.357mag in .38 special

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ReloaderRick

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So I just finished loading 400, .357 mag. And 1, .38 special case made it into my Brass. Would this be ok to shoot? If not why? It's a .357 load in a .38 special case. Bullet seated to .357 specs, so less of the bullet is seated in the case. The cannalure is above the case mouth.
 
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Your title says 357 in 38
Your post says 38 in 357.

You can shoot 38 out of a 357
but
You cannot shoot 357 out of a 38

The 357 case is a little longer and will not allow you to load it into a 38 only pistol.

Are you loading your 357 to 357 specs?
As stated below a 38 case with a 357 charge is not good.

But if you loaded the 357 to 38 numbers then you are fine.

So...... more data needed :)
 
If the OAL of the loaded .38 is the same as the other rounds loaded in .357 cases, then yes. If the same bullet is seated the same amount into both cases (e.g. to the cannelure), I would pull apart the one with a .38 case. Internal volume with the bullet seated is the key.
 
tjhaile said:
If the OAL of the loaded .38 is the same as the other rounds loaded in .357 cases, then yes. If the same bullet is seated the same amount into both cases (e.g. to the cannelure), I would pull apart the one with a .38 case. Internal volume with the bullet seated is the key.
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Yes it's all the same, just the one .38 special brass, got loaded with the .357 load. The overall length is the same so I'm thinking the case volume would be the same.
 
Why even risk it for one cartridge? You should never shoot a reload that is not 100% perfect IMO.

Its really a bad habit to get into.
 
Bullet is not seated as deep not crimped properly giving less neck tension on the bullet. It may move out under recoil and lock up your revolver (assuming you are shooting a revolver). As already stated it is only 1 round, take it apart.
 
ReloaderRick said:
So I just finished loading 400, .357 mag. And 1, .38 special case made it into my Brass. Would this be ok to shoot? If not why? It's a .357 load in a .38 special case. Bullet seated to .357 specs, so less of the bullet is seated in the case. The cannalure is above the case mouth.
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Shoot it, you are fine. (assuming you will be using a 347 revolver or rifle).

The reason it is a bad idea is that you increase the risk of a cartridge loaded to 38 lengths but 357 pressures finding its way into your (or a friend's) 38 special revolver possibly resulting in a damaged revolver or worse.
 
stampede said:
Shoot it, you are fine. (assuming you will be using a 347 revolver or rifle).

The reason it is a bad idea is that you increase the risk of a cartridge loaded to 38 lengths but 357 pressures finding its way into your (or a friend's) 38 special revolver possibly resulting in a damaged revolver or worse.
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It WAS loaded to .357 length. I pulled it.
 
iceman2 said:
Bullet is not seated as deep not crimped properly giving less neck tension on the bullet. It may move out under recoil and lock up your revolver (assuming you are shooting a revolver). As already stated it is only 1 round, take it apart.
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Yes, wouldn't want to lock up the wheel. Good Answer.
 
Even if pressure is the same, 38spl brass is not made to the same specs as 357 brass, so it might crack under the higher pressure. Max pressure for 38spl is 17k psi, and it's 35k psi for 357mag, so twice as much. It wouldn't blow up your gun if you shoot it with a 357, but the case could very well crack.

I'm dumping all my 38 brass for that very reason. If I want a wimpy load for my revolver, I can very well load one in a 357 brass.
 
VinnyQC said:
Even if pressure is the same, 38spl brass is not made to the same specs as 357 brass, so it might crack under the higher pressure. Max pressure for 38spl is 17k psi, and it's 35k psi for 357mag, so twice as much. It wouldn't blow up your gun if you shoot it with a 357, but the case could very well crack.

I'm dumping all my 38 brass for that very reason. If I want a wimpy load for my revolver, I can very well load one in a 357 brass.[/QUOTE

Excellent point, I'm going to get rid of my .38 brass too. You can load the .357 up or down anyways. Pain in the butt sorting, and they still sneak in the wrong bucket.
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TrollGRG said:
If you are dumping it then how about dumping it my way? ;o)
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As soon as I'm done shooting/selling the ammos I got left, the brass will be on the EE for a quick fire sale. I can PM you if you want.

I still have 13 boxes of LRN that I want to sell. I hate cast bullets.
 
OK, here is what you need to know about .357 Magnum.

When the first "Hot" .38 special load was developed by Elmer Keith, it was called .38/44, the boxes will be labeled as such and it was basically .357 pressure loaded into a .38 Special case, as .357 magnum had not actually been developed yet. It was designed to be used in the Smith and Wesson "N" frame revolver and only in those revolvers. That frame size was also referred to as the .44 frame. Used in any other .38 Special revolver and it becomes, for lack of another term, a hand-grenade!

.357 was developed with a slightly longer case to ensure some fool wouldn't put this now magnum load into a non magnum revolver.
You can load .357 magnum pressures in a .38 special case but use it in the wrong gun and you will have a wrecked gun and possibly injured or killed shooter.

Scott
 
Yes you can fire the one round? But why bother?

If you had 400 of them, that would be different.

I used to load 357 like loads in 38 Spl cases, for shooting in my 357s, because I did not have 357 brass. I stopped this when I got 1000 pieces of 357 brass, because I knew that sooner or later a 357 load would find its way into a 38Spl revolver.
 
I'd have shot it. But I'd have it set aside and load then close the cylinder so the one with the .38Spl brass was shot first. That would avoid the lockup.

The "issue" with a hiccup like this is that the brass didn't get crimped due to being short. Other than that issue it was fine and could have been shot. But all in all you dealt with it in a better way by simply breaking it down.
 
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