I have a 5inch special run unflutrd cylinder 686 that is my favorite revolver. I probably shoot a little more .38 in it than i do .357. Recently i have been thinking about picking up a model 67 or 10 to do my.38 shooting just because of all of the different opinions on whether its a good idea to shoot the .38 in the .357. I would rather not lay out the $700 for a new revolver if it doesn'tmatter. I know this is frequently a topic-anyone have any definitive proof/experience on this issue onw way or the other??
Question: .38's thru my .357
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I recently obtained a used 686, which appeared to have had .38 specials fired in it. A quick cleaning of the cylinder took care of some accumulated powder. As long as you keep it clean, you should have no problems. I really enjoy shooting the 686 with .38 special target loads and since you have to clean it anyway after firing .357 magnums to me it is not an issue.
Bullseye Smith
Member
I love the "L" frame my self, and 38 spec. , 9mm, 38 super is all I ever shoot. You know, I don't think I have a full box of 357 in the house, but the three about I could start a small war if need be. Shoot the 38's and put the 700 into reloading or ammo. The "K" is a nice gun to have and shoot, buy a model 10 and have it hard chromed and only have 350 in it. Of course you can get a 64 for 250 and have fun cleaning it up.
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I have shot thousands of .38's in my 586 and N frame 357's. Just clean the cylinders well to keep it in shape to accept 357s.
Lead bullets will build up a ring in the chamber much faster than jacketed bullets. I noticed that Federal 130 grain leave very little build up and cleans very easily compared to Winchester and Remington. Speer Lawman 125 gr is total metal jacket and the base is jacketed, so it does not leave much of a ring either.
Lead bullets will build up a ring in the chamber much faster than jacketed bullets. I noticed that Federal 130 grain leave very little build up and cleans very easily compared to Winchester and Remington. Speer Lawman 125 gr is total metal jacket and the base is jacketed, so it does not leave much of a ring either.
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Hi, the .38 Special case is 1/8" shorter than the .357, so there may be some firing residue built up in the forward chamber with lots of .38s that needs to be cleaned. Otherwise, there should be no issues. I shoot far more .38s in my .357s than .357s. Enjoy!
Yes shooting 38s in 357 Magnum chambers will leave a ring. This is not opinion. This is fact. There are two separate scenarios.
First scenario: shooting mid range 38 target loads. This will leave a ring of lead/powder residue just forward of the case mouth. This residue is easily visible with a bore scope.If left there it will hinder insertion and extraction of 357 Magnum cartridges. The good news is that it is fairly easily cleaned away after each shooting session.
Second scenario: shooting 38 special +P or +P+ ammunition, especially with lightweight projectiles. The heavier charges of hot/fast burning powder that is loaded under lightweight projectiles will cause a ring to erode in the chamber just forward of the case mouth. This erosion is also easily visible with a bore scope. There is no way to clean this away. The damage is cumulative, the more of this ammunition that you shoot, the worse it will get. At some point (many thousands of rounds at least) when a standard 357 Magnum round is fired, it will expand into the ring and extraction will be difficult.
Scenario one is no big deal if you throughly clean your firearm. Scenario two is only an issue if you shoot lots of ammo.
I am a hand loader so personally, I only fire the proper ammunition in the proper chamber. However, I do load midrange target loads into 357 Magnum cases. So there is no need to ever chamber a 38 Special in a 357 Magnum.
Your style of shooting and quantity of different ammunition you use should make the decision for you.
Obtuseangler
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There are people here who are more knowledgeable than me, but I will tell you my experience. I always shoot .38's through a .357. The wadcutters are cheap, but nasty. I leave them alone. They will fowl the gun to the point of malfunction in short order. I know this to be true from personal experience. The only time I shoot .357's is to shoot up the rounds that were stored in the gun itself when I get to the range. The flexibility of shooting more forgiving .38 rounds is one of the upsides of owning a .357 revolver. No reason to buy a .38 revolver, unless you just want one or regularly run lots and lots of rounds through it.
Keep it clean after each use and you should have no problems. If you are that concerned and you are going to be shooting thousands of rounds throught it, consider a spare cylinder. Keep the original cylinder safe and burn out the spare. You can always install the original cylinder later if you are thinking of resale potential.
john traveler
Member
This business of worrying about the long-term effects of firing .38 Specials in a .357 Magnum revolver is a total NON-ISSUE. After all, .357 Magnum caliber handguns have been around for what, more than 70 years? If, in all that time, there was really a problem, wouldn't it have become public knowledge by now?
