38 S&W in a 38 Special/357 Mag Revolver?
- Thread starter Orion8472
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mcb
Member
No, you should not. 38 Special 357 Magnum uses a .357 diameter bullets. The 38 S&W uses a .361 diameter bullet. Depending on the 38/357 revolver you may or may not be able to chamber 38 S&W in it. Even if it chambers it is not a good idea to fire it. Probably will not blow the gun up or anything but still not an advisable plan. Save the 38 S&W for those revolvers chambered in 38 S&W.
Jim Watson
Member
I once said in a store that the .38 S&W was too large O.D. to chamber in a .38 Special or .357 magnum.
Then the storekeeper whipped out a Chief's Special and a .38 S&W cartridge and it went right in.
When I tried it later with a different gun and different ammo, it did not.
Tolerance overlap governs whether it will or won't.
A soft lead .361" will never be noticed in a .358" barrel.
But I would not do it unless the zombies were getting real bad.
I once saw a recommendation for the far traveler to have the chambers of a .38 Special lightly reamed so as to be sure to accept .38 S&W so he could shoot .38 S&W/.380 Revolver/.38-200 British whilst in the Old Empire.
Maybe for a spy.
Then the storekeeper whipped out a Chief's Special and a .38 S&W cartridge and it went right in.
When I tried it later with a different gun and different ammo, it did not.
Tolerance overlap governs whether it will or won't.
A soft lead .361" will never be noticed in a .358" barrel.
But I would not do it unless the zombies were getting real bad.
I once saw a recommendation for the far traveler to have the chambers of a .38 Special lightly reamed so as to be sure to accept .38 S&W so he could shoot .38 S&W/.380 Revolver/.38-200 British whilst in the Old Empire.
Maybe for a spy.
Yep, in general, no, .38 S&W doesn't fit in a .38 Spl or .357 Mag revolver, but like Jim posted.....things happen.
You might find a couple of s&w model 10s originally chambered for the .38 s&w round sold to the Brit in WWII. Some were imported to the states in the 50s and 60s the had been rechartered for the.38 special. All they did was remove the shoulder. If you have one of those then you should only use the.38s&w in it
AlexanderA
Member
S&W Victory models used by the U.S. were typically in .38 Special with 4 inch barrels. Victories used by the Brits were typically in .38 S&W with 5 inch barrels. A trove of these were recently (in the 2000's) surplussed out by Australia in really nice re-arsenaled condition. They were very plentiful at gun shows for a time.
Top: U.S. Victory model. Bottom: Australian Victory model (made in U.S.).
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OP
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Orion8472
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I was hoping for something I could shoot through an 1851 Richards Mason Conversion. I had one in 38 Special, but the sound was louder than my 9mm. Was wanting something half that loudness...but I'll have to forget purchasing a revolver like that.
jar
Contributing Member
I haven't found much difference in sound between my 38S&W and 38Special revolvers. Certainly nothing like half as loud.
Three of my most often enjoyed 38 S&W revolvers:
From the top an early pre-model numbers H&R most likely made in 1938; S&W DA Model 4 from 1903 and a Colt Police Positive from 1926.
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fxvr5
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You can shoot 38 Special wadcutters. Or, a 38 Short Colt will fit and fire in a 38 Special/357 Mag revolver. The 38 Short Colt is a very low power round, about the same ballistics as a 38 S&W.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Short_Colt
fxvr5
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Just an FYI:
The 38 S&W bullet is .361". The specs for the 38/357 lead bullet is .359", and the specs for a 38 match (wadcutter) lead bullet is .360".
https://saami.org/wp-content/upload...rfire-Pistol-Revolver-Approved-12-13-2022.pdf
mcb
Member
38 Short Colt loaded pretty hot is popular in ICORE and to a lesser degree in USPSA Revolver division. But they are loaded very hot relative to the original 38 Colt rounds and even 38 Special, some approaching 30,000 psi. My own 38 Short Colt loads are pushing a 160gr bullet to ~875 fps.
mcb
Member
And yet nearly every 38/357 Magnum bullet you buy is nominally .357 for jacket bullets and .358 for lead. The SAAMI specs tolerances are significantly looser than most manufactures build to. If you bought a box of 357 Magnum jacketed bullet to reload and sample measured bullets from the box and some were .358" and some were .355" in diameter you would be pretty disappointed with that quality but those bullets would be within SAAMI spec.
