That's simply ridiculous.

Anyone who says .38 special will damage ANY .357 knows nothing about hand guns.

The .357 magnum was made ever so slightly longer than the .38 Special simply to protect older, weaker revolvers from the increased pressure. Shooting .38's from a .357 will lengthen, not shorten, the life of a revolver.

A good example of this is: The Smith & Wesson Model 19 is a .357 which was made for practicing with .38 Specials, but using .357 magnums for use while on duty.

I would advise ignoring "the man behind the counter" on anything he says.

 

I have seen (not a rumor) a Model 19 with a more-than-cracked forcing cone from too many .357's

 

If I had to be rode as hard and put away wet as most range guns, I'd probably have a cracked frame too.

So Raminator - Is this guy a Moron or an Idiot?

 

So Raminator - Is this guy a Moron or an Idiot?

Considering some of his other subject matter, I'm thinking moron. I might just start shooting at the Marksman in Tacoma. It's a little further away, but at least they don't give misinformation.

 

Like the other posts, total BS, you may get dirt build up, after a long time/lots of rounds you may get a burn scar in the charge holes (at .38spl length) that may make getting the .357's in a little sticky but good cleaning and maintenance will take care of that, I have a GP-100 (.357) that has only had .38spl through it, all 10,000 of them. No problems at all.

Regards,
DB

 

I have heard of this happening ( dirt build-up & burn scar ), but thats about it and like you said, with good cleaning its a non-issue.......

 

The man behind the counter said, "Do not use .38's in a .357 Magnum!" When I asked why, he said that over time, the .38 can crack the forcing cone, and crack the frame of the gun.

I'm sure that IOWEGAN can give an authoritative answer, but my experience indicates you found
yet another "internet expert"
(subtitled - - DUMMY).

 

The first S&W mod.19 pistols had that problem with the 357mag 125gr bullets but 158 gr would go for ever. The problem comes from the bullet being out of the case before hitting the forcing cone and sometimes with an upset so it doesn't go in square plus gas escaping before the bullet hits the cone.Its not near the problem of the 357max in the Blackhawk that was taken off the market because of it

 

I have a 1976 Ruger .357 and have shot over 2000 rounds of .38 special with of course no damage. The guy at the range is mistaken. Less pressure means less chance of cracks, not more. A person can be incorrect and still not be a moron.

 

A person can be incorrect and still not be a moron.

Except that this guy was bragging to another customer about the groupings of his spitwads on a chalkboard.

 

Amigo Will, If you open the cylinder on any K-frame, you'll see the bottom of the barrel just under the forcing cone was machined very thin to accommodate the yoke. With 38 Specials, this is not a problem, however with 357 Mags, the extra bullet thrust may crack the cone ... sometimes even the frame. It's strictly a metal thickness issue with the lower part of the barrel.

Raminator, All range guys are experts .... just ask them! Pure bogus information. WVfishguy got it right.

FYI, all revolver cylinders have an internal forcing cone at the start of the throat. This forces the bullet to "square up" so it will exit the throat lined up properly with the bore. This allows shorter cases or deeper seated bullets to be used without losing accuracy.

 

FYI, all revolver cylinders have an internal forcing cone at the start of the throat. This forces the bullet to "square up" so it will exit the throat lined up properly with the bore. This allows shorter cases or deeper seated bullets to be used without losing accuracy.

I'm glad we have an expert here. I know that .38s in a .357 are just fine, but I couldn't have explained it like that.

 

Bs flag!

Here is what you found at the range. A idiot behind the counter is selling ammo. Thus he has a financial stake in what is sold(weather it is his ammo or his boss's). He is willing to sell you the more expensive ammo to "bump" his profit line. The guy is so full of crap. I cant tell you how many round of 38's I have fired in my 357's and NEVER a problem. Are you required to purchase ammo at this range as part of using it? Makes me wonder...

 

38 specials = a light load to a 357mag . i've shot many 38 in 357!!! no problems!! and it easier on ur ears. so in IMHO he was just trying to sell the more expensive ammo.

 

glad to hear this issue is a non-issue. when i read the OP, a little red flag went up, which my conventional wisdom, and you guys have reinforced. strange how someone who deals with guns on a daily basis could be so off-base, which clearly he was. i do wonder however what brand of .357s these supposed malfunctions happened in, and how much maintenance they saw in their life on the range.

 

i do wonder however what brand of .357s these supposed malfunctions happened in, and how much maintenance they saw in their life on the range.

It's funny because when I asked, he could not remember and they didn't ahve them at the time.

 

Raminator,

Was this the same range that you got "swept" at. If so i think i might not go there anymore, it sounds like even if the noobs wanted to learn the range personell wouldn't be much help.

 

Yup.

 

I have probably fired at least 20K rounds 38 thru my Md 65 and probably 5-10K of Magnum. No harm.
Last ckecked by Smith trained smith in 2002 and given OK.

 

If the title of this thread has you a bit confused, then join the club. I was at the range to do a little shooting, and I was asking about prices on .38's for my SP101 .357 magnum. The man behind the counter said, "Do not use .38's in a .357 Magnum!" When I asked why, he said that over time, the .38 can crack the forcing cone, and crack the frame of the gun.

