A few months past I got a Model 66 that worked fine with .38 specials, but couldn't get it to load .357 magnum cartridges even though it clearly states on side that it is a ".357 magnum". I thought it a fluke and sold the gun quickly. Recently, I discovered that a 686 I purchased also would not load the magnum cartridge so I checked and even one of my Model 19 couldn't load, although my Model 27s did accept the magnum cartridge. What gives? Why would pistols clearly marked as ".357 magnum" on the barrel not accept that cartridge in the cylinder?

The cylinders probably needed cleaning from shooting the shorter 38 special rounds. Carbon build up would not let the 357 round go to full depth.

If you shoot a whole lot of 38 Specials through a 357 Magnum cylinder, you're going to get a lot of blast build-up right where the longer 357 cartridge has to squeeze in. You just have to give that cylinder a good cleaning.

When I shoot my K-frame magnums with 38 Special I alway clean the cylinders every 12 to 18 shots with a 40 caliber bronze brush to minimize any buildup.

It's a shame you got rid of the 66. Oh well.

Cordially,

Ash

i had a similar prob. with a 66 i bought last year. the guy (older gentleman) had ONLY shot .38 spl through it. a heavy cleaning with solvent and a couple of wire bore brushes and it was good to go. i too now clean it with solvent after every range session, .38 or .357, the same way. hope you got a good price for your 66...

You need to really clean the cylinders as indicated. Previous owner and perhaps you didnt properly clean it.

Clean after each use and this never happens.

By golly, that did the trick...it did require a rigorous cleaning of the cylinders, but they eventually accepted the .357s; is there a product out there that helps break down that carbon buildup easier that running a brush back and forth hundreds of times?

Hoppe's #9, CLP break free and ballistol all seem to do the trick

Hoppes #9 and a .40 cal borebrush.

I buy extra brushes, dip the brush in the Hoppes and scrub away. It's a pain. I'm gravitating toward shooting my .38 reloads in my 10/64/36 instead of the 66/686/60...more and more.

Also, IMHO; do NOT put your brush in a powered device to ream the cylinders. Brass is softer than steel, so you'd think it would be ok, but I think it is not. Just my 2 cents.

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But then, what do I know?

I always inspect the cylinder with a magnifying glass to make sure they are completely clean. Its surprisingly hard to get them fully cleaned.

Brownells sells a oversized chamber brush in 38/357 and 44/45. They're longer so don't use on the barrel because they won't clear the cylinder window and you can't get them back out(So I've been told!).

I don't shoot .38 in my magnum. It saves a lot of heartache.

It's my experience that unless you are shooting hundreds of rounds per session, using really dirty ammo and / or full lead ball, or have really poor cleaning habits, it's not that big of a deal.

I shoot probably 70%/30% 38 to 357 and almost never have the issue. Something else I like to do is "sprinkle in a few magums" during the session, rather than wait till the end, going back and forth tends to not allow as much buildup of crud at the end of the 38 spent case if you put a magnum in there every once in a while.

Also, tend to use mostly FMJ or semi-jacketed ammo rather than full lead ball.

I also run a very lightly oiled patch through the bore and cylinders before heading out to the range. I have no scientific evidence that this helps, but it's part of the routine.

.38 Special target loads are almost all I shoot in my .357s and while they do create a deposit ring in each chamber, it cleans right out. I wet the chambers with a solvent-soaked patch, run a standard .357" bore brush back and forth twice and then mop the chambers with a dry patch. Done. Finished. Ready to shoot again.


I honestly don't understand what all the drama is about!

Ed

You can put your brush on a section of rod & chuck it up in a drill motor.

If you reload you can use a lightly flared .357 case as a scraper.

My new-to-me M28-2 took two days of scraping, scrubbing & soaking to get all the crud out.

AveragEd, no drama the fellow just did not know. This is why we have a forum to help each other. We learn as we go.

Impressed you got your cylinder faces so clean, you use a lead removal cloth?

