Henry Rifle Forums

I did a search, but didn't find info I was looking for. I have a big boy steel .357 I got on a trade. I want to use it with .38 special loads most of the time. Is this an issue? Most .38 special ammo I have and find in the stores are around 125gr defense stuff and 130 FMJ target. Any one using the .357 Henry with .38s?

First, Greetings to the Forum from the Show-Me-State, txray!

I have a BBS .357 Carbine, but am not the fellow that has good answers to your questions. I simply consider my Big Boy as a .357 Magnum rifle only, have never shot any .38 specials through it, and don't plan to ever use that caliber.

But I know you'll hear from other BB owners on this. It is a good question.
Glad to have you join the Henry Forum.....enjoy.
PT7

txray357 wrote:I did a search, but didn't find info I was looking for. I have a big boy steel .357 I got on a trade. I want to use it with .38 special loads most of the time. Is this an issue? Most .38 special ammo I have and find in the stores are around 125gr defense stuff and 130 FMJ target. Any one using the .357 Henry with .38s?

Any one using the .357 Henry with .38s?

I do it occasionally just to see the difference in POI with certain loads.
The problem you may have (with factory ammo) will be finding .38 that will cycle consistently. You should try to stick with 158 grain bullets for the longer length. Some .357 rifles will not cycle .357 well - and you might have to try a few different brands. Avoid hollow points as a starter. You should be ok with those 130 gr FMJ loads.

welcome to our forum, happy to have you onboard .... hope you will read and post often .... because of the shorter length of their casing, we do not fire 38 special rounds through our Henry .... doing so can result in a build up ring from burnt powder .... that small ring can make it difficult to chamber a longer 357 round .... by design, cleaning the chamber in a Henry can be more difficult than a bolt action .... if you load your own ammo and want to produce 38 special loads, doing so using longer 357 casings is fine .... please take a look at our How Many ? thread (link below) and add your Henry to our community's total


http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 115#p68115

It sounds like the Big Boy is picky about which ammo it will feed and eject. This is not good news. During and after the ammo shortage years back, I stocked up on .38 special and some .357. You have to take what you can find at the stores around here. I got a fair deal on my trade, so I won't loose if I sell/trade the Henry off. I wanted a handgun/carbine combo, but it may not work out for me.

It sounds like the Big Boy is picky about which ammo it will feed and eject.

Sometimes they can be - especially if new and not 'run in ' or if excessively dirty. And then some .357 rifles run them like butter.
This is not just with Henry rifles but any .357 Mag rifle. Heck I had a Winchester Trapper that ran .38s BETTER than .357 so go figure.
Clean your rifle and give it a try with the ammo you have on hand - unless you have already done so. The chamber ring buildup is a real issue but not as big of a problem as you may hear about but keeping the chamber clean is easy with a flexible chamber brush.

I have not found my BBS to be picky about ammo. It will run any .357 magnum smoothly. It has run any 158 grain .38s just fine after I broke in the rifle. Henry says not to run anything under 158 grain in .38. I reload and rarely load .38 for my BBS. As mentioned before, running a lot of .38s will result in a crud ring in the chamber that can be difficult to clean and can result in .357 not chambering, or sticking on extraction.

Not my area of expertise, so I'll just welcome you to the forum from the TV Oregon.

I believe the owner's manual is very specific about using a minimum of 158 gr when shooting 38 Specials. Have never done it, but may run a few this weekend, just to see how it goes.

I’d say about 90% of the time I shoot 38spl out of my rifle. From 125gr 130gr and 158gr. No cycling issues at all. Never had issues with carbon rings either as I clean thouroughly after use, so when I do shoot 357 I don’t have any issues there either.

I have a Henry BBB .357 Magnum that cycles and shoots .38 spl, .38spl +P, and .357 magnum equally as well. It has not been picky at all. On the other hand I have a Winchester Miroku 1873 in .357 Mag that is pickier. It also cycles the above mentioned ammo but has a “sweet spot” between 1.50” to 1.59” COL. I don’t know if I just got lucky with the Henry or if the majority are like this. The Remington .38 spl 130gr I’ve shot averages 1.53” COL and shoots well in both rifles. I also have some HSM .38 spl (1.47” to 1.48”) that cyles well in the Henry; untested in the Winchester. I follow the same advice of the other posters about cleaning the chamber.
I first tested my rifles with .38 spl Azoom snap caps (1.40” OAL) and the .357 Mag Azoom. Unbelievably the Henry cycles the very short .38 spl but the ‘73 is a definite no go. Best of Luck in whatever ammo you choose.

txray357 wrote:It sounds like the Big Boy is picky about which ammo it will feed and eject. This is not good news. During and after the ammo shortage years back, I stocked up on .38 special and some .357. You have to take what you can find at the stores around here. I got a fair deal on my trade, so I won't loose if I sell/trade the Henry off. I wanted a handgun/carbine combo, but it may not work out for me.

Welcome to the forum from CT. I mostly shoot .357s in mine, but whenever I've used them, I've never had a problem with .38s. Let us know how you make out with yours. It will very likely be OK.

I just got done running thru 50 rounds of .38's in my .357. with no problems. I usually shoot .38's because of cost. I have been running some cheap reloads from Fox River Ammo ( a local company) and have a few FTF but no cycling problems. I do run a metal brush a couple of times in the bore while I am cleaning. My gun seems to eat anything I feed it.

I have .38+p's loaded up in .38 cases. These work very well in my Ruger Blackhawk, but, my main concern in the my Classic would be they are 158 LSWC's with an OAL of 1.455". This apparently is an issue. If these do not cycle reliably, I'll simply[and probably will], use .357 cases. Learning as I go here.

I have .38+p's loaded up in .38 cases.

Since you reload there is really no reason to mess with .38 Special brass - just use .357 brass and never worry about cycling or OAL issues.

I shoot 38's in my revolvers Henrys Marlins and Uberti 357. Never have had any issues at all. They all cycle them well and shoot just fine. I use a Berrys 158 grain round nose in all of my 357 caliber guns. I do make sure I clean the cylinders well and I will carry some 357 rounds also to the range to shoot in the guns after shooting a bunch of 38"s.

Joining this site [just this week] is going to cost me $$$. I pick up my BB Classic Sat[.357], and I'm ALREADY looking at BB Steel in .45! I best finish the patio to make things right. Don't want the stink eye.

Rifletom wrote:Joining this site [just this week] is going to cost me $$$. I pick up my BB Classic Sat[.357], and I'm ALREADY looking at BB Steel in .45! I best finish the patio to make things right. Don't want the stink eye.

Yup thats happened more than once to some of us. Matter of fact theres a few of us that are down right Henryholics

I used .38 Specials in my rifle. Never shot hot loads in .38 - just light cast 125s. The only issue I ever has was cleaning - I don't like lead in the bore and was fussy about making sure I cleaned it all out.

Most of the time I loaded 125gr jacketed bullets in .357 cases at .38 Special speed. Accurate and easy to make.

M

I’ve run .38 through my friends Rossi .357 with no issues. They are “supposed” to work but as others have said, every rifle is different. I’d just give it a try and see if yours likes .38 cal.