Let me guess: Did the kind man happen to have some .357 rounds he was willing to sell?

 

Actually, they were out.

 

The range expert was probably flippin burgers at McD's before he became so full of knowledge on the firearm business.

 

I'm betting if you asked him why this is true he would tell you that .38 inch is much wider than .357 inch, hence the trouble. Don't try to explain it to him, just smile, say thank you and exit quietly.

 

Does this mean I shouldn't drive my car at 35mph because it's capable of 85mph and at the slower speed my engine's performing out of spec and prone to break?

 

Depends. Do you have overdrive or not?

 

all good points and just tells us there are some real "winners" running the show, in charge, and have a captured audience......alas, poor Yorick, I've been bad ,using all those 38 specials in my .357 mag all these years, since the late 60's and have YET to split ANY forcing cone...yeah, spent a bit more time cleaning,but the accuracy and fun, far outweigh the effort..............

 

Just another know nothing know it all,I overheard a conversation between a clerk at a bass pro store telling a prospective customer about the porting near the front sight' upon firing it would push the barrel down and he'd miss the target,the customer put the ss revolver down and left.

 

I'm amazed at how many "behind the counter" guys start out thier sentences with "back when I was in Special Forces".........

 

They don't do that often here. Fort Lewis is about a stone's throw away and the gunstore guys know better than to make an ass out of themselves in front of the Military Personnel.

 

You guys have no Idea how many times I've almost started a thread about the things the Glass Counter Rangers have said and done. But there are some really great guys out there too, and we all have have other things to do besides type for days.

On the flip side, my sister worked a counter at one of the larger indoor ranges, and she had many horror stories about customers as well.

 

One of two things I suspect...........the "guy" at the range got some bad information and is passing it along as the gospel or he is forming his own conclusion based maybe on a few guns that had other issues or were just what folks indicated, an overly abused range weapon that may have seen cleaning every so often.

Plus too folks should remember that some people who rent these guns use them to test their hot loads too. This could be a culprit as well over time. I doubt it but I will assure you that .38 Spl through a .357 is perfectly safe and even with extended rounds through the barrel.

Merry Christmas and now I must go and glaze a ham!!!!!!!!1

 

Sounds like the range guy was a bit confused.

Now I have had a small problem with shooting .38s for a while at the range then switching to .357's. My problem was the .38s are shorter and leave buildup in the cylinder. Then when I went to .357 rounds the brass wanted to stick on the buildup and were a bit more difficult to get out out of the cylinder.

Just remember to clean the cylinders if you plan to shoot .38s then go to .357s.

 

I think the guy behind the counter is full of himself plus a few extra's!! I had a SP101 shot mags and 38's thru it never a problem. I have also read that the SP101 in comparison to a Model 19 S&W well the Ruger is actually a stouter built gun. The main difference in that the Ruger is 5 shot vs. the 6 shot cylinder of the Mod. 19 the Ruger SP101 actually had thicker wall thickness in the cylinder.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm with you guys because the conventional wisdom my dad passed on to me was that you should train with .38's mostly, and practice with .357 as much as needed to be proficient with your carry ammo, but he never told me that .38's would actually harm the gun. Like I said, the statement this so-called range-"master" made was news to me; bunk if you ask me.

 

I'm always amazed at the so-called "experts" you meet at a gun range. Some people know what they're talking about. But others have no clue. Just because you work at a range doesn't make you a bullistics expert.

Needless to say, this rumor is pure bologna. I have fired perhaps 100 .357's through both my GP100's. (I own a 6" and a 4" SS.) The rest, have always been .38 Spcl. I reload my own ammo. And have never seen this happen at all. I have fired perhaps 15,000 rounds of .38 through them. Trust me, if it didn't happen after 15k rounds, it won't happen. Range guns are mostly beat up all to blazes anyway, and I think it all depends on how you care for your firearms. Ruger GP100's are built to put up with crap that would rip the hell out of most other guns. You can run over this gun with a tank, then pick it up, and shoot some more with it.

I thoroughly break down and clean my firearms after every shooting session. They are as clean as they were when new. A clean gun is a safe and accurate gun.

This is the ammo I make.

.38 Special:

.38cal-125gr, FP Lasercast Bullet
4.3gr HP-38 (Hodgdon) Damn good powder! All I use.
Russian Small Pistol Primer (green & white box)

.357 Magnum:

.38cal-125gr, FP Lasercast Bullet
5.3gr HP-38 (Hodgdon)
CCI Small Pistol Magnum Primer #550

 

Is it possible to finely hone the scar away in the cylinder without damaging the rest? Perhaps a long wire brush on a variable speed drill?

 

Yes, it is possible. But you would have to use the bronze version of the brush and use Hoppe's #9 Copper Solvent. You could soak the front of the cylinder in it up to slightly above the scar point and then be very careful of the speed you use on the drill. You shouldn't hurt anything by using the bronze brush though. It's less abrasive and should do the trick nicely. I did this for a friend with great results. But you'll have to keep up on the maintenance afterwards or it'll just come back.

NOTE: Please use care when using this technique. You could be injured by the brush if you slip while doing this. I don't mind giving advice, but I don't want anyone injured as a result of said advice.