Cuebuilder

Hi, I joined this forum to answer this question, Don't know if my answer is right but it is what I do. I think he asking if he can load a 38 special to 357 magnum pressures? The short answer is YES, I've been doing it for years, But don't ever shoot any of these hot loads in a 38 special gun or you will likely blow it up, Even it its rated for plus p loads. I shoot mine in my Ruger Blackhawk and my S&W 19's, S&W 27, Ruger GP100, and an old Herters 357 Magnum. All of these guns were built to withstand the pressures of the 357 mag. The 38 Special has a Sammi of 13,500 cup or something like that where the 357 mag has a Sammi of 52,000 cup or somewhere around there. So, you see there is a HUGE difference in cup pressures for each cartridge. But, If your are going to shoot these hot 38's in a 357 mag you can load the 38's to the same cup pressure as the 357 mag but they have to be shot in a 357 mag, one mistake and no more 38 handgun or possibly fingers or whole hand. Now if you really want to load these hot loads then do this. Find a 357 mag load that you want to duplicate, then start at the lowest starting load and then reduce that by 20 percent, since the 38 case is about 15 to 20 percent smaller than the 357 mag. Now work your load up to the max in small amounts until you start to see high pressure signs like flattened primers and or hard extraction. One more thing if the 357 mag load calls for a magnum primer then you will have to use the magnum primers in your 38 special hot loads also. PLEASE be careful working up your loads and make sure to keep them separated from your regular 38 special loads.