Posted: 6/20/2026 9:14:33 PM EDT
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My 642 Smith & Wesson Airweight will take a .357 Magnum in the cylinder, even though it's marked .38 Special. I'm still new to Revolverland, but I thought the cylinders were shorter on .38 Special to prevent that? My Ruger LCR marked .357+P cylinder is actually a slight bit shorter than the 642 cylinder. What am I missing? |
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I figured it out.... And I feel stupid. The box of.357 ammo I had in my fort from the Sandy Hook panic had several rounds of .38 swapped in to replace the .357. Some neckbearder pulled a fast one at Cabela's or Bass pro. When I was looking at this, I didn't actually read the case, just pulled some from the box marked .357 and started dropping them in. I had both guns on the table and realized the cylinders were similar length, when I always thought the .38 would be visibly shorter and that the round would stick out of the cylinder to prevent interchange. I seem to remember seeing that before. The Smith has a change in the inside diameter that keeps the .357 from seating or the cylinder closing. |
