Shooting .357 mag carbine.
I have a mint .357 magnum carbine that a dear relative passed to me.He always took that extra step to pamper his guns, that must be the only good quality I inherited,for I always baby my guns. I really enjoy shooting the little Marlin, and its a good shooter.But its expensive to shoot, and I cant seem to get but a couple of reloads per casing as they began to split at the tips. Everyone that reloads the .357 mag tells me they take the same precautions. I would like to know if I can shoot .38s in my lever action the few people I thought would know said to try and see. I want to avoid a nasty jam that could damage the action. I once saw a 30-30 that a guy tried to shoot a spitzer in and it jammed, and he ruined the action of that gun for good, as he pried over and over to get the bullet out. Thanks in advance guys for the information.
Rugster
Rugster
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Lever action guns are notorious for being picky about overall length. Many lever-action rifles chambered for .357 Mag are advertised as being able to shoot .38 Special as well. This is not always the case due to differences in overall length between .357 mag and .38 sp. What kind of rifle do you have? What is the date of manufacture? You may be having problems with your reloads for various reasons but I would break out the calipers and pay very close attention to overall length. Your specific gun may work best with cartriges that have a very specific overall length. How does it work with factory ammo? Is there a specific type of factory ammo that functions in it flawlessly? If so, buy a few boxes of that ammo. Test it in your gun. If your gun functions flawlessly with it then break out the calipers and measure the overall length of the cartriges in that specific box of ammo. If you still have problems then you know that it is not an OAL issue. Please list more info about the specific rifle to which you are referring.
In retrospect, OAL may not have anything to do with your cases splitting at the head. All lever-action .357 magnum rifles have bolts which lock at the rear. This allows the bolt to spring slightly during firing which stretches the case. Are you using a maximum load? If so, only new or once-fired cases should be used because of this. See page 358 or Speer Reloading Manual #13
SSG idsman75, U.S. ARMY
Edited by - idsman75 on 05/15/2002 13:36:240 -
Thank you very much Idsman75 you answered my question entirely. My gus is a Marlin 1894cs made in 1985. Thats what makes this the best chat site on firearms they are. Again thank you, Good Shooting!!!!
Rugster0 -
Another thing that you can do if you want to fire lighter loads (if you reload your own cases ) is to reload your .357 magnum cases with lighter target loads . Check your reloading manual and depending on the powder you are using ,the powder amount used in a 357 case is only marginally more (between .1 and 1.0 grain)than that used in a 38 special case. Overall length is now the same but with lighter target loads .If cases are still splitting with the lighter loads ,the problem is with the gun.
24 HOURS IN A DAY ,24 CANS OF :BEER: IN A CASE !!COINCIDENCE??0 -
the reason that most 357 cases split is that they are over belled when reloading you want to just bell the case enough to set the bullet on the case so it will just start in the case 0 -
The Marlin 357 lever action claims to be able to shoot 38 specials, but is notorious for NOT handleing them properly. The only 357 Lever action that I have ever run across that has no problems with the 38 specials is the Rossi Puma. The 357 is my favorite caliber and I shoot 38's in most of the ones I have. I got rid of a Marlin 357 Lever because I could not get the one I had to handle 38's at all.
On case splitting, The two most probably causes, for reloads, is too much belling and heavy loads. If you reload and use the rifle specs, they seem to do a pretty consistent job of splitting, ruined a few hundred cases learning that. Using handgun target loads and I have never had a split in my lever action.
The second admendment GUARANTEES the other nine and the Constitution!0 -
I have an 1894C and I shoot both 38's and 357's. The (my) gun does not like lead bullets. Shoots really good with jacketed or at least semi jacketed bullets. Dead on out to 75yds. 0
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