Henry Rifle Forums

I heard some people at my local gunshop complaining about .38 Special in a Winchester designed for .357 Magnum/.38 Special.
How does the Henry Big Boy in .357 Magnum/.38 Special handle .38 Special cartidges ?

It is going to come down to the individual rifle as to how well it will handle .38 Special.
My Henry BBB cycles both equally as well.
A former Winchester I owned actually cycled .38 BETTER than .357 - but the Winchester has its own 'built in' issues that are problematic for either of these rounds.

I have a Rossi M92, it cycles and shoots both well.
I just shoot the 357's mostly but have run some 38's a few times.

RP

our Henry BBS H012M chambers and fires both 357 Mag & 38 Spl equally .... that said, we will not fire 38 Spl cases in our 357 rifle/revolvers .... we will, without hesitation, fire 357 cases loaded to 38 Spl specs .... the reason has to do with residue build up in the chamber ....

JEBar wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:45 am

.... that said, we will not fire 38 Spl cases in our 357 rifle/revolvers .... we will, without hesitation, fire 357 cases loaded to 38 Spl specs .... the reason has to do with residue build up in the chamber ....

Plus one on this, at least in the 357s I prize. When I want to shoot 38s, I shoot them in a gun specifically chambered for 38s. Also an accuracy issue, too. My husband, on the other hand, does shoot 38s in his S&W 357, but it does get cleaned after every use.

Chamber ringing can be a major issue even with proper cleaning afterward but it may take a few thousand rounds for it to become evident.

but it may take a few thousand rounds for it to become evident.

Yep - been shooting .38s out of .357 guns for years with no issues.
Standard, timely cleaning and no problems.

we will, without hesitation, fire 357 cases loaded to 38 Spl specs

Practicality, what does that mean?
Just the OAL different?
I'm serious.
Not being a smart guy.

Ojaileveraction wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 28, 2019 7:27 pm

we will, without hesitation, fire 357 cases loaded to 38 Spl specs

Practicality, what does that mean?
Just the OAL different?
I'm serious.
Not being a smart guy.

since we use the same bullets for both, outside of powder and charge, the OAL is the significant difference ....

Mistered wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 28, 2019 7:08 pm

but it may take a few thousand rounds for it to become evident.

Yep - been shooting .38s out of .357 guns for years with no issues.
Standard, timely cleaning and no problems.

Just so there's no misunderstanding, chamber ringing isn't a result of improper cleaning but an issue with gas cutting. The model 19 Smiths that were used as carry weapons and heavily used when LE still carried revolvers were extremely susceptible for some reason.

The model 19 Smiths that were used as carry weapons and heavily used when LE still carried revolvers were extremely susceptible for some reason.

This is correct and is an entirely different discussion.
I'll be more than happy to explain it if anyone is interested!

Mistered wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:55 pm

The model 19 Smiths that were used as carry weapons and heavily used when LE still carried revolvers were extremely susceptible for some reason.

This is correct and is an entirely different discussion.
I'll be more than happy to explain it if anyone is interested!

Now where is that popcorn emoji?..

To get back to the OP's original question, as has been noted, they'll very likely cycle just fine in your Henry, but the on-target performance is considerably different, as the basis ballistics would predict.

Point being, if you switch back and forth between calibers, and then do any kind of brand-switching as well, you'll end up with a dog's breakfast of results when it comes to target-shooting results.

Just depends on what you're after when shooting one vs. the other. 38 Spcl recoil in a Henry is almost "22-like," so might be great for beginners to train with.

If you are buying factory ammo, then I understand the economy of shooting .38.

If you are reloading, then the only economic issue may be the acquisition of .357 cases. The difference in cost of reloading a .38 and reloading a .357 is minimal at best. As for the cases, I frequently find .38 cases on the floor at the range. I rarely find .357 cases. When I do find some .357, it's like Christmas.

I estimate it costs me about 17 to 25 cents per box of 50 more powder to load .357 vs .38 in the target loads I normally run.

.

Mgderf wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:47 pm

... Now where is that popcorn emoji?..

Thanks for all your replies. I will use factory ammo and yes, price is an issue.
I shoot .22lr now in my Henry 'Small Game' rifle, but would like something more powerful to use for cowboy action shooting in the future.

.
Take a look at the Uberti Stallion http://www.ubertireplicas.com/product/stallion/
Calibers: .17HMR, .17MACH2, .22LR, .22MAG, .32/20, .32H&RM, .38SP, .41COLT

jkrijt wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 29, 2019 12:14 pm

Thanks for all your replies. I will use factory ammo and yes, price is an issue.
I shoot .22lr now in my Henry 'Small Game' rifle, but would like something more powerful to use for cowboy action shooting in the future.

I just purchased a Henry BB Steel 38/357 20" a couple of weeks ago. I'relaod and cast my own bullets. I purchased 1K of range bass in 357 as I was worried about cycling - as mentioned and as I've heard, it depends on the rifle. I first loaded some dummy rounds of 357 with a Lee 358-158 grain tumble lubed semi wad cutter. I wasn't happy with the way my rifle cycled with the SWC. I then loaded some 357 dummy rounds with the Lee 358-158 grain Round Face - which is a round nose flat point bullet. They cycle in my rifle like butter - no issues at all. I loaded some 38 Spl. with the same Lee 3580158 grain RF - round nose flat point - they also cycle just fine with no issues. So in my rifle, I'll probably be using the 357 cases most of the time but it's nice to have the 38 Spl. option.

Just for kicks, I loaded up two 357 dummy rounds, a 38 spl dummy round and then a noter two 357 dummy rounds - cycled and the 38 spa. "hung up". I then emptied the rifle of all the dummy rounds, put in the 38 spl. dummy round and it cycled perfectly.

I don't know why anyone would do it, but the little experiment shows me it's not a good idea to load both 357 and 38 spl. rounds in the same loading as the 38 spl. will hang up 0 at least in my rifle. Like I say, I don't know why anyone would load a combination unless they were at a range, had a few of one round left and then wanted to add the other to fill the magazine up.

This is just my experience with my rifle. I have always used a flat point round in a tubular magazine so the tip of a bullet wasn't resting on a primer. I've read on this site that Henry says you can use round nose ammunition. I'm going to load up some dummy rounds with the Lyman 358-311 round nose 160 grain cast bullet just to try to satisfy my curiosity. I would imagine that the round nose will cycle and feed just fine.

When I first got my H006M, I "experimented" by loading .38 specials and .357 magnum in the same tube, alternating one after the other. It's the only time I shot .38s in it, but the rifle had no problem cycling the two different cartridge lengths.

Michiganshooter wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 29, 2019 8:12 pm

I don't know why anyone would do it, but the little experiment shows me it's not a good idea to load both 357 and 38 spl. rounds in the same loading ...

JEBar wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:45 am

our Henry BBS H012M chambers and fires both 357 Mag & 38 Spl equally .... that said, we will not fire 38 Spl cases in our 357 rifle/revolvers .... we will, without hesitation, fire 357 cases loaded to 38 Spl specs .... the reason has to do with residue build up in the chamber ....

Somehow I missed this thread. But, the above rings true. I use this same method, mostly because they seem to feed smoother in my Henry. I don't want to deal with a carbon ring. Less cleaning, more fun. Plus my wife just likes the .38 spl loads when she shoots.