New guy with the usual rookie type question

[mudlark]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I would like to thank everyone that has provided me with a wealth of information previous to my registration here.

I've been loading for clay sports for just about three decades now and have a good grasp on all elements of the reloading process but never really got into the metallic end of it. My only child will be leaving the nest in about six months and me and my significant other would like to spend more time shooting. I have an old S&W .357mag that I would like to handload for, but my gal friend has a bit of a problem with recoil.

While I would like to load a .357 "load" for this revolver, I would also like to load a nice light .38 special "load" for her.

Now I've done a lot of searching on the issue, and the responses seem to be 50/50. I've read about "gas cutting" of the cylinders, I've read about trouble even loading the .357 after shooting .38's because of leading buildup.

So...assuming I am the person that knows how to keep a firearm clean after a day of heavy use, is there a real problem with shooting a lot of .38's and .357's from the same revolver?

PS: in my old age I'm starting to like the idea of a little less recoil also.

Thanks

[rwilson452]

If you keep it clean there should be no issues. OTOH if you use a bulky powder such as trailboss you can get light loads out of a .357 case. When using real light loads, a real tight crimp is in order to get a good burn. otherwise it's going to get real dirty. Smokeless powers need heet and pressure to burn well.

[saber9]

To make life simpler, I would use only .357 brass and load light .38 special loads in it using Trailboss powder and lead bullets. Shooting .38 special brass in a .357 does leave a ring of powder & lead residue in the cylinder about 1/10" lower than .357 rounds. This can cause a problem chambering .357 rounds and could cause excessive pressure firing .357 rounds. Using .357 brass only will eliminate that problem. Trailboss powder is very bulky and takes up a lot of space in the case. It was developed for very light loads in large cases and from all accounts works very well.

[Sevens]

I'd like to meet someone who has honestly experienced trouble from shooting .38 special in a .357 revolver. In my experience, this has to be one of the single biggest myths in all of shooting. My S&W 686 has seen thousands and thousands of .38 special through it and the chambers are as clean as they were the day I took delivery of the revolver.

You'd have to absolutely neglect the poor revolver and you'd have to neglect it over a long, long period of time before you'd see trouble loading .357 in to the chamber of a revolver that's been shooting .38 special.

For light .38 special loads, find some nice cast DBBWC bullets and load them with 2.7 grains of Bullseye. That's been the standard target load for generations. If you've never shot wadcutters in .38 special from a heavy .357 revolver, you are in for a treat. The recoil is so small, the accuracy is incredible. There's not big boom & flash, but it's damn good shooting.

Certainly, you could load in .357 brass if you have a bunch of it and you want the piece of mind, but IMO, it's absolutely unnecessary.

[tom234]

I'd like to meet someone who has honestly experienced trouble from shooting .38 special in a .357 revolver. In my experience, this has to be one of the single biggest myths in all of shooting. My S&W 686 has seen thousands and thousands of .38 special through it and the chambers are as clean as they were the day I took delivery of the revolver.

+1....Well said.

[wpcexpert]

Sir, I'll tell you the loads I use in my GP100 .357.

.357:
7.5gr TiteGroup
125gr Rem JHP
Federal SMP

.38 Special (+P):
5gr TiteGroup
125gr Rem JHP
Federal SP

The .357 load is a very tame round that is a MAX load for that powder. Not much recoil. Accurate.

The .38 load is the same way. Just under MAX load. The wife really likes it. Accurate.

[TexasSeaRay]

I'd like to meet someone who has honestly experienced trouble from shooting .38 special in a .357 revolver. In my experience, this has to be one of the single biggest myths in all of shooting. My S&W 686 has seen thousands and thousands of .38 special through it and the chambers are as clean as they were the day I took delivery of the revolver.

+1000

Our old (military) unit trained on S&W Model 66 wheelguns. We would shoot up to five hundred rounds of hot .38+P per day through them for practice and range drills. Then, for our E&A drills, we would fire .357 Magnums.

Know how many problems we had with "lead-line" buildups in those old wheelguns?

Zero.

That's four platoons of highly trained, highly qualified shooters shooting up to 2500 rounds per week, capped off, per week, with anywhere from 100 to 300 magnums being launched through those guns.

Why the Model 66? Because in our own independent studies, research, interviews plus all of our previous experience prior to joining this unit, we collectively agreed that for a sidearm, nothing beat the .357 Magnum for our needs. Later on, we added Sigs, Glocks and HK to our handgun arsenals, but those initial months were spent with time-tested, combat proven wheelguns.

I have a host of S&W .357 wheelguns and I routinely fire both .38 Special loads and .357 loads from them--often at the same range session and without cleaning the cylinders before switching calibers. Been doing it for decades. Know how many problems I've experienced with so-called "lead-line" buildups?

Zero.

For your galfriend, I'd load up some 148 Lead Wadcutters in front of 2.7 grains of Bullseye. That is the time-tested standard load for .38 Spcl LWC. Very little recoil at all, no flash, and no real "bang" soundwise to deal with.

For your .357, load up some light stuff so that she doesn't get spooked by the fire, flash and BOOM when you light a few off. It'll make her more apt to try out the magnum loads once she gets comfortable with the wadcutters.

Jeff

[mudlark]

Thanks to all for your informative and well written replies.

[k Squared]

I'd like to meet someone who has honestly experienced trouble from shooting .38 special in a .357 revolver. In my experience, this has to be one of the single biggest myths in all of shooting. My S&W 686 has seen thousands and thousands of .38 special through it and the chambers are as clean as they were the day I took delivery of the revolver.

I have a S&W Pre Model 27 that belonged to my father. After many years of flawless operation it became very difficult to eject .357 cartridges from one chamber of the cylinder.

My untrained eye could not see any deposits in the chamber. I used a lead remover tool to clean the chamber and cleared up the problem.

Over the years my father and I had fired thousands of .38 and .357 rounds using mostly lead bullets. The revolver was cleaned after every use with a combination of Hopes #9 and bore brushes. We did our best to keep the gun clean, but may not have been aggressive enough. I assumed the ejection problem was caused by lead deposits from the .38 rounds. That seemed to be confirmed by the fact that a good cleaning cleared up the problem, but it doesn't sound like you guys are going to believe me.

[Sevens]

I would never say that I didn't believe you unless I thought you had some kind of agenda. (I don't!) But I would ask you to consider-- doesn't it seem at least a little odd that you had this problem with ONE chamber? Unless you shot many, many .38 special rounds over the years but only in that one chamber, wouldn't it seem to indicate that perhaps you have a revolver with some questionable chamber tolerances to begin with?

In any case, I do agree very much that a good cleaning seemed to clear up the problem.

[BigJimP]

I shoot a fair amount of .38's and .357 mag in my S&W revolvers and I've never had a problem with any of them switching back and forth between loads.

I keep a light .38 spl load in inventory, especially for a new shooter or one of the grankids, and I use a 158gr CMJ Montana gold bullet with 3.6 grains of TiteGroup for the .38 spl / and same bullet in .357 mag with 5.6 grains of TiteGroup for a little more punch.

I think either one is a good load even in a 4" model 66 S&W or a 6" model 27, 28, 686 or whatever gun you have.

I find new shooters like the 4" S&W especially with a .38 spl load ( they don't find the noise or the weight of the gun intimidating at all. The heavier model 686 stainless with a full length lug under the barrel handles the .357 mag load a little better - and after they shoot some of the .38's they move up to the .357 load in that gun pretty easily - with the extra weight holding the recoil down a little. Most experienced shooters will shoot whatever load they want in whatever gun they want - but I think the .357 mag is a perfect round to shoot in a revolver.