158 grain
The classic weight · both cartridges
The traditional revolver weight in .38 Special and .357 Magnum alike, in round nose, semi-wadcutter and hollow point. Easy to shoot well and what many revolvers are sighted for.
Revolver ammo · two cartridges, one rule
158 grain for the range, wadcutters for paper, and hollow points for carry, in both .38 Special and .357 Magnum, over the counter in Kearny Mesa. And the first question at the counter, answered on this page: which one does your revolver take?
Start here
The One-Way Rule
A .357 Magnum revolver fires .38 Special. A .38 Special revolver does not fire .357 Magnum. Read what the barrel is stamped, then this.
- Stamped .357 Magnum
- Either cartridge. .38 Special is the softer, usually cheaper practice round; .357 Magnum is the full-power load. Many owners practice mostly with .38 and shoot some .357 to stay honest with the recoil.
- Stamped .38 Special
- .38 Special only. +P only if the revolver's maker says it is rated for it. .357 Magnum is not for this gun, and it is made longer on purpose so it will not chamber.
- A .357 lever-action or carbine
- Many chamber both, but some rifles feed the shorter .38 Special less reliably than .357. The manual says what the rifle is built to feed; a box through it tells you the rest.
Why the rule only runs one way
.38 Special and .357 Magnum use the same diameter bullet. The .357 case is a little over a tenth of an inch longer, and it was made that way deliberately in the 1930s so the far more powerful magnum could not be loaded into a revolver built only for .38 Special pressures.
Going the other way is fine: a revolver built for .357 Magnum is built for more pressure than any .38 Special load produces. One housekeeping note — shoot a lot of .38 in a .357 and a ring of residue builds up in the chamber just ahead of the shorter case. Clean it out before you go back to .357, or the longer cases can be hard to seat and extract.
The number on the box
158 Grain, a Wadcutter, and a Light Fast Load
Both cartridges run from roughly 110 to 180 grain. Three loads cover most of what people buy.
148 grain wadcutter
Flat-fronted · target · .38 Special
A flat-nosed bullet loaded to low velocity that punches a clean, round hole in paper. Popular with target shooters and anyone who wants a very soft .38. Some shooters also choose it for carry in snub-nose revolvers — a box through your gun comes first.
110 to 125 grain
Light · fast · defensive loads
Lighter bullets, common in defensive hollow points. In .357 Magnum a 125 grain load is the classic full-power choice, with a lot of muzzle blast. In .38 Special, lighter loads can be easier to control from a small revolver.
+P is a .38 Special marking
.38 Special +P is loaded to a higher published SAAMI pressure than standard .38 Special. Many modern .38 revolvers are rated for it in print; some older and lightweight ones are not, or say to limit how much you shoot. Any revolver built for .357 Magnum is built for more than .38 +P. As always, read the manual rather than the box — we can tell you what a box is marked, and only the maker can tell you what the gun is rated for.
Counter mistakes
Other .38s That Do Not Fit
There are several cartridges with 38 or 357 in the name. Only two of them are the subject of this page.
.38 S&W is an older, different round
.38 S&W is a shorter, fatter, older revolver cartridge, common in some antique and imported revolvers. It is not .38 Special and the two are not interchangeable. If the barrel says .38 S&W, call before you drive.
.38 Super is a pistol round
.38 Super is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge, mostly seen in 1911-pattern pistols. It has nothing to do with revolvers and does not fit a .38 Special chamber.
.380 ACP is a pocket-pistol round
.380 ACP is a small semi-automatic cartridge. The extra zero makes it a completely different round. Our .380 ACP page covers it.
.357 SIG is not a magnum
.357 SIG is a bottlenecked semi-automatic pistol cartridge built on a .40 S&W case. It shares the number and none of the revolver. It will not work in a .357 Magnum.
On the shelf in Kearny Mesa
.38 Special / .357 Loads We Have Carried
Real boxes that have been across this counter and on the deals board. Pictured as printed, so you know what you are looking for on the shelf.
Recent .38 Special / .357 boxes on this counter came from Fiocchi — and that is a record of what we have sold, not a promise of what is on the shelf today. The shelf moves daily and this site is updated by hand, so call or text before you drive out and somebody will go and look.
Why there is no price on this page
Ammunition pricing moves with the wholesale market, and a figure printed next to a caliber is wrong within weeks. So we quote .38 Special / .357 on the phone, with a number that is true today. The one exception is the deals page, where a fixed price on a fixed quantity runs for a fixed week.
Before you drive out
Buying .38 Special / .357 in California
A few minutes longer than buying anything else, and almost every problem we see at the counter could have been sorted out at home.
- .38 Special and .357 Magnum are handgun ammunition, so 21 and over in California — even when they are for a lever-action rifle. At 18 to 20, call first.
- Every ammunition sale in California happens face to face at a licensed vendor. State law, not our policy, and the reason there is no cart on this site.
- Bring your California driver's license or ID card. If it reads FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY, bring a passport or certified birth certificate as well.
- Every purchase runs a DOJ eligibility check with a state-set fee collected on the state's behalf — not our charge, and we do not mark it up. The most common reason one fails is a stale record, not eligibility.
General information, not legal advice. Reviewed — the rules that govern every purchase are published by the California Department of Justice.
Ammunition and accessories only — no firearms, and no shooting range at this location. If you need somewhere to shoot what you buy, we keep a list of ranges around the county. Se habla español.
Common questions
.38 Special and .357 Magnum Questions We Get at the Counter
Real questions from real customers, answered the way we answer them in person.
Can I shoot .38 Special in a .357 Magnum revolver?
Yes. A .357 Magnum revolver fires .38 Special, which is milder and usually cheaper to practice with. If you shoot a lot of .38, clean the ring of residue it leaves in the chamber before you go back to .357, or the longer magnum cases can be hard to seat and extract.
Can I shoot .357 Magnum in a .38 Special revolver?
No. .357 Magnum is loaded to much higher pressure, and its case is made longer on purpose so it will not chamber in a revolver built only for .38 Special. Buy the cartridge the barrel is stamped for; a .38 Special revolver takes .38 Special, and +P only if its maker rates it for +P.
What is a wadcutter?
A flat-fronted bullet, usually 148 grain in .38 Special, loaded to low velocity. It cuts a clean, round hole in a paper target, which makes scoring easy, and it is one of the softest-shooting loads you can put through a revolver.
Is .38 Special +P safe in my revolver?
Check the manual, not the box. .38 Special +P is loaded to a higher published SAAMI pressure than standard .38 Special, and many modern revolvers are rated for it in print. Some older and lightweight revolvers are not, or recommend limited use. Any revolver built for .357 Magnum handles .38 +P. Only the manufacturer can tell you what your revolver is rated for.
I am 18. Can I buy .38 Special or .357 Magnum?
Call us before you drive out. California sets 21 as the minimum age for handgun ammunition and 18 for rifle and shotgun ammunition, and .38 Special and .357 Magnum are handgun ammunition even when they feed a lever-action rifle. The law leaves that judgment to the vendor, so we would rather talk it through than turn you away at the register.
Do you have .38 Special or .357 Magnum in stock, and how much is it?
Call 858-987-0509 or text 310-499-3499 and we will quote today's price and check the shelf while you are on the line. The catalog carries no prices because ammunition moves with the wholesale market; when .38 or .357 is on the weekly deals board, the price is published on the deals page. This site is updated by hand, so treat nothing on it as today's inventory.
Stock & deal questions
Tell us the revolver and we will go look
Text is usually faster than a call. Send what the barrel is stamped, the barrel length, and whether it is for practice, paper or carry — somebody will walk to the shelf and tell you what is actually there.
Se habla español
- Ask if your caliber is in stock today, and what it runs.
- Ask what the in-store Deal of the Week is before you drive out.
- Ask what to bring for the California eligibility check.
- Ask anything about a load, a caliber, or your gun. No pressure, no attitude.
- Phone
- immediate during business hours
- Text
- anytime — immediate during business hours, forwarded after hours
- Hours
- Mon – Fri 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Sat – Sun 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Where We Are
LAX Ammo San Diego4411 Mercury St, Suite 103San Diego, CA 92111
Kearny Mesa, San DiegoOpen in Google Maps
Hours
- Mon – Fri
- 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Sat – Sun
- 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Call or Text
858-987-0509Calls only
310-499-3499Text only
Text anytime. Anytime — immediate during business hours, forwarded after hours.
Before You Visit
- Bring your California ID — every ammo purchase needs an eligibility check.
- Purchases happen at the counter. No online checkout, and we don't ship ammo.
- Ammunition and accessories only. No firearms, no range at this location.
Se habla español
How California's ammo law works