.38 brass. tell me if im crazy

[mr.jake]

Ok, ive read that it is possible to use .38 special brass loaded to the OAL of .357. I have plenty of .38 brass but no .357 mag. I know the simple solution would be to buy .357 brass becaue .357 brass is thicker to better handle the higher pressures. Ive been doing some reading on lil' gun powder and how it produces lower pressures than other powders at the same velocitys. So how many of you think it would be crazy to try a lil gun .357 mag load in .38 special case loaded to .357 OAL in my rossi 92 .357?

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

IMHO, you are not crazy but I and most other experienced reloaders will tell you DONT DO IT ! ! !

The reason being is the off chance that someone else may slip one of your heavy loads into a 38 Special and the result would most likely be a KABOOM (disassemble your revolover from the inside out)

Not good.

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[Walter Laich]

If I read your post correctly you would be putting .357 loads into a .38 Sp case and then loading the bullet so the overall length would be that of a .357?

If so I don't see a problem as your load won't fit into a regular .38 Sp cylinder or function in a .38 Sp-only rifle due to the length.

[2wheelDuke]

I agree that you're kinda playing with fire there. .357 mag brass isn't that hard to come by. .38spl brass, even +p is rated for a whole lot less pressure than .357mag brass.

[nanuk]

has anyone sectioned the brass to see if the 38sp and a 357mag have differences?


I would suspect recent manufactured brass would be identical, except for length, but I don't know for sure.

[DGV]

I have shot plenty of Lyman 358156 (about 160 grains) in starline 38 special +P brass. 13.5 grains of 2400 at well over 1200 fps in a 4 inch Ruger GP100. The only reason I use +P brass is to segregate loads. +P brass is no stronger than regular brass. Ask Starline. It's on their website.

[mr.jake]

I should have metioned that i am going to seat the bullet out far enough that it wont chanber in my .38 special pistol and also mark the case.

[StratsMan]

You're a Rocket Scientist!! (Funny how easy ideas are sometimes hard to see...)

I'm not gonna spend money buying anymore 357 brass, at least not for plinking. I have thousands of unused 38's, so why not load 'em both ways??? Personally, I load my 357's light, but give enough OAL to prevent loading in a 38 Special revolver sounds like a DIY'er dream...

Have you found one boolit that works better than others for this???

[Green Frog]

Mr. Jake,

If you have access to old Shooting Times magazines, they had a great writer (who passed away about 20 years ago) by the name of Skeeter Skelton. He wrote extensively about reloading for revolvers and stated that in the early days when 357 brass was harder to come by, his standard load for his personal use was a Lyman #358156 hard cast bullet seated out to the first grease groove over a healthy dose of powder in a 38 Special case. I don't remember the exact charge and won't guess at it publicly, but somebody on this board surely has it in one of his books or articles and will chime in here, but it sounds a lot like like the one DGV mentioned above and should be exactly the load you are suggesting. BTW, this is a GC mould, but he said he used it both with and without checks, depending on the load.

HTH ~ Froggie

[leadhead]

What about the carbon ring that will start in the .357 chamber
buy using the shorter .38 special brass?
Denny

[mr.jake]

Im not too concerned about the carbon ring. If i do this it wont matter because i will have no reason to use .357 brass.

[bob208]

i would and have used .38-44 loads and shot them in .357 guns with no problems. i have done it back when .357 brass was hard and expenive to get. i have never had a carbon ring problem either. .39spl. brass and .357 brass are the same thinkness in the head and walls the only differince is the .357 is longer.

[Max Brand]

I use 17.4 grains of Lil' Gun in my 158 grain lswc .357 lever loads but doubt if you could get nearly that charge in a .38 spl case but I've never tried it. If you're planning on using them for hunting I'd just buy a hand full of .357 brass and be done with it.

[geargnasher]

The carbon ring actually helps. I don't know too many who would "recommend" doing what you're asking, especially considering those out there who may not be qualified to do so who are or may be reading this thread, but for your own use I'm not going to call you crazy.

Gear

[TCFAN]

What about the carbon ring that will start in the .357 chamber
buy using the shorter .38 special brass?
Denny

I have shot 1000's of 38 specials in 357's both rifle and revolvers and have never seen the carbon ring that a lot of people talk about.Maybe I have just been lucky or don't know what I am looking for,but I have never had any problem with the 38 brass in 357 chambers.................Terry

[downwind]

The boolit won't have the same neck tension since it's not held by the same amount of brass (length) Release pressures will be lower

Also alignment might suffer for the same reason

DOWNWIND

[MT Gianni]

I would go back to where I read that and remove it from my favorites list.

[David2011]

If I read your post correctly you would be putting .357 loads into a .38 Sp case and then loading the bullet so the overall length would be that of a .357?

If so I don't see a problem as your load won't fit into a regular .38 Sp cylinder or function in a .38 Sp-only rifle due to the length.

First thought here is that in a longer cylinder similar to that of Rugers, a .38 with an excessive OAL will chamber. That might cause problems in a .38 Special Colt or S&W revolver that has a magnum length cylinder. Not all frames and cylinders can tolerate pressure like a Ruger.

David

[Blammer]

sounds like you have a good idea, give it a try and see how it does, shouldn't hurt a thing.

[Wayne Smith]

You only talked about changing OAL, not the load. If you are loading to the same intensity you will actually be reducing pressure by increasing the load space. If you are talking about filling the case with a slower powder that is another matter. Keep to published .38+P loads and you are well withing safe levels.