44 Spcl fired in 44 Mag cylinder

[OrangePwrx9]

Will it leave a ring at the case mouth like 38Spcl fired in 357Mag cylinder?

Don't see why it shouldn't.

 

[mcb]

IMHO this "ring" is over-hyped and rarely an issue and when it is an issue it's a result of bad ammo. I shoot heaps of 38 Short Colt in my 357 Mag and 40 S&W in my 10mm revolvers and sure there is now a visually noticeable ring in the chambers but its only visual and has to effect on the function with any longer ammunition. If you're actually building up carbon and/or lead at this ring and not just etching the cylinder wall slightly you need to get better ammo. There is a similar ring forming in front of the 44 Mag or 357 Mag cases too its just visually lost in the tapper at the end of the chamber. Never seen a functional issue with this so call ring in any of my revolvers. YMMV

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I never have a problem with either 44spl in 44mag or 38spl in 357mag. Just brush the chambers when cleaning.
If you are concerned about it just use mag brass for spl loads.

 

[BullRunBear]

My 44 magnums see a lot more specials than magnum loads and I have never had a problem with the dreaded 'ring'. Same with 38s out of a 357 magnum cylinder: no problem. I usually do at least a rudimentary cleaning after range sessions so maybe that is the secret.

Jeff

 

[Jack B.]

Yes and as with a .38 in a .357 it can be cleaned out. Been shooting 44 special in 44 magnum pistols for years. I see no problem with it. As a matter of fact I've been shooting .38 specials and .44 specials for a long time and I don't even own a .44 special or .38 special revolver. I've only ever fired the specials through magnum revolvers.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

It's an issue of maintenance. If you don't clean the gun, you will eventually get a powder ring that prevents the magnum length cartridge from seating all the way. The base of the cartridge will protrude from the cylinder, preventing the cylinder from closing, or preventing it from turning. When I was competing with my Redhawk, it would get to this stage if I didn't clean it every 300-400 rounds fired.

 

[OrangePwrx9]

My first centerfire revolver back in the '70s was a Python. Shot a lot of handloaded 38 Spcl wadcutters out of that thing. Cleaned it after every session, probably not aggressively enough.

Anyway, came time to shoot magnums, it took some effort to seat them. After firing, it took too much effort to eject them. Thought the ejection effort might be hard on the mechanism.

So the 38 Spcl wad cutter loads went into .357 brass from that point on. Later, when I got more experience, I found that the Python had rather tight chambers. That, plus other revolvers seemed to like wadcutter loads in .357 brass.

Have a new .44 Mag snubbie coming. It will probably see .44 Spcl loads in .44 mag cases.

 

[gonoles_1980]

My wife shoots minimum loaded 44spl all the time out of my 44mag, I haven't noticed any issues when cleaning.

 

[whughett]

It's an issue of maintenance. If you don't clean the gun, you will eventually get a powder ring that prevents the magnum length cartridge from seating all the way. The base of the cartridge will protrude from the cylinder, preventing the cylinder from closing, or preventing it from turning. When I was competing with my Redhawk, it would get to this stage if I didn't clean it every 300-400 rounds fired.

That was an issue yesterday in my 27. For years now I’ve only shot 38 in it. Tried some 357 and one chamber would not allow the case to set on its rim. Other chambers were tight but loosened up after a few rounds. Eventually I got all 6 to chamber and by the end of the 50 all was well.

 

[Slamfire]

I shot a case of +P 158 gr LSWC HP through a M66 357 Mag revolver. It was Zero ammunition and the bullets were soft swaged. I did not want to run the stuff through a standard 38 Special revolver. That stuff left a lead ring in each cylinder, so bad, that if 357 Magnum ammunition was fired, I had to pound on the extractor rod, to remove the cases. It was very labor intensive removing the ring. I went through a bag full of bristle brushes. Since then I have decided not to shot 38 Special or 44 Special in 357 Mag or 44 Magnum chambers. I have developed non magnum loads for the magnum cases.

such as

 

[OrangePwrx9]

That was an issue yesterday in my 27. For years now I’ve only shot 38 in it. Tried some 357 and one chamber would not allow the case to set on its rim. Other chambers were tight but loosened up after a few rounds. Eventually I got all 6 to chamber and by the end of the 50 all was well.

