357 mag only?

[wvfarrier]

Why would a 357 mag levergun not be compatible with 38s? I was at Cabelas and looked at an Uberti 92 Repro that said "357 mag only" on the barrel. Is the cartridge length?

[1894cfan]

.357 Mag. is only 1/10" longer than a 38SPL! You can likely get away with using 38s with no problem.

[piller]

Probably a lawyer note .

[AmBraCol]

Growing up in Brazil I remember looking at those rifles in the shop and wishing we could afford one. THEY were marked "38 Special" (or the equivalent thereof - it's been a few decades). I knew a fellow or two that somehow got their hands on a reamer and that "38 Special" morphed into an unmarked and technically illegal 357 Magnum.

[RIHMFIRE]

probably has cycling issues

[44shooter]

Probably depends on the specific 38 load as to whether it will function. I would think the journey from the magazine to the elevator would be the most critical phase. If you kept over all length similar 38s could work. Think lots of lead sticking out of the case. Not wadcutters or 110s.

[AJMD429]

.
I can't imagine you would have any problem whatsoever with handloaded 38 specials because you could adjust the overall cartridge length to be the same as 357 magnum. There is an issue if you always use 38 specials and the powder is dirty and you don't clean the gun, because the front 10th of an inch of the chamber will get a build up of powder fouling and lubricant and stuff, but that's easily solved by cleaning the gun properly.

However, as stated by others here, factory 38 Special loads are going to be slightly shorter and may not feed reliably. I have probably owned and shot eight 357 Magnum lever action guns over the years, (I think 5 Marlin 1894's and three Rossi 92's), and all were chambered for 357 Magnum that fed pretty much anything from 125 grain to 180 grain reliably, whether it was in a 38 special or 357 case. I have seen others on the forum report feeding issues with 38 specials however so I'm sure each gun presents individual issues. It sounds like if the gun is a desirable one you could either tailor your hand loads to fit it, using either case, or by handing some money to a talented gunsmith, most likely get your Gun to feed whatever you wanted it to feed.

I have one Marlin 1894 and one Rossi 92, each with a 16 inch barrel, that I use 38 Special factory lead or FMJ round nose 159 grain loads in 90% of the time for plinking but also keep 38 Special+P 130 to 160 grain semi jacketed soft points or hollow points in for bumps in the night.

[AmBraCol]

Doc, you bring up a valid point. Perhaps the warning is due to folks who have shot a lot of 38 SPL, built up a lot of residue in front of the cartridge case and then tried to switch to 357 Magnum without cleaning it out. That would cause feeding problems with the mag rounds and maybe even cause a chambered round to up the pressure substantially. Easier to say "357 Magnum ONLY" than to tell folks, "Clean your chamber after firing 38's!!!" because more folks will adhere to the former while the latter in this day of non-corrosive ammunition is rarely adhered to.

[1894cfan]

FYI, I made the mistake of loading and firing 22LR in a 22Mag 983 and didn't clean the chamber before shooting Mags, didn't have a problem loading but after firing the case wouldn't come out because the fouling ring wouldn't let the expanded case move. Had to resort to tapping them out with a cleaning rod! LAST time I'd fire LRs in a Mag rifle!
LRs WILL chamber and fire in a Mag, but you durn well better clean before going back to Mags! Same thing will likely happen in a 357 when firing 38s then going to 357s.

[JB]

probably has cycling issues

I'd say you there's a 99% chance, you're right. They're telling the consumer up front to save hassles later.