"Information found online can be hard to verify." - Pontious Pilate
Shooting specials in a magnum. Anyone actually have a problem?
- Thread starter Dave Lively
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"Information found online can be hard to verify." - Pontious Pilate
cowboy4evr
Member
The " only " time I ever witnessed a real crud ring . I knew a lady that worked at a gun shop I frequented in Az . She had bought a Colt Trooper and it , apparently had only seen 38's and yrs of use w/o being cleaned . The crud ring was so hard and large she had to give it to a gunsmith to get it cleaned . He soaked it in Marvel Mystery Oil for several days and then used a bronze bore brush to get it clean . Regards Paul
Hum ... I remember shooting piles and piles of .38 Specials in K and N frame S&W .357 Magnum revolvers. It just simply was not big deal to clean the cylinder after a shooting session. I have over the last 40 years fired an absolutely untold number of .38 Special rounds ... factory and lot and lots of handholds, using jacketed and cast lead bullets. I cannot think of a time when I have ever had an issue with a pressure spike, much less difficulty chambering or extracting cases. But, I've always routinely cleaned my revolvers after a significant range session. If I only fire maybe 50-100 rounds and anticipate doing some more shooting later in the week, I may skip cleaning. But, if shooting will be delayed until the next week, then I clean the revolver. I do the same thing with my semi-auto pistols. Sincerely. bruce.
Load 38 special rated loads in 357 mag brass. Also provides less bullet jump to forcing cone.
Agreed. I had my day shooting plutonium loaded magnum loads in many calibers. I now simply load down mag brass.
.357: 5gr Unique behind Keith style 158gr lead bullet.
.44: 7-8gr Unique behind Keith style 250gr lead bullet.
.454: 10gr Unique behind Keith style 265gr lead bullet. (as a comparison, back in the day, I got a load from Dick Casull that gave me 2000fps with the FA 260gr jacketed bullet).
All are pleasant, accurate and allow me to enjoy these fine pistols at this point in my life.
OP
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If I still reloaded that is what I would do.
As is I shoot a quite a bit of cowboy style 44 I get from Georgia Arms which is loaded in 44 magnum brass. Shoots fine and is very mild. But I recently started shooting more of Magtech's 240 FMJ 44 Special that is also mild, shoots well, costs about the same and since it has a jacketed bullet isn't as smoky.
Georgia Arms also has a mild by 44 Magnum (240 grain FMJ @1000 fps) offering that is a great match for my S&W 69 and is of course loaded in magnum cases.
Overall about 75% of the ammo I use is loaded in magnum cases.
I have made sure I don't tell folks "this thing is indestructable" or "this is true stainless steel", or "this is idiot proof", because they go and do their damndest to prove you wrong, and often do.
When people get stainless instead of carbon steel "cuz it doesn't have to be cleaned" you almost want to smack em a little.
scattershot
Member
No problems here, but I clean my guns after I shoot them. I think the guys who are having problems are those who look down the bore once in awhile to make sure the hole still goes all the way through. Clean your guns, and you won't have a problem.
THE PILGRIM
Member
Never shot that much 44 Special in 44 Mags.
But have shot a bunch of 38 Special in my 357s.
Don't recall it being any problem.
But I tend to clean my guns after I shoot.
But have shot a bunch of 38 Special in my 357s.
Don't recall it being any problem.
But I tend to clean my guns after I shoot.
I ALWAYS.....
I ALWAYS brush my cylinders before shooting magnums after specials. If the crud ring keeps rounds from chambering cleanly it spoils the party. In fact I always try to shoot specials first, then magnums,then clean my gun.
I DEFINITELY don't like loading the revolver and find on closing the gun that the cylinder won't rotate smoothly. That puts wear on my precious trigger mechanism that's much higher than it should be.
I ALWAYS brush my cylinders before shooting magnums after specials. If the crud ring keeps rounds from chambering cleanly it spoils the party. In fact I always try to shoot specials first, then magnums,then clean my gun.
I DEFINITELY don't like loading the revolver and find on closing the gun that the cylinder won't rotate smoothly. That puts wear on my precious trigger mechanism that's much higher than it should be.
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I've seriously shot revolver (66, 67, 686) in IDPA off and on for many years. Even in the 67 there would be crud buildup in the cylinder. For those SS guns the use of a dry Brownells revolver cleaning specific SS brush does the trick. For a blue gun use bronze brushes only.
If your forcing cone gets nasty, and it will with soft lead, a Lewis Lead Remover kit for the caliber will take care of it.
The amount of crud can be reduced by powder selection. Cooler burning ones work better with backside exposed lead bullets.
If your forcing cone gets nasty, and it will with soft lead, a Lewis Lead Remover kit for the caliber will take care of it.
The amount of crud can be reduced by powder selection. Cooler burning ones work better with backside exposed lead bullets.
nbedford
Member
My Rossi R92 lever action will not reliably chamber 44 Specials, and it weighs just 5 pounds; so I have worked up a comparable 44 Magnum load - .431" 240 grain Oregon Trail laser cast bullets sitting on 7 grains of Unique. Chronographs out at 1150 fps. Accurate and pleasant to shoot.
Oracle
US Veteran
Gun Broker had a very nice 686 4", beautiful and a very reasonable price. The only problem was the humongous carbon, lead, copper rings in each cylinder. I have never seen that much crud in my 50+ years of shooting however it could be easily cleaned. I was going to buy it and clean it up but someone else sucked it up almost immediately. I will search again when and if the gun drought ends.
The ease of cleaning depends on the ammo. I had some Remington jacketed .38 special ammo that I fired in my 686, then tried to shoot .357. The .357 wouldn't chamber. When I tried to clean the cylinder when I got home, I discovered Hoppes #9 and a brass brush wouldn't touch it. Whatever Remington was using for powder set up like concrete.
After that experience, I use .357 brass for my low power .38 loads.
After that experience, I use .357 brass for my low power .38 loads.
kbm6893
Member
Me too. I fired 12 rounds the other day and then it started to rain. Cleaned the gun as if I fired hundreds. Never an issue for me shooting .38 in .357 guns. Pretty much all I shoot in them, actually. I chuck a .45 cal brush into a drill and 5 seconds in each cylinder hole and they're spotless.
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