Question about 38 special in 357 revolver

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Dennis

Single-Sixer
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
117
Location
Dakotas/Minnesota
Hello,

I am looking at Ruger's LCR and SP101 revolvers primarily to shoot 38 Special ammo. My question is this: Is there an advantage to shooting 38 Special ammo out of a revolver chambered only for 38 Special or is there no significant difference out of a 357 chambered revolver?

This revolver would be used for home defense and CC.

Thank you for your consideration.
Dennis
 
Joined
Dec 11, 2002
Messages
8,966
Location
Ohio , U.S.A.
the ONLY "advantage" wold be the ease of cleaning the dirty, fouled chambers of a 38 special ,versus the LONGER 357 mag chambers, as you will get a burn ring out front of the shorter 38 special rounds...easy enough to clean, keep an "empty" 357 mag case from that gun, and use it to help clean the chambers, push it in and out ,along with your nitro solvent ( Hoppes, Shooters Choice, whichever....) a little ingenuity or elbow grease, is a "clean gun chambers' " friend...........
we been shooting 38s , and specials and magnums in the same guns' chambers for as long as I can remember, never a problem if cleaned afterwards.....YES, you put a LONGER 357 mag shell in before cleaning and they can and will be difficult to extract, but not impossible............
the nice thing about getting the 357 mag in the first place, is, YOU have the option of using, shooting some other choices in calibers, one may be for plinking and target shooting, the other for serious 'defense' ( or even hunting)
Good luck, and good shooting........................
 

jsh

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
321
Location
Kansas US of A
There are some guns out there in 357 that will shoot 38's and shoot them well. I myself have never owned one but have shot a couple.
Thus I shoot 357 brass in 357 chambered guns and 38's in guns chambered for that.
Jeff
 

Chuck 100 yd

Hunter
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
3,251
Location
Ridgefield WA
Softer lead bullets in .38 special loads can/will expand as they leave the shorter .38 special case and try to fill the empty space ahead of the .38 case and before the chamber throat in the longer .357 chamber. That bullet must be swaged back down again to enter the chamber throat. This happens most when shooting hollow base wad cutters. This expanding and swaging back down does no good as far as accuracy goes. For best accuracy with any round a case that fills the chamber without a large space between the case mouth and beginning of the chamber throat is the best way to go.
 

Biggfoot44

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
829
In theory, there will be slight velocity increase in .38Only chamber, but much less tan the other gun to gun cumulative dimentional effects. Accuraccy varries from gun to gun, but I have never shot .38 in .357 that was unacceptable accuraccy.
 

k22fan

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
713
All my .357s have grouped tight with some of the .38 reloads I've tried in them.

Firing a .38 Special in a .357 chamber the bullet only passes through 1/10" unsupported so the front of the bullet is piloted by the chamber throat before the rear of the bullet leaves the case. Contrast that to the wonder revolver of the week, .45 Colts that fire moon clipped .45 ACP. The .45 ACP bullet is completely unsupported as it approaches the lead into the chamber throat and great accuracy is claimed for those contraptions.

Anyhow, the O.P. is inquiring about a LCR or SP 101 for concealed carry and home defense. What ever slight accuracy edge a .38 special chamber might have probably is not relevant. The exception might be if he's planning on firing a lot of groups testing reloads as a hobby or planning on using the revolver as a kit gun in the field.
 

cjs1945

Single-Sixer
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
473
Location
Durand, Michigan
The LCR357 will have slightly less recoil than a LCR with both shooting the same ammunition because of the 357 being slightly heavier, but there will not be a lot of difference.
 
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