What’s occurring?

[nagantino]

I needed to visit the range today to check ignition after changing the springs on my revolver. I grabbed a box of mixed rounds that had both Federal and Magtec primers. They were a mix of .357 magnum and .38 Special.
Except all of the .357 don't fit. The plunk in lovely but none fit fully into the chamber. The chamber is polished and clean of course. They all sit out by about 5 mm. The .38's all fired off with no problem. I hope the photo posts ok because you can clearly see the ".357 Target Champion " electo-engraved on it, and also on the barrel. I believe the gun was imported into Germany before getting to me, used of course. What could be the reason?

 

[Protocall_Design]

It sounds like the chambers are only long enough for 38 Special. You might need a 357 chamber reamer.

 

[nagantino]

But the gun is engraved as .357 both on the barrel and the frame. Should I need a chamber reamer?

 

[Protocall_Design]

We can't tell for sure what's going on from here. Without the gun on the bench, all we can do is guess. Maybe a picture of the chambers would help?

 

[4thAlabama]

Have you tried factory 357 ammo?

 

[SmithNut]

The chambers might be clean....

But - are they really clean ??

Is it possible that in it's former life it shot nothing but 38 Special ammo?

If so, it's possible that there is a build up of "crud" between where the 38 special case ends and the area where a 357 mag would fill out the chamber (about 1/10" of space)...

Might need to really use some elbow grease to get it really clean....

Just an idea....

 

[Cloewen]

Projectiles are not seated deep enough into the brass.
I would empty one to see how much powder is in it too.

 

[Lowa]

You didn't size your cases properly. They are bulged toward the base.

When you size the case it push down while it squeezes in. You need to size ALL the way down to squeeze the entire length of brass to size.

Did you set your dies up for 38 and then reload 357 cases without adjusting them?

 

[Pine_Worker]

So many possibilities to check.

 

[Paul105]

picture of 357 ammo would help.

good looking gun!

 

[glockwhiskey]

I second try factory 357 mag ammo. That gun is too clean to have built up cylinder internals.

More detailed pics would help a ton.

 

[Jeppo]

What happens if you drop an empty 357 case into the cylinder?