RugerSociety.com

1st post on this Forum, though I know many of you from over on Carl's RugerForum. Nice place you have here!

Are the chambers in OM FT .357's tighter than on the 3 screws and double action revolvers? I've let shooting my .357's fall by the wayside in the last 15-20 years, though I'm still buying them; not that any of you would do such a thing lol So, I loaded up about 400 rounds in my old WW nickel plated brass, some on their 20th loading. They "plunk plunk plunk" into everything except my OM FT's. I couldn't load 6 in any of the 4 shooters I pulled from my safe. I only have one 3 screw .357 and they plunked right in. Non plated brass did work in the FT's.

Tighter chambers in OM FT .357's, is this a "what's the best caliber for bear" kind of question?

(Yes, I'll be buying some non plated brass)

To be honest I have never noticed a difference, but I don't shoot my flat tops very much now days.

I've shot a couple of 1st Variation .357 Flattops with factory ammo; they fall right in. Have no experience with reloads, but this sure sounds strange.

When I was shooting cowboy matches with SASS, I shot only 357 OM's, mostly two old Flat tops. These are 4 digit FT's but not very collectible due to previous alterations (before I got them). They would feed everything I put toward them. However, all the loads were "cowboy" loads, meaning they were not full house magnums.

During this time, I used full length 357 cases and also 38 special cases. The only time there was ever an issue was when I shot too many 38 special rounds and not cleaning the chambers before sticking the 357 cases in. Clean the cylinders and they were good to go though.

Have also done this same thing with two OM's that were 6.5" barrels and they were from the late 60's. Same results.

So, maybe not all the data in the world, but at least some more data for you.