38 only cylinders for .357 revolvers?

[Dave T]

Numrich's has titanium L-frame 7-shot .38spl cylinders (M242) in stock for about $60. One would be an easy fit to any .357mag L-frame.

Wouldn't changing to a 7 shot cylinder from a 6 shot require considerable changes to the timing and indexing? That would not be "an easy fit".

Dave

 

[GJS]

Just yesterday I saw a couple of the 686 4" in 38 Special. I do not understand the point of them. But thats just me.

 

[growr]

Seems like an expensive solution. You are going to clean the gun anyway. I don't get it.
Randy

 

[noyo55]

There is a model 68, K frame model 66 in 38 spl.for sale on the Northwestfirearms.com, forum(Wash. And Oregon). $450.00 and it's a good looking shooter

 

[gerald mcdonald]

Because the .38 case is shorter is leaves a ring farther up the chamber that interferes with the longer .357 case. At .38 pressures cases tend not to form and stick to the chamber as much as they do in .357.

I understand that, but if all your shooting is 38's why would extraction get sticky? Maybe I'm confused but in 35 years of shooting 38's in 357's I've never had it be a problem. You just clean the gun.

 

[johngalt]

In my experience, cleaning the cylinder after shooting .38s took much more work than cleaning the barrel, and you have 6 (or 7) chambers to clean. The fouling was not just powder residue, but was very hard and burned on. Brass brushes barely worked, patches didn't work at all. After shooting as little as 100 rounds, it took me hours of scrubbing to get it clean enough that .357s didn't stick. This was with Remington 130 gr jacketed .38 special.

Since I started reloading, I will only shoot .357 in my 686. It takes no more effort to load my target loads in .357 brass compared to .38 brass, and makes cleanup go much quicker. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

A .38 cylinder would be nice (a M-14 would be even better) so I could more easily share ammo among my pistols.

 

[BUFF]

Way back when, my shooting partner and I were trying to work up the most accurate handloads, and find the most accurate factory ammo, for our PPC match revolvers. We tested a pretty good pile of .38 Special and .357 Magnum S&W's in a Ransom Rest with a lot of different rounds.

We found no average difference in groups sizes when shooting .38 ammo from .38 or .357 chambers. The difference between individual guns was far greater than the aggregate, or best and worst guns, regardless of chambers.

 

[WC145]

Wouldn't changing to a 7 shot cylinder from a 6 shot require considerable changes to the timing and indexing? That would not be "an easy fit".

Dave

Fo some members here it as been a drop in swap, some others required a new hand or having the cylinder fit to the old one. Either way it is neither particularly difficult if you have the skills nor expensive if you don't.

 

[Gebe]

I guess I was unlucky or something but whenever I shot .38's in my Model 19 or both of my 686's I used to own, accuracy suffered. They all shot 357's more accurately.

 

[shawn mccarver]

S & W made a very small number of model 19s in .38 Special, but as far as I know no model 66s or 686s, so finding a cylinder would be very difficult. Shooting .38s in the .357 cylinder can dirty the chambers and require cleaning for smooth chambering and extraction, but a model 67 will shoot more heavy .38 loads than your nerves and wallet can stand without problems.

I would also suspect no measurable difference in accuracy between .38s and .357s if you go the model 66 or 686 route.

S&W made 38 special versions of the 19 within the last few years. The new Classic Model 15 is like a 19, but in 38 special, since it has the shrouded ejector rod.

S&W has made, on a semi-regular basis, 38 special versions of both the 586 and the 686.

 

[stevieboy]

I see no benefit to putting a .38 cylinder in a .357. You could probably pick up a used Model 10 for less money than it would cost you to buy a .38 cylinder and have your gun timed for it.

I've fired 1000s of .38s from my Models 27, 66 and 686. I see no dropoff in accuracy between the .38s and .357s. Yes, carbon rings will develop in a .357 if .38s are fired from the gunj, but they can be cleaned off easily with a bronze brush and a bore cleaning compound like J & B. It takes me, maybe, an extra 10 minutes to clean carbon rings out of my .357s, and that's after an especially heavy day at the range.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

There were some (mod 66) made for the California Highway Patrol that only chambered .38 spec.

Actually those were known as Model 68's

 

[9146gt]

S&W made 38 special versions of the 19 within the last few years. The new Classic Model 15 is like a 19, but in 38 special, since it has the shrouded ejector rod.

S&W has made, on a semi-regular basis, 38 special versions of both the 586 and the 686.

My model 19-8 stamped .38 special on the barrel will chamber.357 and was shipped 2-2000.

Tom

 

[Brian41]

Years ago I had a Python Target in 38 special only Colt made for bullseye shooters of the day. I don't know if the 38 cylinder had any bearing or the custom shop work but it was probally the most accurate revolver I've ever owned.

Today I reload 38 pressure loads in 357 cases for my 357s and 38s for my 38s. Easy enough as I reload large batches of each.
I've shot 38s in 357s and they work well enough for my type of shooting. I don't do it much though as I hate cleaning the cylinders.

 

[Nightowl]

Remington 130 grain

In my experience, cleaning the cylinder after shooting .38s took much more work than cleaning the barrel, and you have 6 (or 7) chambers to clean. The fouling was not just powder residue, but was very hard and burned on. Brass brushes barely worked, patches didn't work at all. After shooting as little as 100 rounds, it took me hours of scrubbing to get it clean enough that .357s didn't stick. This was with Remington 130 gr jacketed .38 special.

I had the same problem with Remington 130 grain factory ammunition. It took forever and several brushes, I finally broke down and used some stainless brushes I keep for extreme cases of cylinder cleaning issues. Winchester was somewhat less bothersome. However Federal 130 grain left almost no fowling and was very easy to clean. Lawman 125 grain is fully encapsulated and is also very easy to clean. I reload a lot of lead wadcutter and it will leave the cylinder ring that is hard to remove.