.38/44 loadings vs. .357 cases ?

[Bigslug]

Just thought I'd ask those who have been down this road. . .

Assuming a gun that's built for .357 Magnum anyway, have you found advantages to loading hot in a .38 case vs. using longer .357 brass? Certainly, there's the 358429 nose length issue. Wondering what other mysteries await.

:drinks:

[onelight]

Just thought I'd ask those who have been down this road. . .

Assuming a gun that's built for .357 Magnum anyway, have you found advantages to loading hot in a .38 case vs. using longer .357 brass? Certainly, there's the 358429 nose length issue. Wondering what other mysteries await.

:drinks:
I don’t have any problem adjusting my load and crimping long bullets over the front driving band for short cylinders I can’t see a practical difference on paper. And the gun is easier to clean using a 357 case but I do shoot a lot of 38s in my 357s . And I tend to load in large batch’s so am uncomfortable storing loads that might not be safe in any 38 (I don’t need to with 357 cases available) I have hand-loads that are decades old they are labeled but who knows who would be shooting them or in what if I don’t make it through the day .:shock:
So for cartridges like 45-70 I don’t load more than I will immediately shoot and label Ruger only. I would hate for poor slob to buy some of my loads at a gun show down the road and blow up grandpa’s trap door.
But different strokes , if I have a choice like the 32 family , 38/357 or 44 special 44mag I don’t exceed specs.

[rancher1913]

when you shoot 38's out of a 357 mag they tend to get a lot of fowling just before the cone due to being shorter than what the gun was made for. I would think a hotter load would exacerbate the issue. my wife likes to shoot 38's due to the lighter recoil so I'm always scraping the gunk out of the cylinders.

[bob208]

there are advantages if you have two buckets of .38 cases. or like I did when I loaded for some police dept. one some had s&w .38-44 pistols otjers had colt op that were certified for .38-44 loads. one had ruger .357 s-s pistols but were restricted to .38 spl. loads only. they also feed good in my rossi 92 carbine.

[salvadore]

I bought my first .357 in 74?, a model 28 that I stupidly sold. Since then I have owned a boat load of 19s 66s and 60s and another 28, have bought 200 rounds of .357 brass in 46 years 100 for a recently purchased rifle. I have fired many thousand skeeter/keith loads in my shooters.
They have been as advertised, powerful and accurate. I would recommend them to anyone. The safety first folk should not use these loads less they put them in a .38 spec. In 46 years I haven't. It's not hard to avoid stupid stuff.

[Groo]

Groo here
Loading Hot 38's for a 357 has some advantages.
You can use a long nose boolet [like a true Keith] and fit the shorter cylinders .. [like Keith designed it for]
Also you can get better ejection [+2 in snubs] as the case is pushed farther out of the chamber...
Just be careful as most bullets are made for 357 and will use up more case space...

[bob208]

funny all the .38 cases i have fired in .357 guns and never once have I had the dreaded and much talked about build up in the cylinders.

[rancher1913]

let me know your secret [smilie=s:

[bob208]

it is simple I use lyman 358429 sized .358 with the nra lube 50/50 bees wax graphite. most problems come from lube too hard.

[onelight]

Mine carbon up worse with some 38 loads than others , but do it with all of them.
Start a shooting session with 38s 50 to a 100 then go to 357 they are difficult to eject , no problem if the. 357s are first. Most of what I shoot are Hi-tec coated but same result with my cast also 358429 or jacketed.
May have something to do with how the chambers are cut.

[Bigslug]

I bought my first .357 in 74?, a model 28. . .

That and a couple GP-100's are going to be the test beds for the upcoming madness. I get a lot of free .38 cases, so there's some attraction to using them for the fire breathers, however, mother's fun gun subsists mostly on soft loaded wadcutters, so separating load intensity by case length has some merit.

Got a Keith mold and a 175 grain Ranch Dog TL WFN. Interestingly, NOE estimates a higher BC on the Ranch Dog. Currently thinking that one in a .357 case is the place to start.