I have just started reloading for my Model 66 and 19.

To date I have been shooting factory 38 Specials out of the 357's.

A buddy introduced me to casting this past week so I now want to step it up.

My question is should I continue to use 38 cases or should I move up to 357 cases?

Is there any damage to be done to the cylinder using the 38 cases rather than the 357 cases shooting cast bullets?
Thanks!

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Existimo ergo sum armis

There is absolutely no harm from firing .38 Specials in .357 Magnum chambers. Ask any PPC shooter that fires tens of thousands of rounds in his competition and practice guns.

What you might encounter is sticky extraction of fired cases or failure to fully chamber .357 magnum cartridges in chambers that have fired lots of .38 specials and not been thoroughly cleaned.

Regular and routine chamber cleaning and maintenance are good ideas of course, and will prevent this problem.

A Model 64 will not chamber a .357 round.

If you are hunting I would load more 357's but for shooting paper just go with the 38's. It's nice to have a choice. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

When I used to load for the .38/.357 I always used .357 cases loaded down to .38. This was out of my 686's. I used Trail Boss powder because it filled the case well and left no un-burnt powder after firing. The Trail Boss powder is quite popular with the Cowboy Action crowd. Check it out.

Yeah...I meant to say Model 66. Late nite typing is not always an accurate exercise. Thanks for the catch!

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Existimo ergo sum armis

Glad I could help.

If you keep the bullet weight up, say 158 grain, you can shoot .357 for a lifetime without harming the guns.

Several years ago, I bought a 66 from a fellow shooter who had used it in various competitive events using .38s only. He had never fired a magnum load through it. The first time I tried to load true .357 cartridges in it the .357s would not fully chamber leaving about 5/16" (estimated) of the casing sticking out the loading end. It took quite a bit of effort and time to clean the lead out of the chambers (had looked normal when purchased but had a lead build up just forward of where the .38 casings terminated).

Since then, I shoot nothing but .357 casings in all my .357s. When I want a mild load I just load them down to .38special velocities. Works great. I do the same thing with my .44 magnums, just load them down to approximate .44special velocities.

Plus 1 on the Trail Boss Powder..and to answer your question, for me, I always load .357 Brass for my guns that shoot .357 and I load .38 Spl brass for guns chambered for that round only. Prevents the lead build up talked about. If you shoot alot, casting your bullets is a must..cheaper than buying ready mades!!

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PREDATORMASTERS

The "dreaded lead buildup" can be elimininated with periodic use of a Brownells "tornado" chamber brush. It takes seconds to clean the chamber. I have a model 66 that shoots thousands of .38 specials each year, and a .357 cartridge drops right in.
Brownells Search : Search Results for "tornado brush" - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools - BROWNELLS

Added: NOBODY serious uses .357 cases in IDPA/SSR, due to speedloading and ejection efficiency.

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Science plus Art

If you just always use .357 cases AND keep the chambers clean, you for sure will never have anything to worry about. Simple. Save your 38 Special cases for your 38 revolvers. (Ditto for the 44 Magnum.)

What he said.
I can maybe understand a non-reloading person using 38s in a 357 if those are the ballistics he's seeking.
Its not like 357 brass is rare or something. Use the right stuff and load to the performance level you need.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

The actual firing of 38 special cartridges in a 357 magnum will cause no damage. However,,,, if your were to shoot many 38 specials and it forms enough of a ring, and you fired 357 magnums without first removing the ring, you could get a large pressure spike that could be damaging.

As others have mentioned, the build up can be removed.

Just to avoid the issue with cleaning, I only fire 357 cases in my 357's, and save my 38 specials in a 38 special. You do need to slightly adjust your powder loading if you are using 38 special loading data.

"Bullet Jump" is another thing to consider. With certain guns chambered in .357, I find accuracy suffers when shooting .38's......
HBWC and DEWC groups open up at bullseye velocities......

I always use 357 cases because they look cooler!

I always use 38 spl cases for light loads in my 357 revolvers. Velocities
are more consistant in 38 cases and I have thousands more of them
than 357 cases. I like being able to load light plinking 38 loads and
shoot them in any of my 38 or 357 guns. Unless you plan to shoot
many thousands of rounds in your 357s and rarely clean them I don't
see how using 38 cases would cause you any problem.

How available is 357 brass? I shoot IDPA with a M67 (38 only) and just got an 686 SSR but not only do I have no interest in using 357 brass in it, it seems to be very uncommon around here. I'm going to use primarily lead bullets and do plan to clean the cylinder every few matches so I'm sure I won't have any problems (especially given the low velocities I'll be reloading to).

I think one would really have to neglect a 357 revolver for this to ever be an "issue."

Depends on the venue.

Training classes almost always forbid reloads so I use 38 spl.

No rangemaster is going to believe I download my 357 cases to 38 spl levels so I use 38 handloads.

Just about everywhere else I use 357 cases. This is largely because I like to shoot the same loads in a Marlin. I've never had a Marlin jam with 38 spl cases but I don't want to tempt the fates if I don't have to.

I careful diet of .38 wadcutters would work well. 3.0 grains of 231 and a mastercast DE wadcutter will produce fine results in either revolver.

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