.357 Magnum and .38 Special

Added on May 20th, 2008 by Phil Elmore | Report Post
Tags:Weapons

Charter Arms .357 Magnum Snubby and Smith and Wesson 637.

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tiki god (#1) (MCS+)

Admin

15 years ago

So which is which? Both of the guns look the same, and so does the ammo…

Phil Elmore (#3573)

Author

15 years ago

That’s why I thought it was neat. The mighty .357 Magnum cartridge really isn’t all that different than the .38 Special. The silver, .357 rounds are on the left, while the brass, .38 rounds are on the right. The two cartridges at the bottom, centered in the frame, are .357 on top and .38 on the bottom.

The Matrix: Rebooted (#436)

15 years ago

That’s because the .357 Magnum is based on the .38 Special cartridge. But try firing a .357 round from a .38 pistol and you’ll be in a world of hurt.

Phil Elmore (#3573)

Author

15 years ago

Specifically, “.357” refers more accurately to the true diameter of the .38 Special. The longer cartridge length makes it quite impossible to shoot a .357 in a .38-caliber revolver (though you can, of course, shoot .38s in a .357). The term “Magnum” comes from a magnum of champagne.

Phyreblade (#1414)

15 years ago

It may just be me but they don’t look the same… They looks similar, but not the same… not by a long shot… Of course I suppose it’s also easier to figure out which cartridge is which when they are sitting side by side…

storminator (#2681) (MCS+)

15 years ago

The >357 is on the left, it carries 6 cartiridges. The .38 is on the right, it carries 5 cartirdges. The idea behind the difference was that the .38 Special did not have enough punch to it, so the extended it 2MM. This was also the case with the .44 Magnum vs the .44 special. So, you can shoot a .38 special out of a .357 Magnum, and a .44 Special out of a .44 Magnum. The other way around wont work because the simply will not fit.