357 vs 38 shell casings

[JEBar]

question for those who reload their ammo .... I have seen comments that in some cases 357's seem to chamber smoother than 38's in a Henry .... would it be wise to only reload 357 cases .... the 357 cases should be able to handle any charge that would be loaded in 38 cases, so why not just use them

[clovishound]

I use .357 almost exclusively for my BB. Two reasons. One is I don't have to worry about a crud ring in the chamber at the end of the .38 case. The chambers are harder to clean than on a revolver. If the crud ring gets too bad you can have trouble chambering or extracting a .357. The other reason is that I like the extra punch of a .357 in my rifle. A .38 target load feels like a .22lr. It's just plain more fun to shoot in .357.

I probably wouldn't go below listed .357 start loads, but that's just me.

[JEBar]

a "crud ring" building up in a rifle chamber concerned me as well .... I've seen shot guns with 3" chambers end up with extraction problems after firing a large number of 2 3/4" shells ....

[CT_Shooter]

I use .357 almost exclusively for my BB. Two reasons. One is I don't have to worry about a crud ring in the chamber at the end of the .38 case. The chambers are harder to clean than on a revolver. If the crud ring gets too bad you can have trouble chambering or extracting a .357. The other reason is that I like the extra punch of a .357 in my rifle. A .38 target load feels like a .22lr. It's just plain more fun to shoot in .357.

I probably wouldn't go below listed .357 start loads, but that's just me.

I'm in full agreement, CH. I haven't used .38s in my Big Boy since giving them a try when it was new. Once I established that it would feed and fire .38s if necessary, I never used them again. I've never used them in my Uberti SmokeWagon revolver and won't.

I, too, like firing the .357s for the punch they have, though I also assemble my handloads at just above start levels; so they have a very a mild "punch".

[clovishound]

Out of curiosity, what are you loading? I'm still trying to find the right combo for my BB steel.

[CT_Shooter]

Out of curiosity, what are you loading? I'm still trying to find the right combo for my BB steel.

I started with Hornady XTPs, but they are too expensive to just punch paper, so I tried and liked ZERO bullets, sold by their in house Distributor Roze Distribution (http://www.rozedist.com). Sadly, they're having a mfg problem with 158 gr jacketed bullets, otherwise I would still be using them today. As it is, I have an open backorder from last July for 2000 that has yet to be filled. In the meantime, I bought 2000 125 gr. JSPs and 1000 130 gr. FMJs. I just started using the FMJs, but I've already gone through one box of 500 125s and I'm working on the next box.

I have several pounds each of H110, Universal, and HP38 powder on the shelf.

All of my handloads use WSPM primers and are just above starting loads for pistols. I use Universal for the 125s because H110 would require more than a full case of powder and I'm not that brave. I couldn't find any reliable data for the 130 gr. FMJs, so I did some calculations based on data for 125 and 140 gr. bullets and I'm confident in the load I selected.

I don't vary and don't do any experimenting. That's a whole level beyond my skill set. I just want to maintain consistency from batch to batch and I don't want to beat up my guns.

This is what I'm loading now.

158 JSPs; H110
125 JSPs; Universal
130 FMJs; HP38/Win231

I never allow anyone but my brother to use any of my handloads. He loves me and for some reason trusts me, too. I'm a careful reloader, but once I got distracted and failed to put any powder in a case. The squib got as far as the forcing cone of my BBB and wouldn't allow another round to be chambered. I was lucky. And, I'm oh so much more careful now. Since then, I look in each and every case after dropping the powder and before topping it with a bullet, as if to dare it to be empty! No exceptions.

What are you loading?

[clovishound]

What are you loading?

I started out with 158 grain xtreme truncated cone. They are fairly accurate in .357. I've been trying a couple brands of coated 158 grain round nose flat points. Had some leading issues and I may just standardize on the Xtreme 158 grain hollow points. These are triple plated and good to 1500 fps. They are a little more expensive than the single plated and coated bullets, but not by much. I find them to be very accurate over IMR 4227. I just tried a small handful of them over some Universal. The first Universal I have seen in years. These few seemed to be nearly as accurate as the 4227 loads. The Universal is much more economical. LGS had some 4 lb jugs. I can get it cheaper by the 1 lb bottle at another store, if they don't run out before I get back by.

I don't run FMJs because of the cost. I don't run the lighter bullets because I have not gotten good accuracy from them. I may have given up before finding the right combo, but my Model 10 was designed for the POI with 158 grain bullets, so I just stuck with them.

[Capt steve]

I have a load of .38 special cases since my Brother in law was a range officer for a local PD. Having said that, I have chosen to load only .357 mag cases . I can load them at the bottom end of energy or the top. I like the idea that they slide easily through the action and don't leave a ring in the chamber. Besides, they are cool looking reloads ! I have a Ruger .357 mag revolver that I have shot a load of .38 specials in but after I clean out the ring, I will shoot only .357 cases. just my opinion.

[BigAl52]

My 357 likes the xtreme 158rnfp with about 5.8 grs or 231. I dont often shoot full power 357 loads I just dont see the need to do that to plink with. I do have some loaded up with 2400 that shoot great if I need them but the extra cost to shoot those all the time isnt needed. Al

[ditto1958]

It seems to be a common thing with pistol cartridge carbines that specials don't cycle as well as magnums. Many handloaders avoid this by only loading magnums. If you don't want to make barnburners, you can load moderate 38 special style loads in 357 cases.

[DWD445]

I had gotten some Starline 45ACP brass, and just got to it tonight. All was .893 +- .001 . All 200 expanded and good to go !!

[DWD445]

Got sidetracked on the last one, it should've been on the new brass thread
But I did get some 357 Mags ready also.
I feel ESP. if you reload, 357 Mag is more versatile than 38s and don't cost any more to load, so why not ??

[BigAl52]

Guess I must be one of the lucky ones. My Big Boy likes both and I shoot 38's in the Big Boy. Im not to worried about the crude ring as if you clean the chamber properly Ive not ever had and issue. I know you can load 38 special loads in 357 brass but I have both and use both. I also have a 38 special pistol that I like to shoot. Al

[clovishound]

I think the issue is mainly when you shoot .38 exclusively for a while and then switch to .357 without adequate cleaning. I doubt one would have much trouble, if you shoot a mix of both. I don't really worry about it, it's just another reason to use .357s.