A pistol or rifle chambered in 357 mag can safely fire any 38 special round .
A pistol or rifle chambered in 38 specail CAN NOT safely fire a 357 mag rnd.
The 38 special is a shorter case loaded to a lower pressure
The differance between the to are the
38 spccial has a case length of 1.155" the 357 mag is 1.290"
In some 38 special guns a 357 mag may chamber but it is not safe to fire it !!

Johnch