Henry Rifle Forums

Does anyone have a reliable .38 special load from a manufacturer that cycles in the .357/,38 special. It seems not many do

welcome indeed, delighted to have you join our forum .... our BBS 357Mag has proven to be an excellent rifle that is fun to fire .... we haven't found any factory 38 or 357 ammo that our Henry doesn't handle with ease .... the same has been true for our handloads .... be sure to take a look at this thread ===> http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 98#p185998 and add your Henry to our community's total ... also, take a look at our Forum News area at the requirements necessary to enter our current drawing .... you have plenty of time to qualify

I too have a Big Boy Brass in 357magnum that will cycle anything I feed it except 148 grain wadcutters.

Yep, my BB brass .357 handles .38 spl just fine, altho, I've only tried 158gr loads.

Bullet profile is important. Many factory 38’s use a 130 gr jacketed round nose that should cycle in your rifle just fine. I have tried these hand loads in mine and they do cycle but there is a noticeable “hitch” when doing so. But they do cycle and shoot.

If you hand load, load your rounds/bullets long, to 357 mag lengths. I do that with both 38 S&W and 44 spl loads in magnum cases. Do some research about it, but in 357 mag cases, I add .1-.2 gr of powder for the normal length 38 load, to compensate for the "extra" case volume.

I stopped firing .38 special loads in my Henry. I’ve heard that if you fire .38 special in a .357 you may get a ring in the chamber caused by the shorter length cartridge case. I use all .357 brass and load it lighter if I want .38 special performance.

Hmm. The ring in the chamber is real, but, only after firing a good amount of .38 spl rounds thru it. Just clean the bore as usual and you should be fine. I fire both thru my Henry often enough. A simple, regular cleaning and you're good.

Rifletom wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:37 pm

Hmm. The ring in the chamber is real, but, only after firing a good amount of .38 spl rounds thru it. Just clean the bore as usual and you should be fine. I fire both thru my Henry often enough. A simple, regular cleaning and you're good.

Totally agree. Same with my S&W 686 revolver. No biggie.

I've shot the 130 grain Winchester white box .38 special and various 158 grain loads and my .357 BigBoy has cycled all I put through it. I have even varied .357 and .38 in the same tube load just to see if it caused any issue. It fired all the same. I did see a slight point of aim difference with the light .38 loads.
Try a few different manufacturers to see what yours likes. I'd also stay with 158 grain if possible. Mine shoots (groups) well with those in .38 or .357.

The only feeding issues I've encountered was wadcutters. In all honesty when out range shooting that barrel stays cool as a cucumber shooting several rounds of 38 but have to keep an eye on it when shooting 357. Maybe hand loading lighter rounds would help but that welcomes the risk of a squibb load.

I live pretty far from a range so when I go its a long day of shooting and barrels get hot.

markiver54 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:58 pm

Rifletom wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:37 pm

Hmm. The ring in the chamber is real, but, only after firing a good amount of .38 spl rounds thru it. Just clean the bore as usual and you should be fine. I fire both thru my Henry often enough. A simple, regular cleaning and you're good.

Totally agree. Same with my S&W 686 revolver. No biggie.

Yep. I do the same in my .357 Blackhawk.

I just don't both load the 38's, why?
Only real differences besides the case length, is a couple grains of powder.
When I come across 38 cases, I send to friends that want need 'em.
Come on man, shooting 357 through a rifle is a joy and something you could literally do from daylight to dark.
Get up the next day and do it all over again. Well, that is if ya had the ammo.
And never a sore shoulder, the 7 yo grandson loves it.
He can't hold it up, but puts it on a rest and go at it.

RP

I have owned my 357 Mag brass Big Boy Classic for close to a year now and oddly enough I have not yet shot 38spl through it. I plan to the next time I go to the range.

SWFan27 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 09, 2023 8:34 pm

I have owned my 357 Mag brass Big Boy Classic for close to a year now and oddly enough I have not yet shot 38spl through it. I plan to the next time I go to the range.

Nor have I ever shot any 38's in my BBS 357 and do not ever anticipate doing so. Now, in my revolver, I have, and probably will again.