.357magnum and .38 compatible?

[greg_hains]

Hello,
I recently purchased a S&W 686 .357 magnum Performance Center (https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/l-frame-170319) but I cam getting conflicting information as to whehter I can shoot .38 Specials through it as well. Some say "of course", some say "no".
Can I get your opinion please so I don't ruin the firearm.
Thanks,
Greg

 

[petepeterson]

Welcome!

Yes, your 686 is capable of firing .38 Specials.

Enjoy!

 

[greg_hains]

Hi Pete,

Many thanks for your reply, AND thats great news that I can use .38 Specials.

Cheers,
Greg

 

[rct269]

Yes, .38 Specials can be fired from 357 cylinders---accuracy will suffer---ULTIMATE accuracy----that from a machine rest. You can murder tin cans with complete confidence!

Ralph Tremaine

As an aside, .38 Special loads in Magnum cases show no diminished accuracy. More by process of elimination rather than definitive results, this results primarily from the increased throat length---Magnum cylinder vs. .38 Special cylinder. That in turn results in a greater velocity of the bullet entering the barrel--as to how much, your guess is as good as mine---and that in turn results in more skidding and sliding before the rifling gets a hold on the bullet---and that in turn makes for (more) damage to the bullet than would be the case with a .38 Special cylinder. Again, via the process of elimination, accuracy is primarily dependent upon the bullet leaving the barrel in as pristine condition as possible. So says the machine rest---an amazing tool---right up until the SWAG enters the process of what's supposed to be scientific research-----but it's still fun.

Yet another editorial addition------comparing the results of shooting .38's in a 38 and shooting .38's in a 357 Magnum via a machine rest is pretty much the same as comparing apples and oranges! That, quite obviously is because Step One is to change guns in the rest----not a minor detail when it comes to ANY comparison of ANY thing---never mind the results were as I expected. What I expected doesn't count for sour apples when it comes to this type of research. Now you can eliminate that variable by simply buying another machine rest---very likely a lesser variable. Then you have the variable introduced when the Boss Lady asks why you needed another machine rest-----sitting on another stand. Uh------------------well you see-----Uh-------

 

[greg_hains]

Hi Ralph,

Thanks for your reply.
May I ask why .38 would yield lesser accuracy?

Cheers,
Greg

 

[OKFC05]

Yes, the .38 Special is 100% suitable for .357 Magnum firearms, and has been commonly used so since 1935. Probably a lot more .38 Special ammunition used in most .357 Magnum revolvers for plinking and practice than .357 Magnum ammunition.
Accuracy of .38 Special in .357 Magnum revolvers is just fine in my experience, based on over 25 years of competition in IDPA, USPSA, and ICORE.

 

[s&wchad]

Welcome aboard!

It's perfectly safe and many of us do it regularly. The .357 Magnum case is about 1/8" longer than a .38 Special case, but otherwise identical. This was done to prevent people from shooting magnums in older .38 Specials not designed to handle the increased pressure.

You may experience difficulty extracting fired magnum cases if you've shot a lot of .38 Specials through the gun. A build-up of fouling residue occurs in the chambers, just in front of the case mouths. If the gun has substantial fouling rings from .38's and you shoot the longer Magnums, the cases can swell around the rings. It's easy to correct by thoroughly cleaning the chambers. You can create a chamber scraper by slightly flaring the mouth of a Magnum cartridge and using it to scrape out the fouling.

 

[biku324]

Literally millions of 38 specials have been fired from 357 revolvers during the revolver era in policing. No troubles at all.

 

[greg_hains]

Thankyou OKFC05.

 

[greg_hains]

Thanks for everybody's replies - much appreciated.
I'm confident now that I can use 38 Specials.

As its going to be a tad cheaper to use at the range, can anybody validate why using 38 may be less accurate tan 357 magnum? I do realise that the shorter 38 shell will leave a ring in the chamber, is this a factor that will affect accuracy?

Thanks, again. I appreciate the support.
Greg

 

[s&wchad]

May I ask why .38 would yield lesser accuracy?

Cheers,
Greg

The bullets have to travel 1/8" more before they enter the throats, which decreases consistency. It may be evident off a machine rest, but the difference is negligible to 99.9% of shooters.

This diagram is for a rifle cartridge, but the same holds for a revolver. The throats are in the cylinder chambers.

 

[greg_hains]

Hi s&wChad,

This makes sense - thankyou.
I wont be doing a machine rest, so this won't really bother me.

