.38 brass with 357 load

mcbab

February 16, 2003 15:23

Is it safe to use 38 brass with a 357 load? It will be used in a 357 mag gun.

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  RancheroPaul

  February 16, 2003 16:02

  First of all, WHY would you want to do this? Second, the first question being asked, I want you to understand, I'm not trying to be nasty or anything, but what you are proposing "COULD be Dangerous!" Notice, I didn't say, "WOULD be Dangerous."
  
  The .357 mag came AFTER the .38 special. It was deliberately made .125 of an inch longer.....to keep it from "accidently" being put into a gun made for the .38 special.....too long---won't fit into the cylinder far enough to close the gun.....
  
  If you were to load a .38 special casing with a magnum primer, using an acceptable .357 magnum powder load, you would probably have a good "Hot Load" which would not be advisable to be used in a .38 special chambered gun......just possibly Blow Up the Cylinder on a gun not built to handle ".357 Magnum Loads!"
  
  You could shoot it in a .357 magnum without too much of a problem, but it could possibly suffer a little on accuracy because of the further distance the bullet would have to travel to reach the rifling, but not necessarily.
  
  If you just want to know if the brass is strong enough to do this.....yes it is! The cylinder reinforces the brass and keeps it from ballooning in shape, but if the metal is not up to these high pressures developed this way, the cylinder may fail and explode. Also, a .357 load might increase the pressures developed on firing because the space would now be less than the original .357 load was figured on......
  
  One sentence will pretty much sum this whole thing up. "Don't do it for Safety Sake!" Also, it doesn't seem to have any practical application except to slip into a .38 special revolver, cause problems or destroy the gun.......Not a Good Thing to do.....My Opinion! Save the .357 loads for the .357 cases and the .357 gun....!!!
  
  
  "Life is FRAGILE!" Handle With Care!

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  Jim Rau

  February 16, 2003 16:31

  You shouldn't do it for two reasons:
  1. The webbing (lower part of the case) for 357 is slightly heavier to handle the higher pressures.
  2. As stated above, it many happen that one of your 'mag 38' end up in a 38 sp gun and that could be VERY BAD.[V]
  
  Self defence is an ablsolute and natural right. Keep your powder dry! J. Rau, Alaska

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  hunter223

  February 16, 2003 16:44

  do not do this. Alls your doing is tearing up your gun. stick to the safes loads for the 38. Your gun will last longer.

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  woodsrunner

  February 16, 2003 18:12

  There is another factor that hasn't been mentioned yet. The smaller internal capacity of the 38 case would likely raise pressures even higher than what would be normal in a 357 case. The powder and bullet aren't the only things that will affect pressure. The ammount of air remaining inside the case after seating the bullet will be a factor.
  
  Woods

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  rusty1

  February 16, 2003 18:29

  MCBAB TAKE THE ADVICE IT IS AN ACCDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN.
  
  rusty1

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  Pearyw

  February 17, 2003 06:26

  Skeeter Skelton wrote about loading 38 Spl cases with 158 swc lead for years. You seat the bullet out to approximate the overall length of a 357 round so it won't work in a 38 spl. I have followed his advice and loaded these for years with good results. I load 13 gr of 2400. This is not as hot as a full powered 357 mag, but a lot hotter than a 38 spl. If it makes you nervous, don't do it. I have fired thousands of these over the years.

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  king999

  February 17, 2003 07:14

  Peary has it right. Some years ago I wrote to NRA about loading 357 loads in 38 cases with overall lengths same as 357. This allows for the same capacity in case (reduced capacity increases pressure)as would be for the 357 case. NRA hemmed and hawed, said that they could see nothing wrong with my idea , BUT would not recommend it for other (non-stated )reasons.
  As long as you would avoid putting these into a 38, I do not believe that you would gave a problem., I've done this in a S&W 19, and a Ruger BHK for many years without incident.
  Have fun, be careful!!
  Morty

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  Iconoclast

  February 17, 2003 12:22

  Why not just simply use the .357 brass and avoid the potential problems listed above? You don't *know* that you will not drop a round somewhere, so even if you don't try to use it in a .38, it could still happen. Very *probably* no one could fit a .38 with a bullet seated to .357 OAL in the wrong firearm. I'm just real conservative about such things and presume Mr. Murphy is still active. There *are* a lot of idiots and a lot of uninformed people in this world. They - or their families - know how to use the yellow pages to find a tort lawyer. So again, why do it? 1xF .357 brass can be had for peanuts.

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