I have had this revolver for 5 years or so. Bought it on consignment from a big gun shop. Damn thing is marked .357 magnum but will not chamber them. S@W tells me it was made before their warranty so I will have to pay to make it right. Anybody know anything about this? Revolver was made around 85.
I'm a far cry from being a gunsmith, but you might ask a real smith if the revolver actually has a .357 cylinder or not. You could luck out, and just need to change cylinders.
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If it's marked .38, it's a .38, not a .357. What model is it, any pic's?
Have you cleaned the chambers? Lot of guys shoot .38spl in their .357's, it causes a build up of lead and crud in the chamber so when you use the longer .357 round it well not fit.
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Last edited by madcratebuilder; 09-07-2009 at 09:44 AM.
I have had this revolver for 5 years or so. Bought it on consignment from a big gun shop. Damn thing is marked .357 magnum but will not chamber them. S@W tells me it was made before their warranty so I will have to pay to make it right. Anybody know anything about this? Revolver was made around 85.
Hello Billy
I find it hard to swallow that S&W Blew you off, on a Matter of safety here. If the gun is a True .357 Magnum it should chamber the round. Have you tried to clean the cylinder chambers to see if perhaps a Ton of .38 Specials have been fired in it perventing the insertion of .357 magnums due to a Crud Build up ? Measure the total length of the cylinder, and Post it here so I can see if it has the correct Length cylinder in it to fire .357 magnum rounds. S&W has had a Life time warranty in place since The Lier Sigler Era, in the very Early 1990's and to the best of my Knowledge, never did away with it.You must have spoke to the floor sweeper when you called there, I would suggest you call them again with this issue... Hammerdown
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It is a factory error on this model. Dont know how many got shipped this way. Dont know if I should just keep shooting .38s through it and hang on to it, or send it in for repair. I originaly bought it for use as a .357. Guess it should be safe to shoot .38 +ps through it.
Billy, let me tell you what a collector, firearms instructor and competition shooter (all the same guy) told me about the +P .38 Special:
"The biggest difference between a current [production .38 Special +P hollowpoint and a first flight .357 Magnum round is the size of the muzzle flash. If you are using .38 Special +P at personal defense ranges, it'll get the job done for you."
Considering that Hornady is making its new Critical Defense round in only four configurations, and one of them is .38 Special and another is .38 Special +P, I think that speaks volumes about Hornady's opinion of the .38 Special's effectiveness as a personal defense gun at short (under 25 yards) ranges. You don't need to replace your pistol or even its cylinder, Billyz. All you need to do is shoot a really good cartridge out of it.
Billy, let me tell you what a collector, firearms instructor and competition shooter (all the same guy) told me about the +P .38 Special:
"The biggest difference between a current [production .38 Special +P hollowpoint and a first flight .357 Magnum round is the size of the muzzle flash. If you are using .38 Special +P at personal defense ranges, it'll get the job done for you."
Considering that Hornady is making its new Critical Defense round in only four configurations, and one of them is .38 Special and another is .38 Special +P, I think that speaks volumes about Hornady's opinion of the .38 Special's effectiveness as a personal defense gun at short (under 25 yards) ranges. You don't need to replace your pistol or even its cylinder, Billyz. All you need to do is shoot a really good cartridge out of it.
Good point Cyrano. Back in the service revolver days, all of our department's revolvers throughout the entire state were either .357 Smith & Wesson Model 13/65s, or .357 Ruger Police Service Six or GP-100 series. However, the standard load was always the proven 158 grain SWC hollow point .38+P service load. We never felt compelled to switch out to .357 mag ammunition.
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Have you cleaned the chambers? Lot of guys shoot .38spl in their .357's, it causes a build up of lead and crud in the chamber so when you use the longer .357 round it well not fit.
i second what madcratebuilder says, clean them chambers first. i shot so much .38 special wadcutter punching paper with my S&W M-19, that from the build up, regular 158gr .38 special would not fit much less the .357.
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Hello Billy
I find it hard to swallow that S&W Blew you off, on a Matter of safety here. If the gun is a True .357 Magnum it should chamber the round. Have you tried to clean the cylinder chambers to see if perhaps a Ton of .38 Specials have been fired in it perventing the insertion of .357 magnums due to a Crud Build up ? Measure the total length of the cylinder, and Post it here so I can see if it has the correct Length cylinder in it to fire .357 magnum rounds.S&W has had a Life time warranty in place since The Lier Sigler Era, in the very Early 1990's and to the best of my Knowledge, never did away with it.You must have spoke to the floor sweeper when you called there, I would suggest you call them again with this issue... Hammerdown
Just asking?
Did you mean 1890's or 1990's? Because if you meant 1990's, then his being made in '85 might explain why they said what they did? But I believe you meant 1890's???
Please confirm...
But also, like you said, this being a potential safety issue, you'd think they'd do something???
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Last edited by GlockMeister; 09-10-2009 at 02:04 AM.
Im scrubbing the hell out of it no difference so far. It is a model 581. Cylinder length is 1 and 5/8.
Should be .357. 40mm is the overall case length for a .357, according to wikipedia that is? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_Magnum And in converting 40mm to inches, it comes to 1.574803149606 inches.
If you have a ruler with mm, use it and see if 40mm?
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those pics. will help? Especially if and where it's marked .38 instead of .357?
And, if I'm reading this right, they may have made two versions, one in .38 and one in .357? If link doesn't already bring you to the spot, just scroll down to the 581 listings? There's two, one in .357 and one in .38???
If the barrel is marked .357 and the cylinder only excepts .38, bubba changed barrels.
Any photo's??????????????????
Actually changing barrels wouldnt do a thing as they are the same...The Cylinder is what would have to be changed...If it is marked .357 then it should chamber .357 mags. If it wont , and the chamber is too short , then S&W should take it and run a chamber reamer in all 6 holes and make it right Free of charge... I would call again and speak to the Head of Customer Service , not anyone else...
Rich
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Moose, I think madcrate is or was suggesting "someone" bubba maybe?, lol, changed the barrel? But you're right, either way, the barrel and what it says has nothing to do with what will and won't fit in the cylinder. Although we both know it's best if the cylinder takes what the barrels says on it. lol
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Last edited by GlockMeister; 09-10-2009 at 02:54 AM.
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