Shooting .38 in a .357?

[ArchAngelCD]

When I was wet behind the ears,young and did not know any better I shot lots of magnum load out of my mod. 19 6" from
110 to 160 Speer semi-jackets. With all the super fast loads I finally cracked the forcing cone and learned a valuable lesson
on how not to treat a super nice revolver.
Today I shoot factory and my reloads out of a 6" S&W 686 but no more super hot 110Jhp's and I keep the 125's at 1450fps but most are around 1250fps to make this pistol last a lot longer. I would say that 80% of my loads are 38 spl, just because they are easy on the wallet and fun to tinker with but I still enjoy a good "BANG" now and then and some 200 yard shots with iron sights, just for giggles. (not hunting)

Funny thing is, the M686 was developed to fix that problem the K frames were having so you can shoot all the 110gr and 125gr you want through your M686. I never did have a problem with forcing cones because I like shooting 158gr bullets in my .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads.

 

[Jswiney9]

not really an option for me in this poll, i shoot them both about equally. sometimes i just like to plink around with .38s but I love the felt recoil of the .357, it's just......... right, not too much and not too light.

 

[FloridaFlier]

My thought process goes a little different. I only shoot reloads, which is one of the reasons that I am now a revolver guy- better Q.C. on my brass. But although I have never yet in about 8 years of reloading double-charged a round, there is always a first time. With absolutely no actual evidence to back this statement up, I will postulate that a double charged .38 in a .357 gun is a lot more likely for the gun to hold together than that same round in a .38 gun.
Also, in the self defense mode with a lightweight gun, I agree that the .357 delivers more hurt on the bad guy, but the second shot (and there will be a second shot) will come a lot sooner with the .38 special, due to the more controlled recoil.

 

[CoMF]

There was a time when I would have voted differently, as I primarily fired .38 +P's out of a Model 65, with an occasional cylinder or two of 158 gr. Magnums.

Nowadays, I exclusively fire Magnum cartridges out of my 686 mostly because what I used to find snappy in a K-frame is surprisingly pleasant to shoot from an L-frame.

 

[kbm6893]

If they cost the same, I would shoot more .357, but I don't reload and .38 is expensive enough as it is. .357 is just stupid expensive. Both put the same hole in the paper. I really don't get the advantage of shooting a whole lot of .357 to punch a hole in the paper target. Shoot enough to not be jolted by the .357 recoil and you're fine. Come to thunk of it, the only time I even carry .357 is when I'm walking in the woods and might encounter something on 4 legs. .38+P is more than enough to dispatch a 2 legged attacker, and the blast and flash isn't nearly as bad.

 

[*chris*]

I recently have stopped shooting .38s out of my 686 and now only shoot .357 magnum. For some reason I'm more accurate with the .357s and I prefer them for practice.

I spoke with a Tech at Berry's bullets and he said the closer you can get the bullet to the forcing cone, the more accurate and consistent the cartridges should be. I used to load wadcutters in .357 shells, but now use 38 special since I find a ton of those at the range. According to the chronograph, I think the 38 special shells make a more consistent cartridge.

I have had to use a Tornado brush a few times on my chambers to get .357 cartridges to seat after shooting a bunch of 38 specials.

Chris

 

[Hapworth]

Mostly .38 here, because between the two that's the round I prefer for self defense, even if I like certain .357-based platforms, e.g., Models 13, 19 and 65.

At some point I'll get my hands on some Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135 grain .357 and switch if it's powered down enough -- I just don't like full house .357 for home and self defense.

 

[sophie]

Always shoot .38's in my .38 guns and .357 in my .357 guns. Just the way it is.

_________
James

 

[Nevada Ed]

I agree that full boat 125 Mag loads are not the best in the home, way too much recoil,noise ,flash and maybe penetration. The lite 125 mag at around 1244fps will do just as good a job at close quarters without all the excitement in my 6" 686 S&W.

Another load I keep outside is a 158 Lswc from Oregon trail
with enough Unique to kick it down the road at 1320 fps and 611 ft/lbs of energy, which does strange things to bowling pins
and furry animals.

The old mod 19 could only take 8.0 grs of Unique......the new
L frame is just kicking out of 3rd gear. Interresting what a step up can do for you, probably takes two guys to hold down a FULL N Frame !!

 

[Fuego]

Yes, I am reloading lead bullets.

That's about all I reload anymore, and the bullet immediately tells me that I have a light target handload vs. a factory JHP load when things get mixed up in the range bag.

I am old, my guns are old, and I lived through my hot-rodding days. I only load for fun target loads nowadays. Anything serious, I use factory loads.

 

[walkin jack]

I have two .38/.357mag handguns. I shoot mostly .38 spl at the range with them but I do shoot enough .357mag to stay up to date on the recoil, sound, and over all handling of it because on the Ruger SP101 when I carry that it's always .357 mag HP. The other gun is a Ruger Blackhawk single action and I don't ever carry that but it it a lot of fun and is so well weighted and balanced the magnums are a blast to shoot.

 

[blujax01]

Wow! 162 votes and nearly 80% of you shoot mostly .38 out of your .357.

I am clearly in the minority. (That's twice in two days).

Thanks for participating folks. I learned something new ...

 

[all357mag]

Recently I've been shooting more 357's, because it's what I have more of reloaded. But over the years I shot way more 38spl's in my 357 revolvers.

 

[brucev]

I've routinely shot .38's loaded w/ 5.0 gr. of Unique and a 158-160 gr. lead SWC bullet in my .357 Mag. revolvers. When I wanted more power, I just ramped things up in line with the recommendations in the loading manuals I had at hand. Given how the .38 Special was loaded for the .38-44 chambered revolvers, I've never considered it an issue to load .38's on up to fairly stiff levels. For magnum level loads I use .357 brass. But at least 90% of my shooting is done with plain Jane .38 Specials.