Vote and comment.

i like to shoot hot 38s out of 357 i roll my own, if i shoot 357 brass then it is loaded with about 12-13 gr. of 2400 with a lyman 357156 hp 155 gr, boolit.

I have enough 38s that are just 38s that I don't shoot any 38 SPL in my 357 magnums. Its not for any other reason than I like the felt recoil of a 357. If I want to shoot a 38. I have model 10s, 64s, 36s, 60s, etc. If I want to shoot a 357, I have 19s, 66s, & 586s. But my favorite lately is my 627-8 times.

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NRA Certified Instructor

Price is the factor here. I reload .38, but haven't .357 just because I guess. But a box of factory .357 is a bit spendy. I do carry it loaded with the .357 and shoot just enough to maintain muscle memory with the heavier loads. Maybe I'll try reloading the .357 now that I read this.

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Endeavor to persevere. <><

Yes!

Cheaper target practice

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

I shoot both because I pick up range brass in both calibers. Most of my 686 shooting is with target loads so both calibers feel the same to me. Shooting the .38's forces me to do a better job cleaning the cylinder.

I cast a bunch of Lee's 105gr SWC that are great for trigger practice and poke nice little holes in the paper. They use less lead than anything else I can cast, they take alox in tumble lube very well, and unless you are a recoil junky like Mesinge2 is (poke, poke... ) then I think most of us don't really enjoy the felt recoil of a .357 magnum all the time.

Usually shoot 38 wadcutters in all my 357's - 686-1 silloute, 586, 28, 19. All shoot better than I can and its cheeper Old load is 148 HB wadcutter with 2.7 grains of Bullseye.

Hi i shoot mostly 357 Mags. threw my M28 and mostly 38 Specials threw my M19 but they do get a diet of both.

You didn't put my option in your poll... Yes, I shoot both .357 and 38 spl in my pistol. I'm not sure which I shoot the most, I don't really keep track.

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M&PC FS BG Shield+ 642 686+

I reserve my .357 magnums for that ctg. I have .38s to shoot the .38 ctg.

I have enough .357 Mag brass, so I load light target and medium cast lead rounds for my Mags in the correct brass. I do shoot .38's out of my 357's on indoor ranges where any cartridge with Magnum in the title is banned due to excessive backstop wear.

Reminds me that I need to load a bunch of .357 Mag one of these days.

Shooting .38 Special out of a .357 Magum is a great option, and the main reason to buy a .357 or a .38 Special.

However:: After shooting the shorter .38 Special in the .357 cylinder, a ring of fouling will form in the front of the cylinder. When you shoot a .357 Magnum full power load, the brassw will expand into that fouling ring, and make ejection difficult to impossible without a rawhide mallet.

I reload my .357 range ammo to .38 Special load data using the longer .38 Special cases to avoid that problem.

Bottom line: yes you can do it, but keep that .357 cylinder scrubbed clean. As you should do anyway.

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Fuego

I recently have stopped shooting .38s out of my 686 and now only shoot .357 magnum. For some reason I'm more accurate with the .357s and I prefer them for practice. In a self defense situation especially out in the woods against critters I would be shooting the magnum loads anyway. Might as well be good at shooting them. It's only $4 more for a box of 50 for what I use at the range and practicing with what I plan on protecting myself with is worth an extra $4.

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S&W 686-6 Plus Pro Series

None of the poll answers apply to me. For me it depends on the gun. For my J and K frame 357 mags I regularly practice with 38 sp and only rarely use 357 mag ammo at the range. For my L and N frames, I mostly stick to 357 mag ammo all the time. I reload both 38 sp and 357 mag so ammo cost isn't a big factor for me. I do scrub the cylinders after each range session - especially if shooting 38 sp.

I practise with the .38+P whenever I shoot, but I keep my .357 Magnum rounds going through it when I do a 50 round qualification run, just to see how I'm keeping up these days.

my S&W models 28-2, 681, & 686-4PP get the real thing ONLY.

.38 special DEWC come out of the S&W models 64's, 649 & 36

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There's nowt so queer as folk

I usually shoot & carry my 340PD with .38Spec.+P instead of the full-house .357 loads. I know, it kinda defeats the reason for paying more for a light-weight .357 when I usually shoot .38's, but I like the option of being able to shoot full power loads if need be.

One thing with those light weight revolvers and .357 loads, one DEFINITELY needs to do some testing regarding what rounds can handle the tremendous recoil in that light of a gun! I've found the Federals and Speers to be the best for this purpose. The Rem. Golden Saber's projos backed out quite a bit when I tested them in the 340. While I love the Golden Sabers in almost all my auto-pistols, they don't have the cannelure to crimp to and thus don't work well under extreme recoil of a light .357...

