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**WARNING**Rem. .357 Magnum ammo put in .38 Special boxes.

WalkingWolf

WalkingWolf

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357 will only load if the chambers have been reamed to 357. Heavy modern revolvers can handle magnum loads. The 357 was developed by seating bullets longer in 38spl N frame Smith and Wesson revolvers, the same as 44 magnum from 44 special. That said there is no reason to not return the ammo, most likely the ammo is not loaded properly.
 
davidmcbeth

davidmcbeth

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WalkingWolf said:
357 will only load if the chambers have been reamed to 357. Heavy modern revolvers can handle magnum loads. The 357 was developed by seating bullets longer in 38spl N frame Smith and Wesson revolvers, the same as 44 magnum from 44 special. That said there is no reason to not return the ammo, most likely the ammo is not loaded properly.
Click to expand...

Like many rifles will take 22 LR and shorties. And many who buy 38spl buy them for 357's....plinking.
 
B

bunnspecial

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I've bought those 100 packs of 38 special +Ps a couple of times...the price for them at the local Wal-Mart is about $34.

The Remington 100 pack of .357 magnums is about $50.

Since I have both 38 specials and .357 magnums, I'm tempted to stop by Wal-Mart this afternoon and see if I can find any of the affected packs.

This definitely could be bad, though, especially if your 38 special revolver has the cylinder bored too deeply(none of mine will chamber a .357-I've checked). With that said, though, I've been told that at least on relatively modern Smiths(1960s and newer) all of the frames and cylinders get the same heat treatment regardless of what they'll ultimately be chambered in. Thus, firing a 357 magnum in one not designed for it probably wouldn't cause a kaboom, although it certainly wouldn't be good for the gun in the long term.
 
WalkingWolf

WalkingWolf

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bunnspecial said:
I've bought those 100 packs of 38 special +Ps a couple of times...the price for them at the local Wal-Mart is about $34.

The Remington 100 pack of .357 magnums is about $50.

Since I have both 38 specials and .357 magnums, I'm tempted to stop by Wal-Mart this afternoon and see if I can find any of the affected packs.

This definitely could be bad, though, especially if your 38 special revolver has the cylinder bored too deeply(none of mine will chamber a .357-I've checked). With that said, though, I've been told that at least on relatively modern Smiths(1960s and newer) all of the frames and cylinders get the same heat treatment regardless of what they'll ultimately be chambered in. Thus, firing a 357 magnum in one not designed for it probably wouldn't cause a kaboom, although it certainly wouldn't be good for the gun in the long term.
Click to expand...
I loaded medium 357 rounds for my combat masterpiece for years, as well as a nickel model 19 using 38 spl cases. They will handle it as long as it is not a constant diet. I would not trust loads that have been misloaded at the factory though.
 
B

bunnspecial

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WalkingWolf said:
I would not trust loads that have been misloaded at the factory though.
Click to expand...

Good point about the factory misloads-they're likely best not used. If it was just a case, however, of putting the wrong cartridges in the wrong box, it's probably the bargain of the year :)

I like my arms and my face and my revolvers better than that, though, to take a chance.

I had a friend a while back who bought a box of Winchester 45 Colt, and opened the box to find 44 magnums. That probably could have genuinely resulted in a "kaboom" if they had been loaded and fired in an old SAA.

I open and check every single box of factory ammunition as soon as I get out of the store with it. I look at the headstamps, run my finger over the primers, and do a quick visual for split cases or any other obvious problems. I've never found any problems, but at the same time I've heard stories and figure it's probably best to be safe.
 
09jisaac

09jisaac

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Louisa, Kentucky
bunnspecial said:
Good point about the factory misloads-they're likely best not used. If it was just a case, however, of putting the wrong cartridges in the wrong box, it's probably the bargain of the year :)
Click to expand...

Call them up and ask them what happened. It may be the "bargain of the year"
 
HighFlyingA380

HighFlyingA380

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Nov 30, 2011
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West St. Louis County (Ellisville)
bunnspecial said:
I've bought those 100 packs of 38 special +Ps a couple of times...the price for them at the local Wal-Mart is about $34.

The Remington 100 pack of .357 magnums is about $50.

Since I have both 38 specials and .357 magnums, I'm tempted to stop by Wal-Mart this afternoon and see if I can find any of the affected packs.
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a pretty big difference. If I had a .357mag, I'd definitely be going around to all my ammo stores and have a look-see at the boxes.
 
B

bunnspecial

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I just saw some discussion about this on another forum.

Apparently, the real issue is that the cartridges ARE in fact .38 Special length, but are headstamped .357 magnum and are loaded to magnum pressures.

This is definitely a potentially dangerous situation since they could inadvertently be chambered in a gun not built for them(although it probably wouldn't lead to a blow-up in most modern .38 special guns).

I think this just reinforces my point above about checking all of the factory ammo that you buy!
 
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