How was the ejection?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Does it leave a ring?
Yes it will.
Does it matter?
It's all relative to how foul the Special may be and whether or how well you clean between switching.
Usually requires no more than G-96 and a nylon brush for me.
Easy-Peasy!

Another thing I like to do is to develop *Special* re-loads and load them in Magnum cases but that's more about getting over on the leap than about dirty cylinders.

Todd.

 

[Jack B.]

I'm against loading head stamped cases to another level other than what the head stamp indicates it is. You never know who might end up with your made up ammo. I realize that downloading is pretty safe but if someone else ends up with it they might be wondering. What's wrong with this stuff? I think it's a bad habit. Just learn how to clean your gun properly. IMO.

 

[GRIZ22]

I agree with the others this is way over hyped. The people who have problems with this are the same who never clean their guns until they stop working. Normal maintenance is all that is required.

A related point that is also over thought is the loss of accuracy shooting 38s in a 357 or 44 specials in a 44 mag. The "experts" claim this happen because of the jump from the case to the forcing cone. If this were true most 22 revolvers would be so inaccurate.

 

[whughett]

How was the ejection?

Normal. But I rarely if ever load to max. These were “ladder” loads with a max .3 under Lyman’s listed max for a 158 gr 357 bullet.

 

[Tallball]

As so many others have said, I do it all the time with 38/357 and 44 special/magnum.

I spend a few minutes cleaning the cylinders after each trip to the range and never ever have any trouble.

 

[Riomouse911]

As so many others have said, I do it all the time with 38/357 and 44 special/magnum.

I spend a few minutes cleaning the cylinders after each trip to the range and never ever have any trouble.

And with a regimen like Tallball has the OP won’t have an issue either.

Stay safe.

 

[.38 Special]

I once bought a .44 Magnum from a pawnshop for a ridiculously low price, as the owner apparently knew little about guns. She told me the cylinder was damaged and would need to be replaced. A glance at the charge holes revealed nothing more than crud rings from .44 Special ammunition, so of course the gun went home with me. After a good cleaning it worked just fine. So I guess what I am trying to say to the O.P. is "Yes."

 

[cfullgraf]

When I only had revolvers chambered in 357 Magnum, I'd shoot both 38 Special and 357 Magnum cases in the guns. I never had a crud ring build uop in the chambers but I kept the guns cleaned.

I now have revolvers chambered in 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 44 Special and 44 Magnum. I save and load the Special cases for the Special chambered guns. The Magnum chambered guns get Special level loads in Magnum cases. I do it this way because I can.

 

[tipoc]

About 20+ years ago I was up on a mountain shooting a old refrigerator from varying distances with a model 29-2. I shot maybe 4 cylinders full of 44 Spl. and without cleaning the chambers switched over to 44 Mag. After two or three cylinders full the empty cases were so tightly lodged in the cylinder that they would not eject. I found a suitable piece of wood to tap the ejector rod with and knock the cases out. I ran a bore snake through and cleaned the chambers a bit. Reloaded and shot a few more cylinder full of 44 Mag without incident. A bit tight but no real issue.

I had a similar issue a few years later with 180 gr. 357. In that case I used the blade of a knife to pry them out enough to get grip on the cases with my finger nails and pull them out. The cases that is and not the fingernails.

Since then it has been my practice to run a bore snake through the chambers after firing 38 Spl. from a 357 and 44 Spl from a Magnum gun. So there ya go.

