[stever]

Hey All,

I just purchased a used GP100 357 4" and I'm pretty excited to get it out to the range. I've been told that one of the best things about a 357 is that it can shoot cheaper 38s as well, and I find myself confused what should and should not go in this gun. Besides 357 Magnum can I/should I shoot:
.38 Short Colt
.38 Long colt
.38 S&W
.38 S&W Special
.38 Special +P
.38 Special +P+
.380 ACP
9x19mm Parabellum
9x18mm Makarov
.38 Super
.357 SIG
(list courtesy of wikipedia.com)

 

[ExArmy11b]

You can shoot these with no problem:


.38 S&W Special
.38 Special +P
.38 Special +P+
.357 Magnum

.38 S&W Special is the official name of good old .38 Special. DO NOT confuse it with .38 S&W. .38 S&W will not fit in the chambers of your .357 GP100.

If you REALLY wanted to you can shoot these:

.38 Short Colt
.38 Long colt

But there is no advantage to doing so........these rounds, if you can find the few types that are still offered as factory ammo, are expensive and you might as well shoot .38 Special. .38 Long Colt is the round that .38 Special evolved from and is less powerful. .38 Short was made for small pocket revolvers and is totally obsolete and has been for almost 100 years.

It shouldn't be a concern, but you also cannot shoot .357 Maximum in your GP100. Factory ammo is rare and those rounds won't even fit in the GP100.

The others on your list will not work in your GP100.........357 Sig is an auto pistol round,and so is .38 Super. All of the 9mm rounds will not work, and neither will .380.

Not to complicate things, but you can have the chambers of your GP100 altered by a good pistolsmith to shoot 9mm Parabellum and .38 Super loaded in moonclips.

 

[mnh2obuff]

I only shoot reloads now, anywhere from .38 wadcuters to full .357 loads and it handles them all.

 

[Dawgface]

I have the same GP and shooting 38 spls are like shooting a 22lr revolver. 38 spl +P make it more fun to shot, a little more BANG! .357 mag will have everyone at the indoor range(if that's where you shoot), wandering what kind of *cannon* you are shooting!

I reload and have made up some fun/pleasant rounds to shoot.

You'll love shooting your GP!

 

[ExArmy11b]

The GP100 is designed to take all the .357 you care to feed it.

 

[stever]

Thanks a ton for the detailed replies.

I recently inherited my grandfather's 95 year old S&W .38 CTG with a box of S&W .38 rounds. I thought I could shoot them from my GP100, so I'm glad I asked (they seemed a little snug).

For now I'm all factory rounds. I had heard good things about Federal Eagle so I bought a couple hundred rounds with which to startle folks at the range.

 

[rdp357]

I have the same GP and shooting 38 spls are like shooting a 22lr revolver. 38 spl +P make it more fun to shot, a little more BANG! .357 mag will have everyone at the indoor range(if that's where you shoot), wandering what kind of *cannon* you are shooting!

I reload and have made up some fun/pleasant rounds to shoot.

You'll love shooting your GP!

I was at the range today shooting my Sp101 357 3" and my friends GP100 6" barrel, every time we would fire on a 357 cartridge (we would mix them up in the cylinder) people would jump... just love that sound. This was the first time I've ever shot a GP100 6" and it was outstanding, got more bullseyes with it then I did with my Sp101. Now I have to go out and find a GP100 4", I can carry it in the winter... if it's not one gun to buy...it's another.

 

[Salmoneye]

FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY...USE THIS INFO AT YOUR OWN RISK

IF the .38 S&W chamber, they are fine to fire, though extraction may be tight...

The issue is that over the decades manufacturers have varied the bores of their guns, and the dimensions of the cartridges and chambers...

I have a 686 that will indeed chamber and fire factory Winchester .38 S&W...It will not chamber the factory yellow/green Remingtons that I have...

Neither of my Rugers will chamber any factory .38 S&W (that I have tried), nor my reloads...

ADDING:

Do not shoot up that old ammo!

Trade it to a collector for some modern stuff to feed your new gun with the 'correct' calibers...

 

[hotpeperkid]

I have the same GP and shooting 38 spls are like shooting a 22lr revolver. 38 spl +P make it more fun to shot, a little more BANG! .357 mag will have everyone at the indoor range(if that's where you shoot), wandering what kind of *cannon* you are shooting!

I reload and have made up some fun/pleasant rounds to shoot.

You'll love shooting your GP!

The first time I went to the range with my GP100 some one next to me was shooting something that made one hell of a bang. I wondered what the heck are they shooting. Well when I pulled the triger for the fist time I knew exactly what they were shooting. I love my GP100 with 6" barrel

 

[ExArmy11b]

.38 S&W has a larger bullet diameter, they are closer to a true .380 diameter while .38 and .357 are in fact about .357 in diameter.

With a slow, low powered round like .38 S&W, the larger bullet squeezing through the chamber throats, the forcing cone and then the barrel won't cause overpressure issues, but I would avoid jacketed ammo if you do shoot .38 S&W through your .357 revolver (if it fits). Again, there is no reason to do this, as .38 S&W is expensive as factory ammo and I'm sure accuracy will be poor if fired through a .357.

