# Reply - Hard to get 357 empties out of Ruger SP101



## miketx60 (Jul 20, 2015)

Went out today and shot it again. The first shooting was last week and I put about 70 rounds of 38 +p federal and cci aluminum case .357 158 gr hp's through the gun. I noticed then that the cci magnums were very hard to extract. I got home and cleaned it good, and now for today.

I fired 5 rounds of 125 gr. hornady FTX magnums and they came right out. 

Next was 5 rounds of 125 gr. Horndy XTP magnums and they extracted very easily.

Next 5 CCI 158 gr. aluminum case magnums. They were a little difficult to get out but came right out with just a little more effort. I shot 5 more and they were the same.

Next, 5 rounds of Federal 125 gr. jhp .38 +p loads. They extracted easily.

The next 15 rounds were all CCI 158 gr. JHP magnums with aluminum cases. They all took a little more effort, but after shooting the .38's there was no more noticeable difficulty than before shooting the.38's. Also after shooting the .38s, the CCI's were noticeably harder to load. 


So, in conclusion I'd suggest to the fellow who was having those problems to shoot some more with some different ammo and see what happens after cleaning it good.

Also one thing to remember: I noticed that the cylinder is VERY close to the frame when it is opened and if it lines up just right you can't eject the empties because they contact the frame, unless you rotate the cylinder a little.


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## SGWGunsmith (Jan 8, 2015)

Not too long ago I had a customer bring in a Smith & Wesson Model 66 with the 2-½ barrel. He had been teaching his kids to shoot using .38 Special ammunition. Then, when he went back to using the longer cased .357 Magnum rounds, the cases were sticking in the cylinder. What had happened was, a carbon ring developed in each of the chambers in the cylinder walls where the shorter .38 Special case sat in the cylinder, once the bullet left. Then,the .357 Magnum rounds, being longer would stick in the cylinder because of that carbon ring build-up. I cleaned the carbon ring out for him, and now all is well.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

miketx60 said:


> Went out today and shot it again. The first shooting was last week and I put about 70 rounds of 38 +p federal and cci aluminum case .357 158 gr hp's through the gun. I noticed then that the cci magnums were very hard to extract. I got home and cleaned it good, and now for today.
> 
> I fired 5 rounds of 125 gr. hornady FTX magnums and they came right out.
> 
> ...


Based on your results, the aluminum casings extracted a little tighter ?


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## acepilot (Dec 16, 2012)

Good info. Thanks for following up! I will also try similar tactics and see how it goes for me...


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## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

_*What you're seeing is classic for shooting .38spl first then 357Mag later. Plain and simple. *_

38 cases are 1/8in shorter than 357MAG on purpose. Actually the correct way to look at it is this: the 357 cases are 1/8in longer since they came into being *after* the 38spl did by decades. The reason the 357 cases are longer is prevent them from loading into a gun built only to handle the much milder pressures of the .38spl, originally a black powder round in fact.

So, as mentioned earlier, when you shoot the shorter .38 ammo you leave a ring in the cylinders at the case's mouth. The more you shoot the bigger the buildup. TO a certain extent I'm surprised you could even load the 357 cases after shooting the .38s. The 357 cases do the same thing, but of course they're 1/8in farther down the cylinder.

So there's NO FAULT OF THE GUN. It's the build up left behind by the .38 ammo. Nothing you can do about it, fact of life. If you're at the range and plan to switch back and forth you'll just have to bring a brush and cleaner with you to remove that ring in your cylinder.


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