Probably a silly question...
- Thread starter GoSlash27
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rwilson452
New member
for the most part a 38 pistol cannot contain 357 pressures Bad ju-ju. as for loading 357 cases to 38 pressures go for it. loading 357 to 38 pressure levels is generally called a light target or practice load. Please note if you put the same anount of powder in a 38 case that you would put in a 357 case the result will be much higher pressure than it would in a 357 case. Whoa nelly!
Jim Watson
New member
Once upon a time there was the S&W .38-44 Heavy Duty and its ammunition, the .38-44 High Velocity. It was the transition between the garden variety .38 Special and the .357 Magnum; but it was a .38 Special cartridge.
There is an article in Handloader Magazine no 243 from November 2006 with loads in that category, up to 173 gr at 1200 fps.
Then there were a couple of old guys name of Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton who loaded really hot .38s.
There are a lot of precautions to take, including the use of really stout guns and not too many cycles with the brass, but it can be done.
There is an article in Handloader Magazine no 243 from November 2006 with loads in that category, up to 173 gr at 1200 fps.
Then there were a couple of old guys name of Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton who loaded really hot .38s.
There are a lot of precautions to take, including the use of really stout guns and not too many cycles with the brass, but it can be done.
DWARREN123
New member
If you or someone else puts one of the hot 38 spl in a firearm not made for it something bad could happen.
I’m not sure exactly how much that 1/10 of an inch makes as far as pressure goes, but it is noticeable. You can get the idea when you use identical data in .357 mag brass versus .38 Special brass while utilizing wadcutters. The .38 Special cases will normally give you somewhat higher velocity than the .357 mag brass will. I have a feeling the pressure difference would probably be compounded exponentially as you increased pressures, and things could go very bad very suddenly.
My advice is to stay on the safer side of reloading and use .38 Special brass and data to have some dandy practice loads for your .357 mag. That’s exactly what I do, and when I feel the need to get into something a little more hand-numbing I just toss in a cylinder or two of my hunting loads, all done up in .357 mag brass I should add.
My advice is to stay on the safer side of reloading and use .38 Special brass and data to have some dandy practice loads for your .357 mag. That’s exactly what I do, and when I feel the need to get into something a little more hand-numbing I just toss in a cylinder or two of my hunting loads, all done up in .357 mag brass I should add.