I just watched HickOk45 (online) shoot one out to an incredible distance with 357 and 38 so I know its possible to get this much accuracy.

Many thanks to everybody who answered.

(I'm now going to hit the forum up with another question for this revolver.)

Greg

 

[hardluk1]

Just note that the 38sp brass is .100 shorter than 357mag brass and a you will see some build up develop in the cylinder that well need to be cleaned or scrubbed out the carbon maybe some lead or unburnt powder that is left behind when shooting 38sp in a 357mag cylinder before shooting 357mag again OR you may note the problem if you Plunk Test 357mag ammo with our a good cleaning .

If you need to know what a Plunk Test is please look it up first .

For the average person you may not shot tight enough groups to notice an accuracy difference as noted already above unless you use a machine rest . But shooting 38sp in a 357mag chamber does have its own problems that compound with rounds fired . Research first goes along way in answering questions .

If your a younger person you might consider saving for a basic reloader kit to lean with and use thru out the years . I shot 357mag brass loaded to 38sp velocity's since '76 for lite duty needs and training other shooters .

 

[rct269]

Thanks for everybody's replies - much appreciated.
I'm confident now that I can use 38 Specials.

As its going to be a tad cheaper to use at the range, can anybody validate why using 38 may be less accurate tan 357 magnum? I do realise that the shorter 38 shell will leave a ring in the chamber, is this a factor that will affect accuracy?

Thanks, again. I appreciate the support.
Greg

See the editorial addition to my post above. See also Post #11.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[greg_hains]

Hi HardLuk1,

I'm an older pistol shooter (40 years shooting or so now), mostly 9mm, but new to revolvers, 38 and 357, so happy to listen to those experienced in this arena. I dont reload ammo myself any more - happy to buy factory these days.

I looked up the Splunk Test - thanks for that tip.

Also, I like to keep my firearms clean, so I wont be shooting hundreds of different rounds through it without cleaning it first - another good tip thankyou.

Greg

 

[greg_hains]

Thanks for the editorial update Ralph.

 

[colt_saa]

Welcome to the Forum,
Actually, ALL 357 Magnum revolvers can safely chamber and fire 357 Magnum ammunition, 38 Special ammunition, 38 Long Colt ammunition and 38 Short Colt ammunition

As has already been mentioned, the use of any of the shorter cartridges will cause the ring of crud that develops forward of the case mouth to be in the way if you happen to use any of the longer cartridges afterwards. Is quite important to completely clean the chambers in the cylinder prior to shooting the longer cartridges as if that ring becomes too pronounced it will cause extraction of the longer, more powerful cartridges to become more difficult

 

[Dave Lively]

In my experience the "ring of crud" is real but not as severe of a problem that many people think it is. When I first started shooting in the 80s my friends and I knew 38s could be fired in a 357 Magnum revolver but without the internet telling us about things we should be worried about had no idea this could be a problem. We shot many thousands of rounds of 38 and 357 through our guns in no particular order. I do recall extraction getting sticky sometimes but not to the point the empty cases had to be pounded out with a dowel.

Given a choice I will shoot 357s first and then 38s. But as long as the 357s drop into the cylinder with no resistance I will still shoot 357s after 38s if I want to.

I no longer reload and typically shoot FMJ factory 38s. The lube on lead bullets creates more fouling. Typically I shoot between 75 and at most 150 rounds through my 686 in a single range session. I clean the cylinder after every range session. Someone that shoots hundreds of lead bullet 38 ammo before trying to shoot 357s is much more likely than I am to have problems from the ring of crud.

 

[stansdds]

First, welcome to the S&W Forums! Now, as to shooting 38 Special ammo in your newly acquired S&W Model 686. The short answer is "yes". The long answer is yes, you may or may not see a difference in accuracy and you may end up with a ring of carbon and bullet lubricant in the chambers that will interfere with loading 357 Magnum ammo. My suggestion is to thoroughly clean the chambers with solvent and a bronze bore brush after shooting 38 Special ammo. It's usually not difficult to remove any build up inside the chambers and they need to be cleaned after every range session.

 

[Protocall_Design]

I have a 686 that I have only shot 38 Specials in for the last 20 years. In a Ransom Rest it will shoot 3/8" groups at 25 yards and a little over an inch at 50 yards. I fail to see how 38s in a 357 chamber is not accurate enough, or less accurate than 357s. I doubt if any 357 ammo could do any better.

Sadly, I can't shoot it like that holding the gun, but I know for sure any misses are all me.