specials

[any ruger]

Everybody talks about why not to shoot 38 special in a 357 cyl and a 44 special 44 mag cyl . Cleaning leaving a ring etc. So why not load the 357 and 44 case to special loads and not worry about the shorter cases ? Would there be a problem with these reduced loads?

 

[Ale-8(1)]

That's what most of us do.

You may have to fiddle around with the loads for a half-grain or so of powder to get exactly the same performance, but not always.

Sure simplifies things as far as brass maintenance is concerned.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Low power load data can be found in the Cowboy Action Shooting section online and in most manuals. I usually prefer medium loads, a little more than specials, but not the full magnum either.

...Jimbo

 

[MADISON]

I have been shooting .38 Special\.357 Magnum and .44 Magnum\.44 Special for 50 years and I have never experienced that ring.

 

[J Miller]

Here's a third combo that produces a fouling ring the chambers: 45 S&W (Schofield) in a .45 Colt cylinder.

My OM BH won't accept the Schofield cases due to the rebated chambers, but my Uberti Cattleman will. To date I've fired less than a full box of Schofields in it and I can still see ring even after thoroughly cleaning it. The Uberti seems to have tighter chambers than the Ruger so it "might" become a problem if I fired enough of them then switched to the longer .45 Colt round.

As for shooting 38s in a .357 I really hate to do it. Have done, do it, but only because I've got a ton of 38 ammo and no dedicated 38 revolver to shoot it from.
The .45 Schofield in the .45 Colt was an experiment to see what sort of accuracy I'd get with the shorter round.
Worked good.

Joe