Shooting .38 spl in .357 mag revolvers results in more leading ?

Alon

Alon

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I heard that if you shoot .38 spl cast bullets in a .357 mag revolver, you might get more leading gunk buildup, and where it builds up can depend on a few things. Have you run into that?
 
More leading than what? More shooting generally equals more fouling.

Normal fouling occurs forward of the case mouth. The fouling left from .38's might impede the chambering of .357's.
 
As Lodi says, all that happens is after a lot of shooting (read 100's of rounds), if you try to chamber a .357 it'll either be tight or simply won't seat without forcing something...a quick brush of the cylinder fixes it as it'll knock all the built up crap out.

As you're aware, the .38's are shorter than .357 Rem Mag, so they will foul the cylinder where a .357 would want to seat into. Whenever I bring my GP100 to the range, if I'm going to bring a lot of ammo, I'll just shoot .357 first...then .38's problem solved, clean at home.
 
Old Wives Tale! I have fired thousands of .38 rounds through my 357 revolver and have NEVER had an issue. Any residue in the space between the end of the 38 brass is easily cleaned out with a cylinder brush.
 
My buddy bought S&W .357 and had to put the cleaning brush in a drill to remove the carbon ring
 
Alon said:
I heard that if you shoot .38 spl cast bullets in a .357 mag revolver, you might get more leading gunk buildup, and where it builds up can depend on a few things. Have you run into that?
Click to expand...

Not a big deal. Clean your gun as needed.
 
shotgun12G said:
Old Wives Tale! I have fired thousands of .38 rounds through my 357 revolver and have NEVER had an issue. Any residue in the space between the end of the 38 brass is easily cleaned out with a cylinder brush.
Click to expand...

+1 .... been my experience, too.

---------
NAA.
 
shotgun12G said:
Any residue in the space between the end of the 38 brass is easily cleaned out with a cylinder brush.
Click to expand...

This. No need for nitpicking. Just get a .38 Special/.357 Magnum brass chamber brush and do 2-3 dry passes after each session. That simple. Same for .44 Special ammunition in .44 Magnum chambers. Use a brass chamber brush for .44 revolvers. Same for .45 Colt and .454 Casull.
 
I have asked the same question throughout the past. The responses were more or less the same but in my experience even several hundred rounds isn't enough to create any buildup that will hinder you in any way. I shot nothing but lead for years before switching to plated for my bulk range fodder and I can't say this was ever an issue for myself or anyone I have met in reality.
 
Same as everyone else here - tens of thousands of 38's through 357 revolvers, just use a dry brush and brush the cylinder out. No problems to solve. Actually, shooting fast 357 lead bullets in a revolver can be harder to clean, especially around the forcing cone.
 
Just have to clean the chambers a bit more, I generally just use a bronze brush in the cambers.
Never seen any lead build up and my model 19 is a 357m gun that I have shot 10 of 1000's of 38 sp out of over 40-50 yrs.
And before that same with a colt python.
PS ,I always loaded 38's fairly light. paper is a easy kill.
 
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