38 special/357 Magnum

[TaxiDriver]

Are these one and the same size ?

Fired from same rifle ?

 

Whats the typical cost ?

Whats the usual range & quarry ?

[Guest cookoff013]

no they are not the same.

they have the same bullet, but different cases and different powders respectively.

 

as for the chambering, i`m lead to believe a 38,38spl can fit in and be fired from a .357 action. but the .357 is too long to be used in a .38 and .38spl.

please research this alittle more with your manufacturers guidebook.

[moor man]

Hi .357 and .38sp can both be shot from a .357cal rifle. The beauty of this calibre is it can be loaded hot/light for gallery rifle, short range/ plinking or hunting. There are issues with mixing the two calibres as shooting .38sp through a chamber designed for the longer .357 can result in lead fouling of the chamber/throat area. What gun do you have or plan on getting? You may decide (as many club shooters do) to use only .357 cases and load light for range use as this removes the throat fouling problem. If loading faster rounds for long range or hunting, the use of jacketed bullets is recommended as lead will foul the lands at higher velocities ( not sure but around 900fps +, lead will foul the barrel heavily) There's a large variety of bullets available to the home loader and at reasonable costs. Currently 50 rounds cost approx £8 (club rates) I shoot a marlin 1894c in .357/.38 cal and load my own rounds for range and fox. Accurate to 100yrds for fox( providing you have the correct condition on your license), with the right load. You will have to do some load development but thats half the fun! Once you have an accurate recipe off you go!

Hope that helps, moor man.

[TaxiDriver]

Thank You both of you Gent's,

I was asking out of curiosity mainly, a club I visited recently shoots .38special on an indoor 25m range.

If you look on guntrader, theres lots of 357's and hardly any listed as 38special and I just wondered what the crack was re range and suitable quarry if used in the field.

Another question is noise ? Im guessing a 357 isn't likely to be moderated ?

[Imperfection]

Thank You both of you Gent's,

I was asking out of curiosity mainly, a club I visited recently shoots .38special on an indoor 25m range.

If you look on guntrader, theres lots of 357's and hardly any listed as 38special and I just wondered what the crack was re range and suitable quarry if used in the field.

Another question is noise ? Im guessing a 357 isn't likely to be moderated ?

 

A 357 magum rifle or pistol will also shoot 38 special,but a 38 special pistol will not shoot 357 as the cartridge is too long. Factory 38 special rounds are around £14 per box of 50 while 357 mag are around £22 for same so there is a big difference in price.The 38's are a lot lighter recoil wise so new shooters can get used to firing a centrefire without being put off by excessive noise and recoil.

 

I have a Winchester 357 mag lever-action rifle and can accurately shoot it out to 100mtrs with my reasonably hot homeloads.After 100mtrs though the bullet is dropping like a rock so this is its effective limit.

 

You can moderate them.I've seen a Marlin 357 lever-action with moderator attached so theres no reason you couldnt use it for fox or even small deer perhaps.38 special is a perfectly capable calibre for being moderated while the 357 would be a bit more noiser.

[TaxiDriver]

As a longer 357 cartridge, Is it simply hotter than a 38 then ?

[Imperfection]

As a longer 357 cartridge, Is it simply hotter than a 38 then ?

 

Yes,that was why is was originally made longer so you could not physically fit it in the cylinder of a 38sp revolver.

[Underdog]

I don't understand how fitting a moddy makes it suitable for fox!

 

That aside, my 357 reaches further than 100meters and does not drop like a brick!

That little cartride is about as loud as a 12g and will really surprise you just how far an accurate shot can be made and I use just peep sights!

I stick to 357 cases for all my loads and am developing a rabbit load on a 180 grain jacketed bullet and a pinch of green dot at around 800-900 fps.

Loading it is easy and many powders can be used, it is a joy to use and IMO much overlooked.

 

I think a simple scoped single shot would make such a sweet 150yd plus all round gun that would a joy to load shoot and tote, that is of couse if you don't like leveractions.

 

U.

[Imperfection]

I don't understand how fitting a moddy makes it suitable for fox!

 

That aside, my 357 reaches further than 100meters and does not drop like a brick!

That little cartride is about as loud as a 12g and will really surprise you just how far an accurate shot can be made and I use just peep sights!

I stick to 357 cases for all my loads and am developing a rabbit load on a 180 grain jacketed bullet and a pinch of green dot at around 800-900 fps.

Loading it is easy and many powders can be used, it is a joy to use and IMO much overlooked.

 

I think a simple scoped single shot would make such a sweet 150yd plus all round gun that would a joy to load shoot and tote, that is of couse if you don't like leveractions.

 

U.

 

Keeps the noise down.

[RED BEARD]

if i get a thompson center in 22lr i would quite like a .357 barrel too.

[Underdog]

Keeps the noise down.

 

Really!

 

You said " You can moderate them.I've seen a Marlin 357 lever-action with moderator attached so theres no reason you couldnt use it for fox or even small deer perhaps.38 special is a perfectly capable calibre for being moderated while the 357 would be a bit more noiser. "

 

Since when is it required kit to have to use a moddy for fox shooting? Have they complained about the noise?

 

U :/

[Imperfection]

Really!

 

You said " You can moderate them.I've seen a Marlin 357 lever-action with moderator attached so theres no reason you couldnt use it for fox or even small deer perhaps.38 special is a perfectly capable calibre for being moderated while the 357 would be a bit more noiser. "

 

Since when is it required kit to have to use a moddy for fox shooting? Have they complained about the noise?

