38 special in a 357

[montereydave]

I always thought I had the option of shooting the 38 special in my 357 but a friend told me that it damages the gun. Is this true?

[voodooridr]

Hope not, I've been doing it for years

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[billped]

It does not damage the gun.

However, you can get "rings" in the chamber, completely removable, that make loading .357 challenging. Clean the gun after shooting .38 special and you're GTG!

[Garv]

Fake news or my 686 and Rossi levergun would have been destroyed long ago.

[RandyD]

Your friend passed misinformation to you, unless he meant that you cannot fire a .357 Magnum in a 38 Special revolver. The practice of shooting 38 Special ammo in a .357 Magnum revolver has been done for decades. The 38 Special round is .135 inch shorter than a .357 Magnum round. They fire the same diameter bullet. The 38 Special round has less chamber pressure than the .357 Magnum.

There is only one slight concern about firing a 38 Special round in a 357 Magnum revolver, and that was covered in post #3 above.

[edgerly779]

Utter nonsense from someones hairdressers daughters buddy. Post #3 is the only issue I have had.

[Charlie50]

Using the shorter .38 does often create a ring of crud in the cylinders that must be cleaned regularly or the longer .357 cases may stick upon extraction. Very bad hygiene could result sticking upon insertion In the bad old days of corrosive primer and powder there might be some truth to damage due to the "ring of crud" turning to a ring of corrosion. In general I say BS like others been doing if for years and still don't have problems with insertion or extraction... and I am in my 60s

[Canucky]

If you reload use 357 cases to 38 specs?

[pennstater]

Posts #3 & 8 are your answers. You'll be fine.

[Fastattack]

Respectfully, if you don't have your owner's manual, download it. Read it.

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[jimmykan]

It does not damage the gun.

However, you can get "rings" in the chamber, completely removable, that make loading .357 challenging. Clean the gun after shooting .38 special and you're GTG!

Fake news or my 686 and Rossi levergun would have been destroyed long ago.

Using the shorter .38 does often create a ring of crud in the cylinders that must be cleaned regularly or the longer .357 cases may stick upon extraction. Very bad hygiene could result sticking upon insertion In the bad old days of corrosive primer and powder there might be some truth to damage due to the "ring of crud" turning to a ring of corrosion. In general I say BS like others been doing if for years and still don't have problems with insertion or extraction... and I am in my 60s

What is everyone's preferred way to clean the "crud ring" from chambers when it gets really severe, especially for lever action rifles, where you can't insert a rod from the breech end without disassembling the rifle?

I usually clean such guns with a bore snake, but it doesn't remove hardened crud rings effectively.

[Calif Hunter]

Like I use for my .22 rimfire benchrest rifles - I use a long brush bent to a 90 degree angle so that it leaves a bit of a handle. I use that to scrub the chamber. I soak the chamber with a solvent like Hoppes with a patch and let it soak for a while. Than scrub with the bent brush. It is a short chamber and you should be able to access the chamber with the lever open.

For revolvers, I just use solvent and a brush on the cleaning rod.

[Charlie50]

What is everyone's preferred way to clean the "crud ring" from chambers when it gets really severe, especially for lever action rifles, where you can't insert a rod from the breech end without disassembling the rifle?

I usually clean such guns with a bore snake, but it doesn't remove hardened crud rings effectively.

I use a brass bristle brush, made for caliber, on longish brass rod and scrub carefully at chamber using appropriate gun cleaning solvents. I have even attached my drill to my cleaning rod and very carefully ran drill, slowly... must be all brass brush, no metal core or you seriously FU your firearm. YMMV... CYA I am a professional, do not try this at home, failure to follow all firearms safety rules and your firearm instruction may result in damage or death

[RickD427]

If you reload use 357 cases to 38 specs?

Be careful with this one. Some Interior Ballisticians describe the concept of "Flashover" that can occur in cases that have a low powder to volume ratio (and some reloaders call "hogwash" on the theory).

In a "Flashover", the primer ignites and the flash travels along the empty space in the cartridge and ignites a greater surface area of powder that was intended by the load developer. This produces a faster burn rate and a resulting higher chamber pressure.

[five.five-six]

I always thought I had the option of shooting the 38 special in my 357 but a friend told me that it damages the gun. Is this true?