38 special in 357 magnum revolver

[KennethF]

What boolit do you recommend for loading 38 special cartridges to be fired in a 357 magnum revolver where the boolit must be seated out in the short 38 case so that the front driving band will be within the throat of the chamber? Thanks.

KennethF

[jdgabbard]

I've never had any issues with seating the boolit to standard length for .38spl. Most of the time the accuracy is right on par. However, a Lee 158g TL-SWC crimped into the second groove might give your particular gun a bit more accuracy. Trial and error are key when it comes to this.

[Firebricker]

I'm just gessing but check lymans Keith bullet for 38/357 I read one of E.K. s articles were they had to shorten his origanal design a little to work in some revolvers.

[BruceB]

358156 has two crimp grooves, the rearmost of which gives almost .357 overall length when seated to that groove in .38 Special cases.

It works perfectly in both .38 and .357 cases. It's a gascheck design, but I've fired thousands of them without checks and obtained at least decent accuracy. With gaschecks, it's deadly-accurate.

Keith's 358429 was designed for heavy .38 loads in N-frame Smith and Wessons, before the .357 was introduced. When seated to the crimp groove, it's too long for N-frame .357 revolvers (although it works fine in longer-cylindered K-frame S&Ws).

358156 will work in any .38 Special or .357 Magnum I've ever encountered.

[Boerrancher]

I have never had a problem with accuracy when loading 38 spl in a 357mag. I don't own a 38 spl but I have shot thousands of 38 loads out of my GP 100. I actually shot enough that I wore out a GP100 in 2 years. I was shooting over a thousand rounds a week, most of which were 38's. If you insist on seating out the boolit, then there have already been a couple of good suggestions.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[ciPeterF]

We shoot 38 special loads in 357's all the time in PPC (Practical Police Competition).. so far no ones pulled off a perfect 1500 - 150x (150 shots over 7,15,25, and fifty yards) open sights, 6" barrel,, but there's been a number of 1490-1492's and they're not loaded long, so I don't think there's an issue.

[KennethF]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience with me. from what I have learned here, it is not nesessary, and will be just as well to use standard length 38 special cartridges in 357. I do not insist on anything!

KennethF

[AZ-Stew]

BruceB is correct about the 358429 fitting K-frames, but not N-frames (unless you crimp into the forward driving band), and it will also correctly fit L-frames (x86), all when loaded in .357 cases. It will also fit Rugers.

Regards,

Stew

[Shiloh]

You can trim .357 cases to custom fit your shorter cylinder. They should be segregated out and relegated to that particular revolver.

Shiloh

[Tom Herman]

BruceB is correct about the 358429 fitting K-frames, but not N-frames (unless you crimp into the forward driving band), and it will also correctly fit L-frames (x86), all when loaded in .357 cases. It will also fit Rugers.

Regards,

Stew

I have a 358429 on order, and almost had a seizure when I saw the posting on the 358249's not fitting the N frame revolvers! I didn't read the fine print, so I appreciate the clarification that it will work in K frames (Model 10), which is the reason I bought the mold in the first place....

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[kawalekm]

I have two loads in 38 special using Lyman's 358495, their cylindrical wadcutter. I make "poof" loads with 3 grains of 700X that I seat as usual, to the crimping groove provided on the bullet. This is a very light load that is suitable for beginners that have never fired a gun before. Because of its short OAL it will not feed properly in my Marlin .357 rifle.

I have a second HOT load using 358495 where I seat the bullet so that only the bottum driving band is inside the case and the case is crimped at the first grease groove. The forward two grease grooves are exposed to the air. Seated this way, the front band of the bullet is just touching the throat of my revolver cylinder.

Loaded this way the cartidges have the same internal powder space as a normally seated .357 round, and I have loaded this up with as much as 10 grains of Blue Dot! This is definately a ++P++ load for a .38 special, but since I shoot them only a .357, I haven't worried about it. Since the OAL of this load is 1.435", I don't think it will even fit in a 38 special revolver. The first full caliber driving band is at the same position as a .357 driving band and sits right on the face of the chamber throat. By the way, this loading will feed properly in my Marlin rifle.
Michael

[Goatlips]

Kenneth, have a look at the "Snakebite Greasewagon" in the Lee 6 cav, makes a .38 case plus boolit the length of a .357, us Cowboys use 'em all the time, especially for the True Powder..

Goatlips

[Char-Gar]

The short "special" case in the long "magnum" charge hole at times reduces accurachy in the .357 magnum. When it does, the accuracy reduction is not significant for most any real world use. In some sixguns there is no reduction at all. I have a Colt Python that shoots 38 target wadcutters better than any 38 Special in the fleet.

There is the issue of leaving crud in the chamber when using the shorter case. I have never found this to be a problem if cleaned out frequently. If you let it accumulate and harden it can be a real problem to remove. Clymer makes a special reamer for this purpose.

In the 44 Magnum charge hold, I have no been able to detect any reduction in accuracy with the shorter 44 Special case.

I would also like to give an "amen" to Bruce's endorsement of the Ray Thompson designed 358156 sold by Lyman. I have been shooting this bullet for 50 years in both the solid and hollow point version and I have never found any flaws. The bullet is squat enough to use in any sixgun charge hole and feeds through the little Marlin carbine just fine.