38 in 357? Probably a silly question, but

[mpbarry1]

I have never owned a rifle in a pistol cartridge. I have a lot of 38 special brass, a little 357 brass. So, If I buy a Lever gun in 357 magnum, can I shoot the 38 specials through it? Would there be feeding problems? or Would the extra freebore make the gun lead up or be so inaccuate it wouldn't be worth the effort? just curious if anyone has experiance with this, and i know you folks would have the answer.

[btroj]

It can be done. I have the same situation. My experience so far is that it isn't the best for accuracy. Then again,I didn't get great results in mag cases at first either. I have now found the "right" bullet for my Marlin so i suppose it needs a chance in special cases too.

[wiljen]

I've played by loading the 38 special case with 158s or 180gr bullets loaded to the same OAL as 357s in levers and it works to eliminate any feed issues associated with shorter lengths. I usually end up crimping into a lube groove in order to do that but have seen no ill effects thereof. I think accuracy is gonna vary considerably on a per gun basis as I've seen some that shoot about the same group with either case and others that have a definite preference one way or the other.

[Guesser]

My early 1894C Marlin in 357 also works well with 38 Special. I use the Lyman 358156 crimped in the lower groove and it feeds smoothly and accuracy is good. The old Skeeter Skelton heavy 38 load works really good. It provides near 357 performance from the 38 case.

[Artful]

The only issue I have had is the chamber gets dirty at the end of the 38 case if sometimes if you shoot a fair amount of 38's then try to chamber 357's it requires more than "normal" force to chamber it - if you brush the chamber between 38's and 357's you'll not have that problem.

[ReloaderFred]

Thousands of SASS shooters put .38's through their .357 Magnum lever guns every weekend, including me and my wife. In our Marlins, OAL is critical for smooth feeding. I've found that the magic length is 1.480" minimum. Anything shorter will hang up. We shoot 125 grain RNFP bullets through ours and never have a hiccup.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[cajun shooter]

I purchased a 357 Rossi in the 70's and fired many a 38SPL through it without a problem. You should clean the chamber with a bronze brush to make sure you have no build up left behind. There is a member on this forum that sells a bullet called the snakebite. When it is loaded in a 38 case it gives dimensions that are like a 357. It is a great bullet to use in any rifle. Thousands of SASS shooters use this bullet for matches. His name is Springfield Slim. Go to his web site; Whytes Leather and look under bullets or accessories.

[Artful]

Interesting looking boolit called Snakebite
http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/Snakebite1.JPG
Cajun shooter can you give any dimensions off the Snakebites you have?

Myself I'm using the Lyman 358156 and seating to the bottom crimp groove in 38 spl cases - never had a feeding problem with them.

[para45lda]

I agree with Fred - I've put well over 10,000 38's through my Marlin. The only time I had any problems was when I trimmed some cases to 38 S&W length in an effort to get more in the magazine (not for matches). Anywhere from 120 grn to 180 grn (the lighter ones actually fed better).

Of course YMMV but I would just load some up and enjoy.

Wes

[fecmech]

I have 3 , .357 lever guns and the bulk of what gets shot through them is .38 spl. I seem to be fortunate in that my guns are not fussy in regards to OAL, bullet style etc. They feed RN's, swc's RNFP's and TC's with no trouble. The Lyman "Keith" 358429 cannot be crimped in the crimp groove in the Rossi's because it's too long so it gets taper crimped on the front drive band in mag cases. With .38 cases that's not an issue. I believe in feeding mine a "balanced diet".

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Interesting looking boolit called Snakebite
http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/Snakebite1.JPG
Cajun shooter can you give any dimensions off the Snakebites you have?

Myself I'm using the Lyman 358156 and seating to the bottom crimp groove in 38 spl cases - never had a feeding problem with them.

Artful,

Drawings are available at http://www.biglube.com I use these for BP 357 length in 38 spl rounds in SASS Rifle and Pistol.

Sam :D

[northmn]

My early 1894C Marlin in 357 also works well with 38 Special. I use the Lyman 358156 crimped in the lower groove and it feeds smoothly and accuracy is good. The old Skeeter Skelton heavy 38 load works really good. It provides near 357 performance from the 38 case.

I also use Skeeter's load, where the bullet is seated out to same length as the 357 and it is about as accurate as I can shoot my Rossi. It really shoots the standard 38's pretty fair also. I had to harden my lead a bit to get better results.

DP

[mpbarry1]

Great info guys as always. So to summarize:

* Done every day by a lot of folks.
* Just make the overall length the same as the 357. (duh) 1.480 is the magic OAL.
* You will need to clean the chamber with a bronze brush to clean out that last few hundreths that will lead up a bit.
* The Snakebite Bullet is a good one. whytesleather.com or biglube.com (I see he also sells the mold).
* I need to look up the Skeeter Skelton load.

I wonder if you can tumble lube that Snakebite bullet?

anyway, thanks for treating me kindly folks. Now i need to find a good 357 rifle. :)

[Irascible]

With standard bullets they normaly DO NOT work in 1866 or 1873 models. Too short a cartridge will allow the next one from the magazine tube to also enter the elevator and jam it all up. Gunsmith Cody Connager does modify these guns for the Cowboy crowd to shoot both lengths.

[Prairiewolf]

I had the same question when I got into the Cowboy Shootin' business a few years back. I'm shooting a '73 rifle in 357 and revolvers in 357. I settled on 357 brass for the rifle and 38's for the revolvers. I never had any problems with 38's feeding in the '73, but I decided I didn't want to chance it. The 38's certainly work fine in the revolvers. BTW the Uberti / Winchester '73 is a great rifle! :-D