# Can .38 ammo be fired through a .357 (but not vice versa)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150 "2001-09-12T20:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jimbrowski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@Jimbrowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimbrowski)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/21 "2001-09-13T13:45:22Z")
Thanks very much all, this has been very informative. One more specific question: if identical .38 Special rounds (doesn’t matter what kind, just that they are the same) are fired from a typical .38 Special revolver and a typical .357, which will produce the greater muzzle velocity? In other words, do you get “more bang for your buck” firing .38’s through a .357? Or is there no practical difference? And… what’s the .32/20 of Robert Johnson fame? ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/22 "2001-09-13T14:02:06Z")
No practical difference. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/23 "2001-09-13T16:36:10Z")
The Colt .32/20 Positive Police Special. The .32/20 was a cartridge shared with a handgun and a rifle. Obviuosly a bad idea, and chambered differently for each at variuos times. Robert Johnson invented the blues, and has a song “.32/20 Blues”. ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Nickel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@Doc\_Nickel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Nickel)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/24 "2001-09-13T18:17:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jimbrowski \* > \*\*One more specific question: if identical .38 Special rounds (doesn’t matter what kind, just that they are the same) are fired from a typical .38 Special revolver and a typical .357, which will produce the greater muzzle velocity? In other words, do you get “more bang for your buck” firing .38’s through a .357? > \*\* Assuming equal barrel length and bore dimensions, yes, they will be essentially equal. Generally speaking, using the “correct” ammo for each gun would tend to produce slightly better accuracy. But the specifics depend, of course, on the particular gun and brand of cartridge. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/25 "2001-09-13T18:28:46Z")
The other issue of concertn to bulleseye shooters is bullet jump. In a revolver the bullet has to travel trought the end of the cylinder before it is guided by the rifling in the barrel. The longer that jump is the more it can effect accuracy. Not enough to be an issue for defensive weapons but critical in some match shooting. To reduce bullet jump shooters use .38 special pistols or with a .357 they can load longer magnum cases to the pressure and velocity of mild .38 target loads. ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/26 "2001-09-14T19:39:59Z")
for inside the house protection (and to protect the innocent neighbors) a 357 loaded with shotshell has plenty of stopping power at close range and will be stopped by walls. the perfect setup for my taste is a 357 stainless S&W model 19 loaded with 357 CCI shotshells in the 1st 2 cylinders then 38 hollowpoints in the remaining 6. and of course a trigger lock. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/27 "2001-09-14T20:16:09Z")
I gotta disagree with you, **justinh**. There is no perfect solution for home defense. Just effective ones, and non-effective ones. If you need to use a weapon to protect your loved ones, yourself, or your home, “perfect” has already passed. Now, the weapon/ammo combination you propose would be effective in many, possibly even most, but by no means all, home-defense scenarios. Everyone has to review their own situation, and, prefferably, get some knowledgeable outside opinion to validate their conclusions about what’s the most effective solution _for them_. ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/28 "2001-09-14T20:53:56Z")
I should have qualified my response as the perfect gun setup for home defense. it tempers stopping power with safety (to neighbors outside your house and family members inside the house). The alternative of somebody buying a 38 or 357 loading up with jacketed bullets and keeping it under the mattress is not desireable. if there is a better solution to selecting a gun for home defense then I would like to here it. (maybe a 410 pump with birdshot and a locked trigger) but that is cumbersome ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/29 "2001-09-14T21:38:37Z")
friend justinh, > [@](#): > > if there is a better solution to selecting a gun for home defense then I would like to here it. (maybe a 410 pump with birdshot and a locked trigger) but that is cumbersome IMHO, nothing says “get the F\*\*\* out of my house!” like the sound of the slide action on a 12 gauge shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/30 "2001-09-17T13:18:19Z")
longhair, the problem with firing firearms in a house is that the rounds aren’t contained within the walls of the room and sometimes the house. I wouldnt want my neighbor shooting a 30-06 off in his house. and if I was in the next room I wouldn’t want someone shooting a 12 gauge. That is my reasoning for the shotshell in a 357 or a 410. Pumping a 410 is just as convincing as pumping a 12 guage, I would think, and a 410 loaded with birdshot will discourage anyone struck within the 10-30 ft range. If I lived alone in a rural setting, I would keep a 12 gauge and let loose when necessary (might make a mess though). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/31 "2001-09-17T13:45:19Z")
Do policemen have a light load in the shotguns thaey have in patrol cars? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150/32 "2001-09-17T16:17:15Z")
In my opinion, nothing beats a 12-gage pump for home defense. When it comes to stopping a Bad Guy, it really doesn’t matter what’s in it, as even #8 birdshot will be tightly grouped if your target is within 20 feet or so. But smaller shot _will_ lose its energy faster when it hits a wall, so I _would_ use #6 to #8 shot if you have nearby neighbors, or if you live in an apartment. (I lve in a rural area, so mine is loaded with 000.) A rifle is _not_ an ideal home defense weapon for reasons already mentioned. And a loaded handgun in the dresser drawer is too dangerous, IMO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-38-ammo-be-fired-through-a-357-but-not-vice-versa/81150.md?page=1)