Ruger 38 or 357

[Forte S+W]

To me, it always makes more sense to buy a .357 Magnum Revolver over a .38 Special, especially when most companies tend to offer models of similar size/weight chambered in either cartridge.

Sure, a good .38 Special is plenty adequate for self-defense, but the utility of being able to chamber/fire an even more powerful cartridge is worthy of consideration regardless, because more options are always better, especially during ammo shortages.

 

[44 AMP]

Now I am thinking I need either the 357 or the 38 to finish off the 2.25" set.

Completing a set for a collection is a completely different matter than the practical applications of the gun/cartridge combination.

If you're looking at getting the full set, then get the "oddball" or less popular variants, FIRST!

The reason being that those go away first, and become scarce and hard to find before the more popular ones do.

You have the 9mm, so get the .38 NOW, while its available. Odds on finding the .357 later are much better than finding either the 9mm or the .38, so I'd wait on the .357 and get the other(s) first while you can.

For your collection. If it were for primary use, I'd get the .357 first, but that's not what you're looking at here, if i read you right.

 

[jetinteriorguy]

Completing a set for a collection is a completely different matter than the practical applications of the gun/cartridge combination.

If you're looking at getting the full set, then get the "oddball" or less popular variants, FIRST!

The reason being that those go away first, and become scarce and hard to find before the more popular ones do.

You have the 9mm, so get the .38 NOW, while its available. Odds on finding the .357 later are much better than finding either the 9mm or the .38, so I'd wait on the .357 and get the other(s) first while you can.

For your collection. If it were for primary use, I'd get the .357 first, but that's not what you're looking at here, if i read you right.

This is a good approach, especially since you already have a 4” in .357 so it’s not like you can’t shoot.357 when you want. I personally shoot .38’s in any of my pistols chambered for .38sp and .357’s in my .357mags. I don’t shoot.38’s in my .357’s, I have no need to.

 

[Nick_C_S]

A .357 will shoot .38s --- why would you get anything other than the .357

I completely understand that viewpoint. And most certainly, the gun manufacturers see it the same way. Too bad.

There are those of us, who, when in the mood to shoot 38 Special, reach for their 38 Special gun. And there are some minor drawbacks to shooting 38's in a 357 gun.

First, shooting 38's in a 357 leaves a ring of crud in the cylinder charge holes - especially if shooting lead bullets (which is very common with 38 Special). It doesn't take a lot of rounds for there to be enough fouling buildup to make it difficult to load 357's into the chamber afterward.

Also, there is a school of thought that says that the .115" (or whatever that dimension is) "free play" gap from the shorter 38 case leads to pressure bleed-off and a decrease in accuracy. I haven't done any studies on this. But I have shot 10's of thousands of 38 rounds in 357's. I personally, don't believe there's any significant difference in accuracy or velocity.

However, these days, I prefer to shoot 38 Special ammo in 38 Special guns.

Just one guy talking. And I did say minor drawbacks.