357 vs 38

[Abenaki]

Victor Cachat

I just measured the spacer ring "washer" that came with my RCBS set.

It measures .128

Take care
Abenaki

[Enfield47]

Go with a .357 and you can shoot both .38 and .357 using the same bullet and powder. The dies are typically for both calibers so reloading is just a matter of adjusting your dies. I have a GP100 with a 4" barrel too, great gun and I shoot both calibers without any issues.

[357magnum]

Get a .357 revolver and load spl and mag loads in mag brass.
Been doing this for over 20 years now, very simple.

[orangeusa]

I end up loading and shooting 38 spl in 357 revolvers. For me, it's been difficult to find 357 brass.

And as mentioned, 38 is a really fun round. Especially for when introducing new shooters.
I can shoot 44RemMag if I want to stress my wrist and earplugs...

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[at_liberty]

I end up loading and shooting 38 spl in 357 revolvers. For me, it's been difficult to find 357 brass.

And as mentioned, 38 is a really fun round. Especially for when introducing new shooters.
I can shoot 44RemMag if I want to stress my wrist and earplugs...

357 brass

Or perhaps you meant at a price you like. Amazon has other hits on fired brass in 357.

[sargenv]

Maybe; you don't loose any of your brass with a revolver. 9mm gets flung and good luck finding it or the range has a rule that anything that hits the ground is theirs.

The 929 solves that issue.. 8 shot moon clipped 9mm revolver..

[Bumslie]

The 929 solves that issue.. 8 shot moon clipped 9mm revolver..

I'd rather own this

[Divernhunter]

I would buy a 357mag pistol and just download the 357 brass to 38sp levels. That is what I do for the 2 pistols I now have.

[4DMASTR]

Hope you'll don't mind a noob question but won't loading a .38 load in a .357 case cause issues with all that unused case volume?

[brettkeating]

Hope you'll don't mind a noob question but won't loading a .38 load in a .357 case cause issues with all that unused case volume?

From what I've experienced and read, which isn't a whole lot... generally, no. Both cartridges are rather cavernous for some of the powders anyway, and if you're worried about case volume, you'll want to use powders with low bulk density. But others with more experience might want to chime in here.

[thenodnarb]

Hope you'll don't mind a noob question but won't loading a .38 load in a .357 case cause issues with all that unused case volume?

lots of pistol powders are not position sensitive, so they can be low case volume and not cause a problem. My 38 special loads, I use WST with 3.8 grains of powder. I could probably triple charge it before powder came over the top of the case.
The 38 colt, long colt were designed with black powder, so they needed more case volume. The 38 special, IIRC, was more powerful with smokeless, but they made the case bigger so it wouldn't be shot in the older guns. Hence, lots of unneeded case volume.357 is the same story, but it actually uses its case volume.

[Lucky Scott]

I am another one that loves .38 revolvers and only load .38's for my .357 magnums. .357 magnum is fun to shoot every once in a while, but I prefer the .38 and only load that caliber.

[stevied]

Be careful with the powder as you can fit a ton of powder into those cases. You could probably triple load them and still fit a projectile in. Wad cutters are a fun round to load. 3.6 gr cfe pistol under 148gr wad cutter is very accurate.

[rsrocket1]

While using .357 cases exclusively (even with light loads) sounds tempting, you'll find that 38 Special cases are cheaper and much more plentiful. The only caveat is that when shooting 38 Special, you'll leave a crud ring/lead ring in your cylinder that will make chambering .357 cartridges difficult if not impossible. That ring cleans out easily at home, but if you are going to shoot both cartridges, shoot the .357 first, then shoot the 38 Special.

I like to shoot 38 loads in my .357 Service Six 95% of the time. I can load it mild to stout and only shoot .357 when I want to shoot a full house load.

[the86d]

go 9mm, its cheaper to reload.

124gr plated are currently costing me about $0.116/ea, and I could get them lower if I had bulk powder.