Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

357 > 38 -- Why?

callktulu
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I guess I don't know enough about caliber and loads to make sense of what I've read. Can someone please break it down for me in the simplest of terms?

Why is a .357 considered more powerful (and presumeably better) than a .38? I always thoght bigger was better, and .38 is bigger than .357, no?

Help please.
0

Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • BigGun74
    The bullet diameter is actually the same. The .38 Special is in actual measurement .357. This is why .38 Special ammo fires out of .357 Magnums. I used to know why they called it a .38 but I can no longer remember the exact story other than the fact that it was part of a marketing campaign by the original manufacturer to sell it to police agencies who were using another type of .38 round. The .357 Magnum is the same diameter bullet in a longer casing, so it puts out more power hence it is a better stopper.
    0
  • David Nunn
    .38s were once actually .38 inch diameter. Like the old .38 Colt, an obsolete cartridge. Bullets were step-heeled, so the base would fit in the case, but the forward part was the same diameter as the case.

    FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
    0
  • ghotie_thumper
    You will certainly get better answers than this but here goes. The .357 and .38 "special"? are actually both using .357 diameter bullets when using jacketed rounds. The .357mag has a longer case and is loaded to higher pressures than a .38cal. The guns and cases designed for the .357 also are made for the higher pressures the .357 generates. Velocities from the 357 are much higher than a .38 due to larger case capacities and higher pressure generated. There are of course some other variations of the 38 that have been pumped up for competition shooters but I don't think that they have displaced the 357mag yet. Corbon made some pretty hot 38 loads for a while too but I don't know if you can still get them. You can shoot 38 special in a gun designed for 357 but a 357mag cartridge cannot be shot in a gun designed for 38 special.
    If you are buying, my humble opinion would be to buy a 357 then you can use either ammo, with the 38 ammo generally being cheaper for plinking.


    Common Sense is an Uncommon Virtue.
    0
  • callktulu
    OK, so far so good. It's never been explained to me like this, so now it makes more sense to me, thank you.

    For the record, I own a S&W .38 Special Airweight, and I have 128 grain (I think) loaded in it. I am waiting on a friend to get off his lazy butt and sell me his .357 686 w/6" barrel.

    http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/SW_Model_686.htm
    SW_Model_686.jpg
    *drools* He's giving me quite a deal, as the price also includes a bunch of ammo, including lots of .38 special.

    Now, next question along these same lines...I understand (now, thanks to your explanations) why a .357 will fire both .357 and .38 special. Will a non-special .38 caliber weapon fire .38 special?

    I guess here's what I'm asking: is a .380 the same as a .38 special? If I buy a Kel Tec .380 (also looking into this, as well), will my .38 special ammo fire through it?[?] I assume not since a .380 weapon is actually larger than the .38 special, right?
    0
  • forthhorseman
    Nunn is right on. The .38Long Colt cartridge was origianlly developed as a centerfire version of a .38 rimfire cartridge that used an outside lubricated bullet with a stepped heel. The actual diameter of the outside lubricated bullet was .375 inches. They just rounded it up and called it .38Long Colt. Some time around 1890 I believe, it was changed to an inside lubricated bullet which didn't need a stepped heel and the new bullet diameter was .357 to fit inside the case mouth. It was apparently felt that there was just no need at the time to change the nomenclature just because of the switch to inside lubricated bullets, so it remained the .38 Long Colt. Neither the .38Long Colt nor the less powerful .38S&W were seen as powerful enough by most people in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, so Smith & Wesson developed the .38S&W Special from the more popular .38Long Colt. It has exactly the same dimensions as the .38Long Colt except a slightly longer case to hold more powder. The .357Magnum was a later developement of the .38Special, to make an even more powerful cartridge. Its dimensions are identical to .38Special except the case is even longer to enable it to even hold even more powder. I'm not sure exactly why the .357Magnum is called .357 and not .38Magnum, since its just a lengthened .38Special except maybe since the .357Magnum is a 20th century developement, the originators of it felt it would be better to be more accurrate in it's designation. I've also heard that it was done so that people wouldn't try to use .357Magnums, in a .38Special gun but I find that somewhat dubious. IMHO all 3 cartridges should be called .36 since the bullet diameter is closer to .36 inches than .38. A gun designed for .357Magnum can chamber and fire all 3 cartridges and a gun desiged for .38Special can chamber and fire both .38Special and .38Long Colt. But a gun designed for .38Long Colt cannot safely chamber .38Special or .357Magnum and a gun desiged for .38Special cannot safely chamber and fire .357Magnum, even if the longer cartridge would fit in the chamber.
    0
  • forthhorseman
    quote:Originally posted by callktulu
    OK, so far so good. It's never been explained to me like this, so now it makes more sense to me, thank you.

    For the record, I own a S&W .38 Special Airweight, and I have 128 grain (I think) loaded in it. I am waiting on a friend to get off his lazy butt and sell me his .357 686 w/6" barrel.

    http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/SW_Model_686.htm
    SW_Model_686.jpg
    *drools* He's giving me quite a deal, as the price also includes a bunch of ammo, including lots of .38 special.

    Now, next question along these same lines...I understand (now, thanks to your explanations) why a .357 will fire both .357 and .38 special. Will a non-special .38 caliber weapon fire .38 special?

    I guess here's what I'm asking: is a .380 the same as a .38 special? If I buy a Kel Tec .380 (also looking into this, as well), will my .38 special ammo fire through it?[?] I assume not since a .380 weapon is actually larger than the .38 special, right?


    The .380ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless cartridge for an autoloading pistol. It is very short (almost less than half the length of a .38Special cartridge) and uses a rather small (usually around 90gr) .356 inch diameter bullet. The .38Special is a rimmed cartridge for use in revolvers and some lever action rifles. It will not fit in a .380ACP pistol.
    0
  • rsnyder55
    Then there is the .357 Maximum.....:-)

    NRA Life Member
    0
  • ern98
    If you expect that this is going to be more then just a passing thing with you, you might want to consider buying a reloading manual. Even if you never take up reloading the case dimension diagrams and relative velosities as well as the general write ups on each cartridge will go a long way to answering many question that you don't know you want to ask, yet. Even a used, recently upgraded and kinda obsolete edition would do. Check out the aution sites and gun shows and I bet you can pick one up cheap. One look at the case drawomgs of a 380 and a 357 would have told you alot. Structural integrity of the weapon, case compatability and bore are the three main factors that regulate what cartridges can be safely shot interchangably thru a given revolver. Some revolvers come with an extra cylinder so that they can shoot other cartridges. Ruger offered, and may still offer, a blackhawk .357 with a 9mm auto cylinder so that it could shoot .357, 38spl and 9mm auto.
    0
  • He Dog
    Another book that would be a helpful introduction to the very confused mess of cartridges and calibers is Cartridges of the World. You can pick it up from places like Amazon for $25 or so. There is information on the cartridges, including history, what is obsolete and what is not, along with sample velocities and so on.
    0
  • ickyp
    ...lots of very nice .357's on the market. Colts are fine! And for the money, Taurus makes a nice .357 as well! The model 66 is a darn fione weapon.

    ickyp
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity