Can they tell ifa bullet came from a .357 casing or a .38 spec casing?

and if the bullet was fired from a .38 spec gun or a .357 mag gun?

and casings
can they know if they look at the cases if from a .357 or .38 ?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

Once the bullet leaves the gun, it is imprinted with the rifling metal signature. That is all they have to go on but a smart person could use JB bore cleaner and buff out some of the signature to some extent.

So are you planning a killing???

I think a lot depends on whether they are weathered or not.

will the .38 spec bullet have the exact same striations on it as the .357 bullet?

when fired from the same handgun or rifle?

Do you own a shovel?

H&K-Guy

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
and casings
can they know if they look at the cases weather from a .357 or .38 ?

All they would have to do is look at the headstamp and see what it says. If that wasn't an option, they'd just have to measure the case length.

Lots of good sites for body disposal, cornfields in abundance in your locale.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
will the .38 spec bullet have the exact same striations on it as the .357 bullet?

when fired from the same handgun or rifle?

If fired from the same gun, yes.

Although I haven’t bought any 357 Magnum or 38 Special ammunition in a long time, it may be possible to link a specific bullet to one or the other factory-loaded cartridge based on its type and weight. For example, I never saw a 158 grain lead (unjacketed) round-nosed 0.357 caliber bullet loaded in anything except 38 Special. Unjacketed 357 Magnum bullets of that weight were normally semiwadcutters. There were also no 148 grain wadcutter loads for the 357 Magnum as there were for 38 Special. On the other hand, the old “metal piercing” load was available only in 357 Mag. As I recall, manufacturers tended to have somewhat different designs for their hollow point bullets as well.

As stated, 38 Special and 357 Magnum cases are noticeably different: the cartridge designation is usually part of the headstamp, and the latter are 0.1 inch longer to prevent their being chambered in 38 Special guns.

I see what you did there, JALLEN. Or should I say I see what you did their?

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
I see what you did there, JALLEN. Or should I say I see what you did their?

Me two. Could knot be sure weather he was being cirius.

The Midwest dialect confused me as well. I speak Mississippi jive.

There are several different modern techniques used by manufacturers to cut rifling in a barrel. The technique or combination of the techniques used by a manufacturer may make a pattern that is unique to that manufacturer or to a specific model of gun.

Bullet forensics depend upon there being sufficient markings remaining on the fired bullet for a comparison. It might be possible for an examiner to identify the manufacturer of the barrel that fired the bullet, which may lead to an answer to your question of whether the bullet was fired from a .38 or a .357 gun. If the company uses the same technique for both .38 and .357 gun barrels probably not so much. Of course, if the suspect gun is available it is possible to identify the particular gun it was fired from.

The uniqueness of the bullet structure itself may give a clue. Certain manufacturers bullets are readily identifiable, such as Gold Dot, Hydrashock, Silvertip, Black Talon, etc. Knowing the caliber and design of the bullet, the manufacturer, and the bullet weight may help determine the cartridge caliber as manufactured. For example, I have some Hornady personal defense rounds in .357 which have a different weight bullet than the .38 special version.

Without the suspect gun to make a comparison you are probably not going to determine if the bullet was fired from a .38 or a .357 gun from the casing alone, unless the markings left on the casing are so unique as to identify the make, model, and caliber of the gun that fired it.

Chemical analysis of bullets is no longer being used so there is no help there.

If all you have is the projectile, no there is no way of knowing if it was fired thru a 38 or a 357...

If they have the suspect weapon, then they can easily identify if it is a 357, but a 38 can be fired thru a 357 so there is that...

if they have the case, it can be measured and the round determined...most people just go based on the brass casing stamp on the case head....but I've got a few 357 cases I trimmed down to shoot in my 38 revolver...(I was outta 38 brass at the time)

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
Can they tell weather a bullet came from a .357 casing or a .38 spec casing?

Of course.

I have been told that certain professionals are smart enough to have access to multiple barrels for semi-auto pistols. Once the work was done the traceable barrel is sent to a forge and a replacement is put in place.

I have no direct knowledge and I slept in my own bed last night.

Some Colt barrels are left hand twist rifling.

What about .357 Sig? Does that round tend to use the same bullets as .357 Magnum?

Only the cops on TV can tell.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
What about .357 Sig? Does that round tend to use the same bullets as .357 Magnum?

No.
The 357 SIG cartridge actually uses 9mm (0.355 caliber) bullets, not 0.357" projectiles. The bullets are also usually designed for use in autoloading handguns, and 357 Magnum bullets usually are not. The latter tend to have larger hollow points with exposed lead at the nose. Soft lead and high speed contact with autoloading feed ramps during chambering don’t play well together.

In addition, some manufacturers load the 357 SIG cartridge with bullets that are specifically designed for the round rather than just using the same bullets that are used their 9mm Luger loads. In the Speer Gold Dot line, for example, there is a 124 grain 9mm load whose bullet is more tapered and has a deeper hollow point than the 125 grain 357 SIG bullets. And it’s loads in 357 because Speer offers two. One is a “limited penetration” round with a lower velocity than the (less common) “standard” loading. Speer has also changed its design for the 125 grain 357 SIG bullet a time or three over its lifetime. I believe there are even two slightly different bullets for the limited penetration and regular loads.

On the other hand, the one box of Double Tap 357 SIG ammunition I have appears to be loaded with the same bullet that Speer uses in its 9mm Gold Dot ammunition—a practice that raises its own interesting questions

Don't forget to file the firing pin after the incident....