My 686 is an IDPA gun. No point in shooting .357s out of it.

I had my 65 a long time before I shot any .38's. The first time I used .38's was while I was shooting the targets during the NRA class to get my CCW. I was surprised how accurate that gun, (4") is with .38+P's. I shoot only .38's in my M37 because I can't get a .357 to fit although the poor old guy I bought it from said that he believed it would shoot either or. God bless his heart.
Peace,
gordon

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better have that checked

You forgot to list "I shoot mostly .38 Special velocity handloads in .357 brass".

I primarily shot full bore jacketed .357 handloads when I bought my first revolver in 1974. What I mostly accomplished was to empty my wallet faster and do more harm my hearing sooner, even with muffs.

I eventually decided my skills would progress faster if I shot cheaper ammo that kicked less. Although my .38 Special reloads are very accurate, the reloads in .357 cases are marginally better and cleaning is easier.

And I clean them well, there is no discernable ring in the chambers. Todays factory load .357 dont have near the punch they used to so anything less than a magnum load for me is just not fun to shoot. So therefore, I really only shoot .357.

When My wife is out shooting with me, she ONLY shoots .38sp out of her Rossi .357 and when I clean it there is only shiny holes in the cylinder... I sometimes shoot some .357 out of her gun and she has shot .38sp from mine, and neither are any worse for the wear

I don't shoot .38's in my .357's because basically I'm lazy and don't like to clean the ring the .38's leave in the cyclinders. I have several .38's & .357's so there is no need to switch cartridges. It is nice to have the option if needed with the .357 but why mess up a good thing!

I shoot 38 spl loads using 357 brass saves cleaning and is more accurate

IMO you should have has at least one more choice. I shoot both .38 Special and .357 Magnum rounds in my M686 but pretty much 50/50, not mostly .38's like the 3rd choice.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

When I take the 586 out I always start with 38's and after 50 or so I clean the cylinders and barrel and do about 50 357's. I enjoy both through the gun with the 38 being warm up.

I shot mostly .38 SPL in a .357M revolver in my salad days, partly for cost, partly for accuracy punching paper. Forty years later, I have two 686+ revolvers which have never seen a .38 SPL round - all .357M, as hot as I dare load them.

I have 500 .38 SPL cases and 1500 swaged 148 gr wadcutters waiting for their time on the press. I'm not bothered by recoil, but I have two grandsons who needn't be put through shock and awe at this stage in their training. I expect they'll be ready for handguns next Spring, after a steady diet of .22LR and .223 Remington rifles.

I load lots of 38 spl plinking ammo with cast bullets and I like the
fact that I can shoot them in any of my several 38 spl and 357
revolvers.

I shoot .38's mostly, but mix in .357's. I love recoil and go to my N-Frames .44 full house mag. for that. When I yearn for more recoil, I simply take the X Frame 500 440 grn. out for a shoot. That satisfies.

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SWCA #2601

I shoot 38's 90% of the time, mainly for cost.

I do prefer the extra recoil with the 357, but shooting cans, and paper with 357 feels wasteful to me. I love pinging steel with 357 though.

I shoot both .38's and .357 mags from by .357 chambered revolvers, probably 60/40 38's to 357's.Own enough .38's so I never load .38 brass to magnum pressures.

Well Im not much help, becouse I dont shoot a ton... but I shoot mostly 38. I almost never shoot over 50 rounds at a time, most of my shooting is 22, so I have never had a issue with the carbon ring. Ill shoot around 40-50 38.. then send down range a cyl or two of 357. Im planning on reloading soon, and at that time Ill load the 38s for mild target, and load up the 357 for a nice mid range plinking load. I have a ton of brass for bolth.

I usually shoot the 38 caliber ammo in my J-Frame model 60-14 at an indoor range where we are not aloud to shoot magnum loads.
But I follow the advice already mentioned here and clean the chambers afterwards so there is no residue build up caused by the shorter round.
On Occasion, I will go to an out door range and shoot the magnum ammo.

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JR

A mix of both...

I load .38 target loads in my .357 brass. Cylinder is MUCH easier to clean afterwards.

Fuego,

I assume you are shooting cast bullets? This residual ring shouldn't be an issue with jacketed projos, correct?
I really haven't reloaded .38 or .357 ammo yet, but .357 brass should help with this issue, no?
I have found the Rig brand Lead Wipe Cloth works great for removing leading issues like you describe, as well as removing the black powder-flash stains from cylinder fronts/forcing cone areas on stainless steel. But, NEVER use that cloth on blued areas, as it will also remove the bluing...

