38 Special Ammo Question

[Mafia Princess]

I have a .38 Special and ordered ammo online. I was sent .38 SPL Short....the casing is shorter than the regular .38 SPL....is this ok to use or did I order the wrong ammo?

[russ69]

deleted.

[russ69]

OK to use in a gun chambered in 38 special. The 38 special was a blackpowder round, the case is longer than it needs to be.

[jakuda]

think of it another way, you can shoot 38special in any 357mag revolver.

[CGT80]

I didn't even know 38 spl short existed. I have always loaded my own.

38 s&w can NOT be used in most 38/357 guns, due to it being slightly bigger in diameter, but you may have already known that.

I have talked to people who shortened their own 38 spl cases for competition use. The ammo drops into the revolver just a tad faster when it is shorter. Their loads were pretty light anyways.

[9mmepiphany]

I have talked to people who shortened their own 38 spl cases for competition use. The ammo drops into the revolver just a tad faster when it is shorter.

It isn't so much that the rounds drop faster, it is about the shorter cases having less wobble in the moon clips/speed loaders...so they align with the chambers faster

[Mafia Princess]

It isn't so much that the rounds drop faster, it is about the shorter cases having less wobble in the moon clips/speed loaders...so they align with the chambers faster

My biggest concern is damaging the gun or at the worst having a major disaster that could result in injury.

[Barnstormer]

I have a .38 Special and ordered ammo online. I was sent .38 SPL Short....the casing is shorter than the regular .38 SPL....is this ok to use or did I order the wrong ammo?

I've been shooting .38 special loads for years and haven't come across a short casing. I need to do a little research to wrap my head around this one. Thanks for the post.

[9mmepiphany]

I've been shooting .38 special loads for years and haven't come across a short casing. I need to do a little research to wrap my head around this one. Thanks for the post.

125gr lead bullet

[RunsWithGuns]

RE: Using 357 Rounds

Slightly "off topic" but FYI, I thought I'd mention I took my 38/357 revolver (Ruger SP101) to a four day class and when it would not accept 357 rounds after firing 38 special rounds for a while the instructors did not know to tell me the gun had to be CLEANED prior to loading the 357 rounds due to buildup in the gun. The build up was after firing about 150 rounds of 38 special in a new gun. The length of the 357 rounds were longer than the 38 rounds. Once cleaned (with a wire brush and a lot of effort) the 357 rounds dropped in fine.

[golfish]

Slightly "off topic" but FYI, I thought I'd mention I took my 38/357 revolver (Ruger SP101) to a four day class and when it would not accept 357 rounds after firing 38 special rounds for a while the instructors did not know to tell me the gun had to be CLEANED prior to loading the 357 rounds due to buildup in the gun. The build up was after firing about 150 rounds of 38 special in a new gun. The length of the 357 rounds were longer than the 38 rounds. Once cleaned (with a wire brush and a lot of effort) the 357 rounds dropped in fine.

I don't shoot 38 sp in my .357 lever gun because of this.

[Safety1st]

I don't shoot 38 sp in my .357 lever gun because of this.

Use decent ammo and clean after each range trip, and there should be no problem using both. .38 is a nice affordable option IMO.