M'BOGO

Or you could load .38 levels in .357 brass...

3321sawyer

My 686 S&W has mainly digested hundreds of rounds .38 specials with an occasional diet of .357 magnum, no problem so far.

However, shooting .357 magnum after .38 special thru my 94 Winchester lever rifle caused failure to extract. But a good cleaning cleared the problem.

ROGER4314

My goodness, one more thing to be afraid of. It's a load of crap that he unloaded on you for sure!

The only thing that I noticed in decades of shooting .357 mag and .38 special is a ring of crud where the end of the .38 special case ends. That crud may cause a little resistance when switching to some .357 mag cases after shooting a pile of .38's. That .357 case is 1/10 " longer. Big deal!

They used to say that shooting .22 shorts or longs in a .22 LR chamber would do that, too.

My friend, in the shooting sports, one must develop a good BS detector. When the BS detector goes off, smile, thank the person for their information then move on.

Flash

Raminator

That's essentially what I did. However, it does not hurt to be absolutely sure.

Bagheera

Raminator,

It never hurts to check out anything. I have a saying "When in doubt, check it out." These are words to live by in many things in life.

On another subject, I got to reading some of the ammo threads on the forum. The prices are beyond stupid for supplies. Simple price gouging. I wonder what these ammo dealers are going to do when the market stabilizes and there is a glut of supplies out there?

Check this thread out. $50.00 For A Box Of .380!

supv26

I have shot my reloaded 38 special and store bought 38 special in my Security Six with out a single issue. Infact, it takes a lot of the "bite" out of it when shooting and is a bit more comfortable to shoot.

Raminator

LOL, I'm always disappointed when I fire .38 spl's out of my Ruger SP101. My first thought is always "that's it?" The only reason I primarily shoot magnums through it is just so I can get the satisfaction. It's an expensive fix.

Bagheera

I know what you mean. My 2 GP100's are 4" and 6". I somehow feel a bit cheated. You hardly feel anything at all. Although, to me, this is the mark of a well made firearm. The heavier built the gun, the less you feel. Just an opinion though.

thomashoward

BS
ignoramus should be flipping burgers somewhere.
no offense hamburger chefs

Raminator

I agree with your opinion.

DArBad

Raminator,

You did right by posting and asking in this forum and members here answered the questions and doubts that you may have.

One thing I've observed in this forum is that you can always count to be able to get the RIGHT answers in whatever form they are delivered.

Cheers!

Raminator

Agreed. This place is a huge melting pot of knowledge.

JTs Mark III

Couldn't tell you how many thousand rounds of .38 wad-cutter and semi-jacketed I put through my six inch Model 19 when I was shooting competition back in the late 70's/early 80's. Never had a problem with it. Of course, I always take good care of my guns too.

Never had anybody tell me otherwise back then and a lot of people were shooting some kind of .357 with .38 wad-cutters.

Cheers!

John

Rob1109

This may be one of those "Oh, shit" solutions! Embarrassing that no one thought of it before! Thanks for you common sense! Best.....

Bagheera

Rob,

I have thought of it before. In fact, I've done it before. But I've honestly never cared for the results even at max powder level. I'm no expert of course, but to me, I think it messes with the pressure and doesn't give the bullet as much power down range. At least in my experience. There's a reason the .357 shell is longer.

Again, just my experience.

M'BOGO

Personally, me neither. I have more .38 brass than .357, so the rings are in my chambers.
I have taken to using a flared .357 case to clean the junk out of my clyinder.

RNorris

I had a glass counter commando tell me how he went from Special Forces to the Border Patrol, and all about his exploits sneaking into Mexico to exact revenge on that Border Patrol agent who was killed several years back. When I asked him for help with my 870....the bolt had come out the front of the action and I couldn't figure it out....he was as lost as I was.

I had another guy, great big football/body builder type who had never been in the service, tell me his buddy, a Navy Seal, often invited him on missions....because he was such a bad ass. gun stores are a great place to sit back and listen to the BS.....

78CJ5

There are two gun stores real close to each other where I live. One is BS the other one gets all my business.

v1rot8

When I hear things like this I always start looking for the hip boots.

Rifleman336

That guy is so stupid it's not even funny. The factory manuals for .357's all say you can safely shoot, .38 Specials with no problems.

The carbon ring that builds up after shooting a bunch of .38's with sooty residue or soft lead can be quickly delt with with a $3.00 .38 CHAMBER brush, not be confused with a cleaning brush. One keeps it in one's range bag / bag. One uses it dry with no cleaning solvent, and simply makes three passes through each charge hole, then put in some .357 Mags, in the unlikely event one has one or two charge holes that are still a little resistant seat a cartridge all the way, Make another three passes in those areas only. The chamber brush is only used when needed and I recommend getting the stainless one, so that it gets stubbron leading out in as few passes as possiable. It's not to be used for every cleaning for it can eventually score the chambers if over used.


Rifleman 336

colubrid

So if you are new to guns and do not read the internet you are a perfect candidate for a gun store position.

I can just imagine how that interview process works. LOL!

rezman762

As stated above, numerous 38's without cleaning, followed by heavy .357 may cause problems.

But 38 by itself damaging a 357 handgun, not a chance.

Gunshop BS!

