Quoted: 9mm = .355 38 Special = .357 357 magnum = .357 38 S&W =.381(IIRC)
So you can shoot 38 Special's in a 357, you can get convertible 9mm/357 Ruger Blackhawks, but you can't shoot 38 S&W in any of the other "38" handguns; they won't even chamber.
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.38 Special and .357 ...
38 special is measured by the bullet diameter unfired.
.357 is measured by the bullet diameter/bore of the gun after firing.
I dunno why, but that is why they have two different names.
CASE lengths are different, but the unfired bullets are the same diameter.
DON'T put a .357 round into a .38 special. The cases of the .357 were made longer to prevent someone accidentally putting a .357 mag into a .38 special (which is not designed to handle the pressure)
And I think the 9mm is actually classified as a .38. In Texas you have to us a .38 or larger to qualify for CCW. 9mm counts as .38
funny thing however, .380 (380 auto) is a 9mm Kurz. (9mm short) same bullet diameter, just a shortened case, but it does NOT count as a .38 for qualifying in Texas... weird.
.380 is called a 'three eighty', not a 9mm short, even weirder
TheRedGoat/Baphomet