No, just bore solvent and a toothbrush if I clean the gun(s) as soon as I get home. If I don't get to it for a day or so, I use Iosso GunBrite Polish. It gets everything out of the nooks and crannies. But do not use it blued guns or they won't be blued for long. I imagine that it would also take the brushed look from stainless guns, so I only use it on cylinder faces and inside the cylinder window to avoid having chrome-looking guns.


It also works great on guns that have been carried and shot a lot.


I'm sorry if I offended anyone. From the wording of some posts, I got the impression that some posters feel getting that carbon ring out of a chamber is a tedious chore nearly requiring power tools.

Ed

I shoot a LOT of .38 Special through my .357's and I use Hoppe's Bench Rest to get the stubborn carbon out.

Eezox also does wonders for cleaning carbon. I only use nylon bore brushes too.

An overnight soak in the bore and chambers with Hoppe's Bench Rest and you'll be pulling 8 cents worth of copper out of a used revolver and a lot of old carbon too. I overnight soak my revolvers when I have the time and inclination to do it, usually with my range guns that I shoot a lot. You'll be shocked at how much lead, copper and carbon you can pull out of a "clean" revolver.

I also don't worry about burn rings on the cylinder face. They add character.

I'm sure the same wisdom holds true for semi-auto handguns..........many people have the "my chambers sticky" because many new shooters don't brush the chambers........... but it's been so long since I fired one I almost forgot how to clean one.

Dip a brush into Hoppes, chuck it to a cordless drill, and spin in the cylinders for 5 seconds each. Then follow with a fresh solvent coated patch. When you're done, there's nothing in there that Smith or Wesson didn't intend.

Personally I and several others on here do not advocate this method. But to each his own.

We shoot easily 100+ rounds at a time of wadcutters through our 686's. I clean the gun the next day most of the time with a stainless steel brush from Brownells. Never had any problems going from .38 Specials to .357 Magnums.

No need for power tools or aggressive cleaning folks

I have several stainless and a few blued revolvers that look like someone went after the cylinder face with a wire brush Also have a Ruger Service Six that someone must have used the stainless brush in a power drill method because it looks like someone was grinding in the chambers

Trust me, Eezox and Hoppe's Bench Rest, along with occasional nylon bore brushes and toothbrushes are all I ever use, and I shoot quite a bit. Never had a problem dropping a .357 into a chamber. Eezox will absolutely erase carbon, and Hoppe's BR is good on lead and copper. It's all you really need. More guns are ruined by improper or overzealous cleaning than any amount of shooting. We don't have Drill Sgt.'s hovering over us anymore sticking Q-tips in chambers and smoking us for a little black on the tip

If you reload at all, load .357 to .38 spec velocity, no ring if not just use a little extra elbow grease when cleaning.

When mine get too much build up, I remove the one screw holding the crane and cylinder to take the whole assembly off. Remove the cylinder from the crane and sit the cylinder in a small container and pour in enough penetrating oil to cover the dirty rings, and let it soak for a few hours if needed.
Kano Kroil works wonders for me.

OOOhh--Power tools to clean my guns??? No thanks. I'll stick with the elbow grease after each shooting session.

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Strickdaddy

Ditto this Coorslight... I've been reloading 38/357 now over 5 decades and started reloading the .38 loads that I'd be shooting in my 357s in the magnum cases just about that long also.

Would agree with those that say keep it clean after you shoot and you really won't experience any problems.

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Defensor Fortis 814th CDS

I cut a patch sized piece of lead remover cloth and run it down the cylinder every so often along with a .45 cal brush. This has worked for years - no problems loading mags in my M13.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I'm not sure if I got this straight or not, but it sounds like you (thought you) got hosed in a gun deal so you quickly passed the problem along to someone else. I assume you told them about the "defect"?

I knew a guy who had a P-38 that he knew had a cracked slide. He passed it off a a gun show to some unsuspecting poor guy and never said a word about it to him. I assume you are above such low-life tactics.