On the other side of the coin, many .38/200 (.38 S&W) S&W Victory revolvers had the chambers altered to fire .38 Special, and the undersized bullet made for mediocre accuracy and the cases swelled in the chambers.

I also really want one of the .380 Rim (.38 S&W) Service Sixes........I used to shoot a lot of .38 S&W, back when I collected the S&W break tops and I kind of have a soft spot for this round Those little break tops were surprisingly accurate, especially the S&W .38 single action that I had and the neat little "pap pap" of the round was strangely fun I sold them all off, but would like to get another S&W SA .38 someday. They are just too fragile to be heavy shooters.

If you want a low priced, strong .38 S&W revolver, there are "shooter" grade Victory revolvers out there........the .38 Special models sell for a lot more than the .38 S&W examples, especially the worn looking and "non collectible" ones.

 

[DPris]

Stever,
So you can discuss your gun intelligently in future, there is no such thing as an S&W .38 CTG model.
That's the caliber.
CTG is an abbreviation for "cartridge", not a model designation.
It tells you your old Smith is chambered for the .38 Smith & Wesson round, different from the .38 Smith & Wesson Special round.
As noted above, if those .38 S&Ws will fit completely in your GP, they'll fire in it with no danger.
Best to not shoot them, though. If they're old, they'll probably be collector items, as Sal mentions.
Denis

 

[Thor45AZ]

You can shoot these with no problem:


.38 S&W Special
.38 Special +P
.38 Special +P+
.357 Magnum

.38 S&W Special is the official name of good old .38 Special. DO NOT confuse it with .38 S&W. .38 S&W will not fit in the chambers of your .357 GP100.

If you REALLY wanted to you can shoot these:

.38 Short Colt
.38 Long colt

But there is no advantage to doing so........these rounds, if you can find the few types that are still offered as factory ammo, are expensive and you might as well shoot .38 Special. .38 Long Colt is the round that .38 Special evolved from and is less powerful. .38 Short was made for small pocket revolvers and is totally obsolete and has been for almost 100 years.

It shouldn't be a concern, but you also cannot shoot .357 Maximum in your GP100. Factory ammo is rare and those rounds won't even fit in the GP100.

The others on your list will not work in your GP100.........357 Sig is an auto pistol round,and so is .38 Super. All of the 9mm rounds will not work, and neither will .380.

Not to complicate things, but you can have the chambers of your GP100 altered by a good pistolsmith to shoot 9mm Parabellum and .38 Super loaded in moonclips.

+1 broke it down nicely!

 

[bwinters]

I am not suprised that you are confused to a new shooter it would seem old time shooters just tried to make things complicated.

 

[Vukodlak]

For simplicity, just shoot 38 specials and 357 magnum rounds.

For cheapness I used Atlanta Arms 357 magnums. My local range sells them for 17 bucks a box (50).

Excellent ammo and clean burning.

I also like to shoot 158gr 357 for the big booms.

You will love your new GP.

 

[stever]

So you can discuss your gun intelligently in future, there is no such thing as an S&W .38 CTG model.
That's the caliber.
CTG is an abbreviation for "cartridge", not a model designation.
It tells you your old Smith is chambered for the .38 Smith & Wesson round, different from the .38 Smith & Wesson Special round.

Thanks for the Clarification!

 

[stever]

Interestingly enough, I posed the question to Ruger customer service and their answer wasn't even a complete sentence, simply ".38 Special +P." I'm inclined to believe this group more so than this guy.

I can fit in Remingington 38 S&W though some rounds are tighter than others. I'm guessing the rounds aren't ancient, but possibly 30 years old. Likely not collector worthy.

 

[rreybok]

I also have the gp100 357 mag can I shoot the Sig 357 RIP ammo in it.thanks rich

 

[RugerFamily]

I also have the gp100 357 mag can I shoot the Sig 357 RIP ammo in it.thanks rich

No

Big difference.

 

[okstatefan]

Some of these questions make me nervous that the owner hasn't read the owner's manual.

It is clearly stated on the GP100 to read the owners manual. I don't think Ruger could state it any more evident without having a fire brand to your hand.

I'm sorry "stever". but I don't have confidence that you are ready to load a firearm, let alone start shooting one. Please gain more knowledge and proceed with caution.

 

[Tater]

Some of these questions make me nervous that the owner hasn't read the owner's manual.

It is clearly stated on the GP100 to read the owners manual. I don't think Ruger could state it any more evident without having a fire brand to your hand.

I'm sorry "stever". but I don't have confidence that you are ready to load a firearm, let alone start shooting one. Please gain more knowledge and proceed with caution.

I agree with okstatefan. Please go to the Ruger web site and download a copy of the Owner's Manual and give it a read.

The caliber should be stamped somewhere on the barrel so check there first. If it says 38 Special, it will not chamber 357 Magnum. If it says 357 Magnum, it will also chamber 38 Special (aka 38 S&W Special) including +P and +P+.

If you are unfamiliar with firearms, go to one of your local shooting ranges, let them know, and I'm sure someone will help you get started SAFELY.

THE FOUR RULES OF GUN SAFETY:
1. All guns are always loaded. (Treat them so!)
2. Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target (and you have made the decision to shoot).
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Welcome to the forum!