 

U :/

 

Since when did i say it is required??? I simply suggested it.

[GingerCat]

Does it do a good job on the fox? Noisey or otherwise.

[Scully]

Does it do a good job on the fox?

As others have mentioned,the .357 is still .38 calibre,but in a much longer case,but just because it's a Magnum doesn't mean you have to load it as such.We used to light load for target work,and up the charge for plates and skittles etc.The .357 Magnum was Police issue for many American Highway Police forces for quite a few years back in the '80's unless I'm mistaken in models such as the Colt Trooper and Python,and the Smith & Wesson Models 19,586/686,and 27.

If you can get a lever-action conditioned for fox the .357 Mag would be a devastating round at sensible ranges.

[casts_by_fly]

if i get a thompson center in 22lr i would quite like a .357 barrel too.

 

Red beard,

 

Be advised that if that is your intention you'll want to go contender and not encore. The contender is better for rimfires and is built more lightly, but is also not suitable for rifle cartridges above a 223 or so. If you have any intentions of a bigger barrel like a 243 or 12 bore then you have to go encore and get the rimfire conversion kit.

 

I have an encore with 223 and 17 hornet barrels. If this were my 'final' set of barrels i would have gone contender. When i go back to the us eventually i will probably get a contender and a 22lr barrel for hunting and keep the encore for bigger stuff.

 

Rick

[RED BEARD]

Red beard,

 

Be advised that if that is your intention you'll want to go contender and not encore. The contender is better for rimfires and is built more lightly, but is also not suitable for rifle cartridges above a 223 or so. If you have any intentions of a bigger barrel like a 243 or 12 bore then you have to go encore and get the rimfire conversion kit.

 

I have an encore with 223 and 17 hornet barrels. If this were my 'final' set of barrels i would have gone contender. When i go back to the us eventually i will probably get a contender and a 22lr barrel for hunting and keep the encore for bigger stuff.

 

Rick

thanks for the info,so your saying if wanted to eventually get a .357 barrel i'd need to start off with a encore? i doubt i'll push the boat out and buy a new one,but i'm on the look out for a second hand one ,which seem to be few and far between!

[phaedra1106]

I have an encore with 223 and 17 hornet barrels. If this were my 'final' set of barrels i would have gone contender. When i go back to the us eventually i will probably get a contender and a 22lr barrel for hunting and keep the encore for bigger stuff.

Hi

 

Can I ask where you got your Encore and barrels from?, I'm looking at a H&R Handi Rifle in 300BLK but have been advised to try and get a Thompson as they are better quality. Thanks

[JonathanL]

As others have mentioned,the .357 is still .38 calibre,but in a much longer case,but just because it's a Magnum doesn't mean you have to load it as such.We used to light load for target work,and up the charge for plates and skittles etc.The .357 Magnum was Police issue for many American Highway Police forces for quite a few years back in the '80's unless I'm mistaken in models such as the Colt Trooper and Python,and the Smith & Wesson Models 19,586/686,and 27.

If you can get a lever-action conditioned for fox the .357 Mag would be a devastating round at sensible ranges.

 

It's actually the other way round. The .38 Special cartridge actually uses a .357/8 bullet.

 

J.

[JonathanL]

Hi

 

Can I ask where you got your Encore and barrels from?, I'm looking at a H&R Handi Rifle in 300BLK but have been advised to try and get a Thompson as they are better quality. Thanks

 

Get a Thompson Contender/Encore. Much better all round.

 

J.

[phaedra1106]

Evening Jonathan

 

Do you know where I can get an Encore or Pro Hunter?, pref. just the frame and stock as Thompson don't do 300BLK and I would have to find a 16" barrel (plenty in the US of course!)

 

Basically it would end up like this one,

Edited March 9, 2013 by phaedra1106

[casts_by_fly]

 

thanks for the info,so your saying if wanted to eventually get a .357 barrel i'd need to start off with a encore? i doubt i'll push the boat out and buy a new one,but i'm on the look out for a second hand one ,which seem to be few and far between!

 

The 357 is fine for the contender. Anything designed for a pistol is fine for the contender (plus a bunch more). If you wanted something on a 308 case head (or bigger) you would need to jump to an encore.

 

Rick

[casts_by_fly]

 

Hi

 

Can I ask where you got your Encore and barrels from?, I'm looking at a H&R Handi Rifle in 300BLK but have been advised to try and get a Thompson as they are better quality. Thanks

 

I replied to you PM but for the benefit of everyone else i will answer here too. My encore and barrels came from the US. I brought them with me when i moved over here. I haven't seen any on a gun rack here in the UK, though at 5 years ago i remember one of the gun magazines doing writeups on the encore.

 

Rick

[Underdog]

Does it do a good job on the fox? Noisey or otherwise.

 

Yes.

 

U.

[casts_by_fly]

The is a contender listed on guntrader right now:

 

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/Guns-For-Sale/results.php?fetch=Results&Filter[NewType][]=Rifle&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Break%20Barrel&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Single%20Shot&perPage=30&sortField=Price&sortOrder=asc

 

Rick

[phaedra1106]

Indeed, and there's a.Thompson Pro Hunter SST/Flextech stainless 28" fluted barrel in .223 at South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies for £850, but for what it would cost to add a custom barrel I can buy an AR platform straight pull in 300BLK.