of what this and that was for and you just cannot recall every last little detail or sometimes appreciate the sometimes subtle difference.

I dunno, the only thing I have come up with is precise, written instructions.

[denul]

I purchased a very nice Smith and Wesson Model 66 several years ago from a dealer who told me its former owner only shot 38 special wadcutters in regular competition, and was sure that there had been several tens of thousands tired. He also stated that he never knew the man to have purchased or used any 357 ammunition. None of the charging holes with accept any 357s,38s were fine. I did not mind the clean up at all, because I got a good price on the revolver, and I found that I could remove this with the drill press and bronze bristle like mentioned in the above post. It is fine now, with 38s or 357, & I use both and don't seem to have much issues with build up as I found it. I'm not shooting anywhere nearly as much as the previous owner.

[rockshooter]

I've found that an M-14 chamber brush, the one with a ratchet, works great for cleaning .357 chambers. The brass bristles are short and stiff and turning the ratchet makes fast work of the job. I must admit that I have never had any particular problem shooting .38s and .357 interchangeably but like to have clean chambers.
Loren

[Pooch]

I once had a "crud ring" in my 357 that was so hard it took almost 3 hours cleaning time to get it out. I shot nearly 400 rounds through the gun, all 38 special, one afternoon and cleaned the gun the next day. That ring was so hard it was almost impossible to remove and didn't want to dissolve for some reason. It had built up solid in the front of the chamber and looked as if it had shortened the chamber to 38 special length.
I have since changed boolit lubes and no longer have that any difficulty getting the ring out.

What type of lube were you using??