I didn't either. I was just offering the trivial bit of info that some people are still using 38 Short Colt for competition and running it hot.
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N555
Member
Yup, 38short colt if you reload.
Jim Watson
Member
Probably a wide cylinder gap letting out a lot of blast. The only thing I can think of that would make a long .38 Special sound louder than a 9mm.
A couple of guys here could improve the fit which should reduce the noise.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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IIRC those who fired 38 Specials in 38 S&W revolvers with reamed out chambers got a lot of cracked and unreloadable brass.
Not sure how much difference .04 in bullet/bore diameter would make with lower pressure rounds, lead bullets.
The one time I reloaded 38 S&W for my Enfield No. 2 Mk 1 I used HBWCs, they worked fine.
Not sure how much difference .04 in bullet/bore diameter would make with lower pressure rounds, lead bullets.
The one time I reloaded 38 S&W for my Enfield No. 2 Mk 1 I used HBWCs, they worked fine.
Jim Watson
Member
Quality varied.
I saw pictures of brass from three reamed BSRs.
One started with apparently maximum .38 S&W chambers, the .38 Specials were practically bottlenecked, some split. This is what we are warned about.
The next seemed to have minimum .38 S&W chambers, the .38 Specials were barely expanded enough to notice. A lucky pick.
The next had no expansion, the chambers had been bushed to Special dimensions. Hard to think this worth the labor, as cheap as those were selling on the Colonial surplus market.
I saw pictures of brass from three reamed BSRs.
One started with apparently maximum .38 S&W chambers, the .38 Specials were practically bottlenecked, some split. This is what we are warned about.
The next seemed to have minimum .38 S&W chambers, the .38 Specials were barely expanded enough to notice. A lucky pick.
The next had no expansion, the chambers had been bushed to Special dimensions. Hard to think this worth the labor, as cheap as those were selling on the Colonial surplus market.
CoalTrain49
Member
That just about covers it.
I load and shoot short-for-chamber cartridges mostly these days. 38 Spl in my 19's and 28. 38 Short Colt in my 36. I think I read that 38 Long Colt will also load up in a 38 Spl./357 but there's components out there for 38 Short Colt so why bother?
I load and shoot short-for-chamber cartridges mostly these days. 38 Spl in my 19's and 28. 38 Short Colt in my 36. I think I read that 38 Long Colt will also load up in a 38 Spl./357 but there's components out there for 38 Short Colt so why bother?
Carl N. Brown
Member
I own a couple of black powder .38 S&W revolvers and used to reload for them. My first real revolver was a .357 Ruger Security Six and I reload for it.
I find true .38 S&W cases seldomn fit .38 Special or .357 Magnum revolvers. Minimum .38 S&W might fit a maximum .38 Special chamber.
The .38 Special was developed from the .38 Long Colt which is big brother of the.38 Short Colt.
.38 Special was not developed from the .38 S&W cartridge.
I do have fourteen Remington cartridge casings head stamped .38 S&W that are actually .38 Short Colt dimensions. But those casings are slightly smaller than the .38 S&W casings I got from Star.
I find true .38 S&W cases seldomn fit .38 Special or .357 Magnum revolvers. Minimum .38 S&W might fit a maximum .38 Special chamber.
The .38 Special was developed from the .38 Long Colt which is big brother of the.38 Short Colt.
.38 Special was not developed from the .38 S&W cartridge.
I do have fourteen Remington cartridge casings head stamped .38 S&W that are actually .38 Short Colt dimensions. But those casings are slightly smaller than the .38 S&W casings I got from Star.
Monac
Member
Like people say, 38 S&W is not supposed to fit in 38 Special/357 Magnum chambers because it is slightly larger in diameter. In previous threads on this topic, some people have said they have found it will chamber, either because of undersized ammo or oversized chambers in their particular case.
But the Magtech ammo company is a making a short 38 Special round: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...pecial-short-lrn-125-grain-50-rounds?a=357941
I don't know a thing about it. Has anyone here tried it, and would it be suitable to the OP's purpose?
But the Magtech ammo company is a making a short 38 Special round: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...pecial-short-lrn-125-grain-50-rounds?a=357941
I don't know a thing about it. Has anyone here tried it, and would it be suitable to the OP's purpose?
mcb
Member
Remington also loads a similar round though they call it 38 Short Colt. I have shot both and both are very mild recoiling loads.