Anyone with any sense of caring for their firearms will do regular cleaning, lubrication, and preserving of their guns. That is all that is needed after firing shorter rounds in a longer chamber, whether that is the .32 Spl/.32 Magnum, .38/.357, .44/.44 Mag, or whatever.
As for worries about chamber erosion from firing the shorter rounds in the longer chamber, that is utterly nonsense. Most everyone understands that flame cutting and erosion takes place at the B-C gap or the throat of a barrel, not in the chamber throat. The massive material in the cylinder provides a heatsink to prevent the surface heating and theoretical erosion that combustion flame produces. Look at military automatic weapons designs and you will see the point. Machine gun barrels and chambers are stellite-lined, chromium plated, or otherwise designed to resist heat and erosion at selected points: barrel breeches, chamber throats, B-C gaps, etc.
At one time, in the long distant past, corrosive primed .22 Shorts fired in a longer .22 Long Rifle chamber could cause problems, but that was from rust and neglect due to the corrosive priming. Modern ammunition is almost completely non-corrosive, except for some brands of surplus military ammo.
You can shoot .38 Specials as much as you like in in your magnum without worries.
Anyone with any sense of caring for their firearms will do regular cleaning, lubrication, and preserving of their guns. That is all that is needed after firing shorter rounds in a longer chamber, whether that is the .32 Spl/.32 Magnum, .38/.357, .44/.44 Mag, or whatever.
As for worries about chamber erosion from firing the shorter rounds in the longer chamber, that is utterly nonsense. Most everyone understands that flame cutting and erosion takes place at the B-C gap or the throat of a barrel, not in the chamber throat. The massive material in the cylinder provides a heatsink to prevent the surface heating and theoretical erosion that combustion flame produces. Look at military automatic weapons designs and you will see the point. Machine gun barrels and chambers are stellite-lined, chromium plated, or otherwise designed to resist heat and erosion at selected points: barrel breeches, chamber throats, B-C gaps, etc.
At one time, in the long distant past, corrosive primed .22 Shorts fired in a longer .22 Long Rifle chamber could cause problems, but that was from rust and neglect due to the corrosive priming. Modern ammunition is almost completely non-corrosive, except for some brands of surplus military ammo.
You can shoot .38 Specials as much as you like in in your magnum without worries.
Black Knight
Member
I have fired thousands of 125 gr. 38 Spec +P loads in my 357's with no ill effect. I keep mine as clean as possible. In order to keep it as clean as possible I remove the cylinder and soak it in solvent while I'm cleaning the rest of the gun. You should have no problems as long as you keep it clean.
.38's in the .357
I should have mentioned i don't shoot any non jacketed rounds. Mostly American eagle 130 FMJ or WWB. Lately alot of Blazer 125 +P jacketed rounds. Sounds like i can blast away-suppose the worst case scenario is someday i have to buy a new cylinder. Thanks
I should have mentioned i don't shoot any non jacketed rounds. Mostly American eagle 130 FMJ or WWB. Lately alot of Blazer 125 +P jacketed rounds. Sounds like i can blast away-suppose the worst case scenario is someday i have to buy a new cylinder. Thanks
I shoot Cast 38's at 900+ fps in my 19 & 686. After a 100+ round session I will use a Clymer De-leader reamer to clean the cylinder. A couple turns with the Clymer removes all build up. Then use regular solvent and clean. Have been doing this since 1984 with the 686 and no problems.
If you get one that has been used extensively with 38's and neglected, the clymer makes clean up easy. I've had people bring them to me with so much build up a .357 wouldn't go in at all. 2 to 5 turns with the Clymer and it's done.
If you get one that has been used extensively with 38's and neglected, the clymer makes clean up easy. I've had people bring them to me with so much build up a .357 wouldn't go in at all. 2 to 5 turns with the Clymer and it's done.
stevieboy
Member
I shoot mostly .38s with my 686 and more or less exclusively .38s with my 66 (my 27 is reserved for magnums). Carbon rings in the cylinder simply are not a problem if you clean the gun thoroughly after each trip to the range. I've also discovered some pretty good "clean" ammo (Magtech, Speer, Winchester, Remington) in .38s and .357 that make exceptional target rounds and also make cleanup a snap.
thedogfather
Member
Several people have mentioned the need to clean the cylinder after shooting .38 specials out of .357's. I have always run a couple of swabs through the chambers and they come out pretty clean most of the time. Then I wipe everything down. Should I be doing more of this in order to prevent damage?
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