 

[Eddietruett]

I purchased a Model 686 that obviously had not been cleaned since the day it was new and the previous owner said he had never shot anything but .38 special. It has the worse ring I've ever encountered. You could not force a .357 bullet in the chamber. I soaked it several days in Hoppes M-7 and then put a bronze brush on a cordless drill and ran it in and out at slow speed. Cleaned it right up. Anytime I go several hundred rounds of .38 in a .357 cylinder, I use the same method. It saves a lot of time and effort.

 

[forrest r]

The "carbon ring" isn't as bad as it used to be. With the use of the modern bullets being plated or coated there's less fouling in the cylinders from powder/bullet lube. The old NRA 50/50 lube would coat everything with black soot and leave 1 heck of a ring in cylinders when shooting 38spl wc's. Didn't matter if it was a 38spl or a 357 & 22lr's were just as bad.

It's nothing to use a old bore brush/copper mesh on a rod chucked into a drill to take any fouling out of the cylinders.

Back in the 70's/80's it was common to "burnish" the revolver cylinders with #4 steel wool and 3 in 1 oil. It would take 6 or 7 different try's to get the cylinders burnished. Would take an old bore brush and wrap #4 steel wool around it and polish/burnish the cylinders. Take the revolver out and shoot it some more, bring it back home and burnish again. It was wash/rinse/repeat and after every burnishing the cylinders would have more round counts before fouling. After 6 or 7 times of burnishing accuracy improved and lasted longer along with being able to get 400/500 rounds down range before accuracy fell off.

I still burnish all my 22lr cylinders & chambers to this day.

Cylinders have throats cut into them, doesn't matter if you use 38spl's/357's/44spl's/44mag's/etc. Where ever the mouth of the case sits in the cylinder, there will a crud ring buildup there. A picture of a cut-a-way cylinder with the bullets oal moved out into the leade/throat of the cylinder along with the gap at the end of the brass (ball throat) just before the leade of the throat starts. That gap is where the crud ring will form.

 

[Bronco72]

As stated, I also reload special loads in magnum cases. Do not have to reset the dies or have an extra set of them. If you do not reload, just buy 44 mag cowboy loads, special power in a magnum case. Problem solved Of course you can use special cases just because you can! But why??

 

[AK103K]

I purchased a Model 686 that obviously had not been cleaned since the day it was new and the previous owner said he had never shot anything but .38 special. It has the worse ring I've ever encountered. You could not force a .357 bullet in the chamber. I soaked it several days in Hoppes M-7 and then put a bronze brush on a cordless drill and ran it in and out at slow speed. Cleaned it right up. Anytime I go several hundred rounds of .38 in a .357 cylinder, I use the same method. It saves a lot of time and effort.

An "over" belled empty case also works well here too. At least to get the bulk of the heavy stuff out.

Fouling rings arent the only thing that can screw things up either. Just lack of cleaning can really make things difficult. I bought a nice S&W 65 for a good price. It was dirty when I bought it (I'm always amazed at how lazy people are, especially when they are trying to sell it) and I ran some wet/dry patches through it before going to the range.

It didnt look bad after the patches, and I didnt see any obvious problems in the cylinder, and the rounds dropped right in.

Took it to the range, and the very first cylinder I shot, I had to beat the cases out with a block of wood. Drop right in, beat them out. Took it home and scrubbed the snot out of the chambers, and its been fine ever since.

 

[Lucky Derby]

I really think the problem is overblown. In almost 40 years of shooting A LOT of .38 Special in A LOT of .357 Magnum revolvers and a fair amount of .44 Special in .44 Magnum revolvers I've seen it actually cause a problem once. About 12 years ago I bought a 50+ year old Colt Trooper in .357 Magnum. It had been shot and carried some but overall not in bad shape. At least until I tried to chamber a .357 Magnum round. At first I thought it had a .38 Special cylinder. Nope. Spent about an hour or so cleaning the chambers with a .40 Cal brass brush. No problems after that. Just routine maintenance.