K-38 vs N-357

[Smith357]

It was a perfect day at the range today, went out and spent all day shooting a bunch of different guns from 22s to .30-06 and Hawken rifle to an EBR.

We had a post war .357, aka a pre-27, and a Model 14 both with 6" barrels we were just checking to see felt recoil differences and accuracy testing between them. We used 148 grain wadcutters as the testing load and as expected the massive N frame was easier to control than the K-38 but the deticated .38 target gun seemed to have a ever so slight edge in accuracy over the big magnum, though the only real way to tell is with a Ransom Rest. One thing that did not seem to make a lot of sense to us was the report, the K frame seemed significantly louder than the N frame. We theorized that maybe it was the cylinder gap making the difference, we did not have feeler gauges but the gap on the K frame looked as if it was a smidge tighter the the N frame, so with that thinking we figured the N frame should have been the louder gun yet is was the quieter one. Does anyone have an explanation as to why the two show a fairly significant difference in volume??

 

[michael thornton]

I wish i knew, i too have seen this same thing, i always thought it had to be cylnder gap, could be more to do with forcing cone ?

 

[M29since14]

That's interesting. I can't say I shoot many wadcutters out of Model 27s and since the 27 I normally shoot is a 5-inch gun, it would be hard for me to fairly compare my gun to a 6-inch K38. Anyway, I can't imagine what would cause this effect that you are noticing. If you ever figure it out, let us know. I can't see minor differences in barrel-cylinder gap (0.002" or so) making any difference you would notice.

 

[cotton]

how bout that extra freebore in the 357 like an expansion chamber .. more space for the gas to slow down also less pressure for 38 spl anyway .. just a guess..

 

[Dennis The B]

The .38 Spl wadcutter has an extra 1/8th inch to jump in the N frame. It could be just that amount that could cause the bullet to enter the forcing cone a tad off the bore axis. If not dead center, the bullet could end up off-axis in its flight.

A good test would be to load up the 148gr wadcutter in a .357 magnum case with the same powder load.

 

[Smith357]

how bout that extra freebore in the 357 like an expansion chamber .. more space for the gas to slow down also less pressure for 38 spl anyway .. just a guess..

You know, that sounds like a reasonable guess. At this point its the best explanation so far.

 

[handejector]

I thought heavier guns would keep the noise down......

 

[monet61]

Interesting thread

Interesting subject. I spent the late afternoon shooting my 14-2 SAO with some of my reloads. 125 grain LRN from Lazer Cast. Loaded with 3.4 grains of Trail Boss. It has to be the sweetest, easy shooting round I ever built. Oh, and to make it interesting, shot some factory 125 grain JHP .357 out of my Colt Lawman. Love both those guns.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I do not shoot wadcutters in my 27. I load 125gr JHP over 8.4gr Unique for a mild shooting accurate load for the 27. I shoot the wadcutters in my 14. I did not like the leading that the wadcutters did in the 27.