A steady diet of .38Spl often leaves residue in the longer .357Mag cylinder. This buildup can make chambering and extraction of .357Mag rounds difficult or impossible W/O a thorough cleaning. I have heard of shooters following a range session of .38Spl with a cylinder of .357Mag Jacketed ammo to clean the accumulation out of the cylinder. Does this actually work ? ? ?

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Well I can't say one way or another Joe but it sounds reasonable enough.
I HAVE SHOT 357 AFTER 38sPL AND HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED DIFFICULTY extracting the casings.
Sorry for the grammer!

First time I've heard of this, I have heard of people shooting cast and having some leading doing it. Something others have said may cause a barrel to bulge if not crack the forcing cone, although I've never witnessed it. I learned long ago about the .38 Special residue causing problems. There are a few companies who offer special cylinder brushes for specific calibers to help keep this to a minimum. I have discovered that rather trying to force a .40 caliber or larger in and out of the cylinder to clean it, a .375 does the job just fine. I just remember during long range sessions to brush out the cylinder every 50 to 60 rounds.

It really doesn't make any sense firing .357's in the cylinder to clean an area .100 thousands behind where the residue build up is.

Murphy2000

There is another related issue, the build up can cause difficulty pulling the trigger in DA or increased pressure pulling back the hammer in SA firing.

The first shot usually goes normal, then all the brass loaded or not moves against the recoil shield; then as the hand turns the cylinder for the next shot the slightly ramped side of the recoil shield guides the ammo in cylinder back into proper position in the cylinder.

If the crud ring from many .38 spl rnds has not cleaned out properly and built up it can cause the cylinder to turn hard because the ammo does not slide easily back in place.

It is an easy fix, a lewis lead remover or the chore boy method and a good solvent and a good scrubbing.

I have a bunch of 357 Magnums that mostly get shot with .38 special ammo. As I always do, the revolver gets cleaned thoroughly and properly after shooting and I have never had a problem; NEVER!

I suppose if you shot a few hundred rounds of 38 Spl's. and did NOT clean the chambers, you might have a bit of resistance when inserting .357 Magnum ammunition, but just clean it and you won't have a problem.

As far as shooting a cylinder full of jacketed .357's to clean out the lead, I would think that some lead would come out and some lead would be harder pressed into the lands and grooves and therefore requiring a lot of effort to remove that. In short, there is really no short cut to a proper cleaning!

Chief38

Like chief38 I have several 357s that get shot with mostly with cast
bullet handloads in 38 spl brass. I just run a snug fitting oiled patch
through the bore and chambers after each firing and have never had
a problem.

I assume you're talking about residue in the chamber between the end of the 38 case mouth and the 357 case shoulder in the chamber, because that's the issue, not leading.

The answer as some said is proper periodic cleaning, not shooting 357s. Think about it, if you cram a 357 cartridge into a chamber with that ring of 38 residue, what's gonna' happen? In order for the 357 to go all the way in, its case mouth is gonna scrape most of the crude forward into the chamber throat. Now you fire off the 357s thru a chamber throat not only choked with normal crude but also the new crude you just shoved in with the 357 case. A great way to increase chamber pressure and grind extra crude all the way down your entire once nice bore!

If there's enough 38 crude in the chamber to make 357s hard to chamber, there's also enough crude from both 38s and 357s in the throats to reguire a cleaning. So do your gun a favor and give it proper periodic cleaning because there's crude everywhere else in the gun as well.

Hope that helps put it in perspective and all the best,

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Like said above, the ring in the cylinder is not leading, it's a Carbon buildup. I think you are linking the idea of shooting jacketed bullets through the barrel to clean out the lead to this problem, they are not the same. I also don't subscribe to shooting out the lead in a barrel, I have never seen it work.

As for shooting .357 Magnum ammo in a fouled cylinder, not a good idea. That can cause increased pressures which can be dangerous.

If you want a simple way to remove the Carbon ring that can accumulate in the .357 Magnum cylinder, that can be easy. I carry a spent .357 Magnum case in my range bag. If I do have cylinders which are Carbon fouled all I do is insert the spent case into each charge hole and give it a little tap. That usually removes the Carbon ring and allows for the safe firing of .357 Magnum ammo. A good cleaning can follow at home...

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Ok, lemme ask you guys this: My wife shoots nothing but wad cutters with her 686. I clean it after every outing. I use a stainless steel cylinder brush, seems to get rid of everything. I have ALWAYS seen a ring though in each cylinder. Same with another 686 I just bought. I need to check my 610 also. I only shoot .40 cal through it, never the 10mm which is a longer cartridge. I would think this gun would also have that ring in the cylinders.

Now, is that ring from carbon build-up, or is it there from S&W?

Never bought a brand-new revolver so I don't know what one looks-like.

It's carbon staining if it remains after a good cleaning just like the black on the front of the cylinder face. Doesn't have any negative effects except looks. Different powders, loads and pressures will leave different amounts of staining. I wouldn't worry about it but there are special things available that takes it right off. Lyman makes one I use only on stainless; an impregnated cloth that rubs the black off but also the blue finish if you use outside the cylinder.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I learned something on this thread. My j frame 357 usually gets a noticably more difficult trigger after shooting it a bunch. Usually it just takes one range session, where I mostly shoot 38s. It gets better after a cleaning. Thanks for the info.