Can a .357 rifle fire a .38 special bullet?
Bullets are the things which go down the barrel and hit the target. Rounds or ammunition, which you load into the gun to fire, consist of the case, primer, powder, and bullet. The .357 Mag rounds and .38 special rounds use the same bullets but the .38 case is shorter than the .357 case. The .38 round will fire in the .357 mag chamber IF the rifle will feed the shorter rounds. For obvious reasons, do not try to fire a .357 Mag round in a .38 chamber. Not only is the .357 Mag longer than the .38 Special (it was deliberately so designed to prevent such mischamberings) but the .357 Mag is loaded to a much higher pressure than the .38 Special rounds/ammo.
