38 super in a 357 magnum??

[kencop93]

I saw one article about a guy who tested two different 357 mag (a colt and a s/w) He stated that you can safely use 38 super in a 357 but you cant use it in the 38 because of the chamber pressure. Has anyone else heard about doing this or has anyone safely done this?? Oh yeah, he also stated that they did eject easily from the 357

 

[PaulD]

You should ask him to demonstrate while you stand at a safe distance.

 

[warwickben]

Yeah most .357 you can shot .38 in . Hickcock45 just posted a video of a lever gun he was doing that in .

 

[PaulD]

Yeah most .357 you can shot .38 in . Hickcock45 just posted a video of a lever gun he was doing that in .

.38 super or special?

 

[TBalls]

Yeah most .357 you can shot .38 in . Hickcock45 just posted a video of a lever gun he was doing that in .

We're talking about 38 Super, not S&W Special.

This is news to me.

 

[warwickben]

My bad, that's 2 times I skipped over one word and was way off

 

[Randy Lahey]

Must mean .38 special unless he's using moonclips?

 

[kencop93]

This guy said in 1986 that he tested 38 SUPER in a 357

 

[irishfan]

I got a box of buffalo bore 38 super...you wanna give it a go and ill watch hah

 

[jasons]

I don't think a .38 super would even fit into a .357 mag chamber. The .38 super is shorter and fatter. In any case, I don't think it would be a good idea.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

Isn't the .357 cartridge rimmed and the .38 super isn't? How would you get one to function in a firearm designed for the other?

 

[Randy Lahey]

.38 Super apparently isn't entirely rimless, it's semi-rimmed (.007" -.009" rim) and can headspace off the rim. Sounds legit. Never heard of that being done, learn something new everyday

 

[kencop93]

Heres the post from wiki answers. The explanation kinda contradicts the answer.

Answer:



No, .38 super is a semi automatic round and .357 is a revolver round. While both have a bullet diameter of .355. The case length is different and the rounds are held in the firearms differently. Semi automatics have a shoulder in the barrel that holds the round in place. a revolver has a lip on the cartridge that holds it.
In 1986 Ed Sanow performed a test using various .38 Super ammo on two different .357 Magnum revolvers, SW and Colt (different twist rates) and he concluded.

A. You can safely shoot .38 Super in a .357 Mag revolver. (not in a .38 Special gun even if it is +p). It will fit in both guns. The Super has lower chamber pressure than the .357 Mag but almost double the .38 Spl +p

B. Even though the Super is semi-rimmed it extracted reliably from both revolvers.

C. The longer bore due to the supers shorter case and the different bullet dia. did not affect accuracy. Actually the Winchester .38 Super Silvertip was more accurate through a .357 mag than all the .38 Special and .357 Mag loads shot during the test.

He concluded that using a .38 Super through a .357Mag is a better alternative than using a .38spl+p. It has better stopping power. Also it is a good alternative if the muzzle blast and shot to shot times prove hard to handle with the .357.

 

[dcmdon]

Id be happy to give it a try.

The 38 super has only a three thousandths rim. So it is dependent upon your chamber as to whether it will work.

In a semi auto a 38 super head spaces on the mouth.

A super operates at lower pressures than 357 Magnum. So if the rim stops the cartridge from moving forward it should be fine.

older 38 super cartridges had a larger rim. In the 70's the size of the rim was reduced to improve feeding reliability.


Don
Sent from Samsung Note 2

 

[jasons]

Not gonna fit:

.38 Super base diameter = .384"
.357 Mag base diameter = .379"

 

[jasons]

Plus max pressure for .38 Super is 36,500 PSI and .357 mag is only 35,000.

 

[kencop93]

You do learn something new everyday I am not a 38 super person but happen to have a few boxes that where given to me.. I did not know that there is a difference between 38 super and 38 super auto.. I happen to have a box of each.. Jasons is correct. The 38 super does not fit, but the 38 super auto does..

 

[dnepro-mike]

357mag bullet diameter is .357inch
38super is .355
although cases diameter diference is .379 (.357mag) vs .384(.38sup)
i don't think it would fit

 

[Knob Creek]

Not to muddy the waters any more but as stated the .38 Super is semi-rimless. But the .38 Super Comp is rimless.

I use .38 super cases in handloads for my 1902 Colt .38 ACP but .38 Super Comp cases in my Colt 1911 .38 Super.

 

[dcmdon]

Not gonna fit:

.38 Super base diameter = .384"
.357 Mag base diameter = .379"

Well, there you go.

Since I am by nature an experimenter, I'd be happy to try some in my 686 after running some brass through a .38 spc/.357 mag full length resizer.

If anyone cares, send me some brass.

Don

 

[Nickle]

Not gonna fit:

.38 Super base diameter = .384"
.357 Mag base diameter = .379"

And, they still might fit in some chambers due to tolerances.

Now, I used to make 308 Win brass for competition use from Norma 7.7 Jap brass. Why? Most 308 brass available was garbage, accuracy wise. The 7.7 brass was Norma, and that brand is better than most anything else.

The 7.7 brass was about .483 at the base, the 308 about .479. But, the 308 generally has a wide base in the chamber, lots of clearance. So, 7.7 doesn't expand near as much as any 308 brass does. Pretty tight fit, accurate stuff, too.