Tracer

I wouldn't suspect that you would crack the frame and ruin the forcing cone!
I have fired many many rounds through my Smiths and Colts over the years, especially when I shot in competition using a revolver at first (Colt Python) and those were all 38spl wadcutters. I must have put at least 15,000 rounds through the Smith & Colt. Never had a problem.

chaneyd

Pure and simple. The guys a nut job!!

Brian48

+1

KJS

I'd very strongly suspect the majority of .38 ammo is fired from .357 guns. After all, how many guns are even made to only fire .38 today? Few except for things like the LCR that had to be made tiny & light and thus couldn't be made to survive the stress of Magnum loads (not that many would want to fire Mag rounds from a tiny gun, though the folks at S&W produce 12 ounce .357s for masochistic shooters).

I personally don't like firing .38s from my GP100 6" full lug muzzle-heavy beast. It simply doesn't feel right to me. To me it feels ridiculous to fire something so mild from a gun that's built like a tank. When firing Mags I don't notice the muzzle-heavy balance, since in that case it's an advantage. With .38s it just feels heavy. Shooting .38s through an inherited S&W model 10 with 4" barrel that has no underlug to weight it down feels just right to me.

Cowboy T

.38 Specials also feel great out of a 4" Security-Six. So do .357 Magnums, though Pachmayr grips do help out considerably in that situation. :-)

The only experience I can come close to with your GP-100 is firing .45 Colt out of a 7.5" Super Redhawk. The gun is so heavy that it almost doesn't even budge when a round is fired, and it still feels right, at least to me.

In both cases, all I've have to do is bust out that bore brush and clean my chambers, like we all ought to be doing in any case. They'll be just fine.

EugeneFromNJ

On page 232 in the "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning" (2nd edition) I saw author saying that hot gases from shorter .38 round will eventually cause spalling on chamber walls. As a result, when longer .357 brass expands it will get stuck in those tiny spalls making shell extraction very difficult. It has not happen to me yet, then again I only shot 1000 rounds or less of .38 from my S&W model 619 (yes, there was such a model - google it if you don't belive me). I wonder if author based this on his experience with older revolvers made using inferior metallurgy. Overall, the book is excellent, btw.

Whocares05050

Intersting stuff in this thread.

claybird

I think this dead horse has been beat too much already.

Firewall

I have a pretty good guess on the two shops you're talking about, I do the same.

The one I avoid is an indoor range, I heard them tell a customer shopping for their first gun that it was best to buy their old rental guns, "because we know those work". I wonder if he would buy a old rental car?

BasinBictory

When I read the OP, I kept thinking - "Well, they were rental guns. Probably take more abuse and receive less care than a subway stop restroom." I wouldn't be surprised if the excessive carbon fouling contributed to the cracking. I have a Smith M66 which I fire about a 5/1 ratio of .38spl to .357 in. Zero problems thus far but I generally shoot 100 rounds or less in any given session, and then the gun gets cleaned. Have had it for close to 7 years now and it's a great gun. Likewise have a New Model Blackhawk which I've shot many .38's in (strangely enough, the recoil on a .38+P feels snappier and sharper than on a typical .357 load) and have had zero problems.

I suppose if I shot thousands of rounds through either of my revolvers without cleaning them, allowing carbon fouling to accumulate enough to cause cylinder dragging, maybe I could succeed in cracking the frame, although I still doubt it.

BasinBictory

When I read the OP, I kept thinking - "Well, they were rental guns. Probably take more abuse and receive less care than a subway stop restroom." I wouldn't be surprised if the excessive carbon fouling contributed to the cracking. I have a Smith M66 which I fire about a 5/1 ratio of .38spl to .357 in. Zero problems thus far but I generally shoot 100 rounds or less in any given session, and then the gun gets cleaned. Have had it for close to 7 years now and it's a great gun. Likewise have a New Model Blackhawk which I've shot many .38's in (strangely enough, the recoil on a .38+P feels snappier and sharper than on a typical .357 load) and have had zero problems.

I suppose if I shot thousands of rounds through either of my revolvers without cleaning them, allowing carbon fouling to accumulate enough to cause cylinder dragging, maybe I could succeed in cracking the frame, although I still doubt it.

Ahab1

Hmmm, my Security Six, .357 Blackhawk, Model 19, and 686, all had uncountable .38's thru them. never had a problem.

4fingers

Just remember that there are two types of experts. The first (real) ones are those that know their business. The second is ( misspelled and should be X-SPURT) which is a want-to-be has been drip under high pressure to attempt to prove themselves. Some of the second types are well versed in B/S and are mistaked as those of the first type. FYI

Raminator

LOL, I've always seen is spelled eggspurt.

I922sParkCir

I'm glad we have an expert here. I know that .38s in a .357 are just fine, but I couldn't have explained it like that.

dksac2

Brownells sells a little reamer that will take out the ring in a cylinder if bad.
A steel brush of the proper size can be used in the chamber only (never in the bore), but you must go easy with it.
The guy behind the counter was either really stupid or lied like a rug.
Too many rumors, good thing there are people on this site to clear them up.
I'm pretty new here, but like what I have seen, good bunch of people.
I'm a retired gunsmith and really miss my shop.
I love weapons and mis working on most of them.
I still love to tinker and work on projects.

Best Regards, John K