My wife shoots mostly 38 Special in our three 357 Magnum revolvers. I OTOH shoot 357 Magnum in these guns.

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David
CW3 USA (Ret) 1968-1990

I have one Magnum and two Special revolvers so the majority of the handloading brass is from the Special side of the fence.
I fire both in the 681 but of course only 38SPL in the 60s.

in 1962. No money to buy .357 brass, but lots of .38 brass available, free. Gun was an 8 3/8 " 27--alas sold many years ago.

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the world is round everywhere

When I was wet behind the ears,young and did not know any better I shot lots of magnum load out of my mod. 19 6" from
110 to 160 Speer semi-jackets. With all the super fast loads I finally cracked the forcing cone and learned a valuable lesson
on how not to treat a super nice revolver.
Today I shoot factory and my reloads out of a 6" S&W 686 but no more super hot 110Jhp's and I keep the 125's at 1450fps but most are around 1250fps to make this pistol last a lot longer. I would say that 80% of my loads are 38 spl, just because they are easy on the wallet and fun to tinker with but I still enjoy a good "BANG" now and then and some 200 yard shots with iron sights, just for giggles. (not hunting)

Funny thing is, the M686 was developed to fix that problem the K frames were having so you can shoot all the 110gr and 125gr you want through your M686. I never did have a problem with forcing cones because I like shooting 158gr bullets in my .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

not really an option for me in this poll, i shoot them both about equally. sometimes i just like to plink around with .38s but I love the felt recoil of the .357, it's just......... right, not too much and not too light.

My thought process goes a little different. I only shoot reloads, which is one of the reasons that I am now a revolver guy- better Q.C. on my brass. But although I have never yet in about 8 years of reloading double-charged a round, there is always a first time. With absolutely no actual evidence to back this statement up, I will postulate that a double charged .38 in a .357 gun is a lot more likely for the gun to hold together than that same round in a .38 gun.
Also, in the self defense mode with a lightweight gun, I agree that the .357 delivers more hurt on the bad guy, but the second shot (and there will be a second shot) will come a lot sooner with the .38 special, due to the more controlled recoil.

There was a time when I would have voted differently, as I primarily fired .38 +P's out of a Model 65, with an occasional cylinder or two of 158 gr. Magnums.

Nowadays, I exclusively fire Magnum cartridges out of my 686 mostly because what I used to find snappy in a K-frame is surprisingly pleasant to shoot from an L-frame.

If they cost the same, I would shoot more .357, but I don't reload and .38 is expensive enough as it is. .357 is just stupid expensive. Both put the same hole in the paper. I really don't get the advantage of shooting a whole lot of .357 to punch a hole in the paper target. Shoot enough to not be jolted by the .357 recoil and you're fine. Come to thunk of it, the only time I even carry .357 is when I'm walking in the woods and might encounter something on 4 legs. .38+P is more than enough to dispatch a 2 legged attacker, and the blast and flash isn't nearly as bad.

I spoke with a Tech at Berry's bullets and he said the closer you can get the bullet to the forcing cone, the more accurate and consistent the cartridges should be. I used to load wadcutters in .357 shells, but now use 38 special since I find a ton of those at the range. According to the chronograph, I think the 38 special shells make a more consistent cartridge.

I have had to use a Tornado brush a few times on my chambers to get .357 cartridges to seat after shooting a bunch of 38 specials.

Chris

Mostly .38 here, because between the two that's the round I prefer for self defense, even if I like certain .357-based platforms, e.g., Models 13, 19 and 65.

At some point I'll get my hands on some Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135 grain .357 and switch if it's powered down enough -- I just don't like full house .357 for home and self defense.

Always shoot .38's in my .38 guns and .357 in my .357 guns. Just the way it is.

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James

I agree that full boat 125 Mag loads are not the best in the home, way too much recoil,noise ,flash and maybe penetration. The lite 125 mag at around 1244fps will do just as good a job at close quarters without all the excitement in my 6" 686 S&W.

Another load I keep outside is a 158 Lswc from Oregon trail
with enough Unique to kick it down the road at 1320 fps and 611 ft/lbs of energy, which does strange things to bowling pins
and furry animals.

The old mod 19 could only take 8.0 grs of Unique......the new
L frame is just kicking out of 3rd gear. Interresting what a step up can do for you, probably takes two guys to hold down a FULL N Frame !!

Yes, I am reloading lead bullets.

That's about all I reload anymore, and the bullet immediately tells me that I have a light target handload vs. a factory JHP load when things get mixed up in the range bag.

I am old, my guns are old, and I lived through my hot-rodding days. I only load for fun target loads nowadays. Anything serious, I use factory loads.

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Fuego