357, 357 mag and 38

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mloamiller
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357, 357 mag and 38

#1

Post by mloamiller »

My understanding is that any .357 magnum revolver can also shoot .38 rounds; is that accurate?

Is there a difference between a .357 and .357 magnum revolver, or are those the same thing?
If there is a difference, can a .357 revolver (not a magnum) also shoot .38s?
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Beiruty
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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38

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Beiruty,
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flechero
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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38special/38S&W

#3

Post by flechero »

I've not seen a plain .357 designation, outside the Mag or Sig, and obviously the Sig is an entirely different animal. (other than people just talking about .357 Mag and not saying Mag) And if you are a history buff, there was the .38 S&W, which obviously is different than a .38 Special.

.38 special vs .357 Mag
The case length is different from 38 to 357mag- according to the specs by about .135". And pressure max is about double in 357mag. According to the Lyman 4th Cast Bullet (just what I had out on the desk) there is also a difference in rim thickness by .002, with 357mag being thicker.

Yes .357 mag guns can shoot 38 special, but not the other way around. Just be careful to clean the cylinders well or the .357 mags brass will stick badly if there is a build up of gunk in them. Ask me how I know! :lol:
Last edited by flechero on Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38

#4

Post by mloamiller »

AndyC wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:35 am
mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:43 am My understanding is that any .357 magnum revolver can also shoot .38 rounds; is that accurate?
.38 Special, yes, upon which the .357 Mag was based - there are a bunch of .38 cartridges (.38 S&W, .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, etc) out there, so being specific is important.
mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:43 am Is there a difference between a .357 and .357 magnum revolver, or are those the same thing?
When applied to a .357 Magnum revolver, it's the same cartridge - outside of that, you get .357 Mag semi-autos (Desert Eagle, Coonan, etc) and other .357 cartridges (.357 Sig, .357 Maximum, etc)
I understand there is a difference between a .357 Sig, .357 Mag, etc. cartridge, but is there a difference in the revolver? Is there a .357 revolver that is different than a .357 Magnum revolver?
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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38

#5

Post by mrvmax »

mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:24 am
AndyC wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:35 am
mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:43 am My understanding is that any .357 magnum revolver can also shoot .38 rounds; is that accurate?
.38 Special, yes, upon which the .357 Mag was based - there are a bunch of .38 cartridges (.38 S&W, .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, etc) out there, so being specific is important.
mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:43 am Is there a difference between a .357 and .357 magnum revolver, or are those the same thing?
When applied to a .357 Magnum revolver, it's the same cartridge - outside of that, you get .357 Mag semi-autos (Desert Eagle, Coonan, etc) and other .357 cartridges (.357 Sig, .357 Maximum, etc)
I understand there is a difference between a .357 Sig, .357 Mag, etc. cartridge, but is there a difference in the revolver? Is there a .357 revolver that is different than a .357 Magnum revolver?
Most likely it’s the same but there’s no hard and fast rule. There were 357 maximum revolvers made but I’d expect them to be marked as such.

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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38

#6

Post by philbo »

mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:24 amI understand there is a difference between a .357 Sig, .357 Mag, etc. cartridge, but is there a difference in the revolver? Is there a .357 revolver that is different than a .357 Magnum revolver?
As stated above there are 357 maximum revolvers (which are lengthened 357 magnum cases cable of more velocity). For a brief time you could find revolvers in 357 supermag, but they were identical to the 357 maximum when that cartridge was commercially released in the early 1980's (1983 or 84?). Then there is the 353 Casull, which pushes the boundaries of the 357 to the max. The 353 uses the same brass & bullets, but the Freedom Arms revolvers wrings every ounce of velocity out of the cartridge... and the brass is extremely short lived.

Bottom line, you have a revolver in 357, chances are its a 357 magnum and should be stamped as 357 magnum, or 357 remington magnum.

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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38

#7

Post by flechero »

357 magnum vs 357 maximum (or as some call it, the supermag) There are actually a couple on GB if you look.

mag vs max.jpg

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Re: 357, 357 mag and 38

#8

Post by mrvmax »

philbo wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:42 am
mloamiller wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:24 amI understand there is a difference between a .357 Sig, .357 Mag, etc. cartridge, but is there a difference in the revolver? Is there a .357 revolver that is different than a .357 Magnum revolver?
As stated above there are 357 maximum revolvers (which are lengthened 357 magnum cases cable of more velocity). For a brief time you could find revolvers in 357 supermag, but they were identical to the 357 maximum when that cartridge was commercially released in the early 1980's (1983 or 84?). Then there is the 353 Casull, which pushes the boundaries of the 357 to the max. The 353 uses the same brass & bullets, but the Freedom Arms revolvers wrings every ounce of velocity out of the cartridge... and the brass is extremely short lived.

Bottom line, you have a revolver in 357, chances are its a 357 magnum and should be stamped as 357 magnum, or 357 remington magnum.
I’ve never heard of 353 Casull but I’m intrigued by it and it would go well with my FA 83 in 454 Casull.
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