.38 special + p

[hatcreek]

Stupid question, can I safely fire a .38 special + p round in my .357 mag Ruger Black hawk, I cast 158gr SWC, for both .38 and .357 mag, mag brass is hard to come by, have a ton of .38's. Thanks HC

[357shooter]

Yes, no problem with +P 38's in 357's.

[knifemaker]

Yes you can. Even with the 38 spec. being a plus P round, the pressure is far below that of a 357 Mag. round. Since you will be shooting 38 spec. cast lube boolits in a longer 357 mag cylinder, just be sure to use a proper size bore brush to clean your cylinder chambers so no left over residue build up will interfer with chambering a 357 round.

[Rex]

99% of the rounds fired through my S&W 686 are 150 grain 358477 bullets over 6 grains Unique in a 38 special case. Very accurate and nice to shoot. That is an old time +P load. John Taffin used many of these.

[hatcreek]

Thanks for the info, time to load up some + p's. HC

[opos]

One little side note. I load a ton of 38+P to shoot in my revolvers, both single and double action and really enjoy shooting them. I never share loaded ammo with anyone and that's my caution..if you load +P loads in 38 special brass that is not marked +P be certain none of it falls into the hands of someone that might be shooting some old non +P capable gun and have a problem. When I load +P in a standard unmarked 38 special case I mark the case head with a small red dot. At least that way I know what really "lurks" inside the brass. I'd really hate to have some of my +P loads get into the hands of the unwary with an old RG or breaktop for example and get a nasty surprise.

[hatcreek]

good advise, i had planned on marking the round, thanks. HC

[Char-Gar]

Certainly you can, but why do you need to? What do you shoot that require a harder hit than from a regular pressure 38 Special?