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Switchable Ammo?

HAIRY
My friend is getting into cowboy action and told me that the .38 Long Colt, the .38 Special and the .357 Mag can be fired in any rifle or revolver that is chambered as .38/.357.

True?
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • mark christian
    I know that the .38 Long Colt can be used in revolvers chambered for .38/.357, but I don't know if it will feed correctly through a lever action rifle.
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  • perry shooter
    YES you can shoot the shorter cartridges in the longer chambers NOT the other way around from shortest to longest 38 short colt, 38long colt, 38 special, 357mag, 357maximun . Be sure you clean the cylinder after shooting short cartridges or you may have trouble getting the long cartridges to slide all the way in a dirty cylinder. Cheers Perry Shooter
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  • HAIRY
    Thankee, guys. I'll pass on the info (am sure that with the additional cleaning, he'll drop the .38LC from consideration).
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by HAIRY
    My friend is getting into cowboy action and told me that the .38 Long Colt, the .38 Special and the .357 Mag can be fired in any rifle or revolver that is chambered as .38/.357.

    True?


    Well, you can fire the shorter rounds in guns chambered for the longer ones (eg .38 Colt in .38 Special or. 357, .38 special in .357, etc).

    But lever action rifles, in particular, tend to be sensitive about overall round length, and many of them won't cycle rounds that are too long or short. I think you'd probably have problems if you tried to cycle .38 long colt through most leverguns.

    Along those lines, even though you "can" shoot .38 Long colt rounds through your revolver, I'm not sure there is any real-world advantage do doing so. The brass is scarcer, the guns originally chambered in that round are old and not really suitable for competition use, and as mentioned, it can require more vigorous cleaning of your gun later.

    If you want light loads (and that's pretty much the only reason you'd even consider something like a .38 long colt nowadays) you can just reload with the fluffy "trail boss" powder that is specifically designed for low velocity loads in high volume cases.

    As a result, lots of cowboy type shooters just use .357 CASES for everything.
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  • rsnyder55
    After which you hear the manly sounds of:

    Poof tink, poof tink, poof tink,,,,,,,
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  • gunnut505
    You forgot that 38Super can also be fired in a revolver chambered for .357 Mag.
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  • ruger41
    Unless your friend reloads, shooting .38 Long Colt will get expensive as a box of 50 runs between $27 to $40 depending on the brand. He can also shoot .38 Short Colt in the handgun but again it isn't very cheap. Midway carries both calibers but some of it is available, some is on backorder and some is seasonal run only.
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  • dfogleky
    I shot cowboy with 38 spl. in a 94 Trails End. It did not like the 38 spl. The 357s were fine, but the 38s would hang up and actually drop down inside the action after the ramp pulled it up. Then it was a 10 minute task to remove the shell and it held up everyone else. I had shot several hundred rounds through it at the house with no problems. It just decided to do it at the match. Switched to 357s and no more problems. No problems with the marlins though. Have had several of them and never a jam.
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  • Colt Super
    quote:Originally posted by gunnut505
    You forgot that 38Super can also be fired in a revolver chambered for .357 Mag.


    TRUE ??

    What else will .38 Supers chambe and feed in ??

    Thank you.

    Doug
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