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

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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.