I recently bought a bangstick online. It was machined in a shop and sold as a "357 / .38" Is a 357 round the same as a .38 round?
Yeah, no, sort of maybe. To answer your question, they both have identical chamber barrel bores with the .357 having a longer chamber. The cartridges are interchangeable in a .357 and a .38' chamber is too short to accept the longer .357 cartridge. For your gator hunt, I would opt for a .38 round to limit penetration and reduce the chances of shooting through the gator that can put a hole in the highest quality part of the hide. Get some .38 wad cutters and you'll be alright.
You can shoot a .38 in a 357 gun but not the other way around. The 357 round is longer and is made to shoot a greater velocity so it's made stronger. A 357 round could potentially tear apart a cheap .38 gun so that's why they made them longer, so you wouldn't accidentally load one in a gun that couldn't handle it.
If the company who manufactures it claims it can, I assume they've made it strong enough to handle a 357. You can shoot .38 roundsin a 357 gun but not the other way around.
Your bangstick can use either round as you see fit. As I said earlier, go with a .38 round so you won't damage the hide. Remember that you only want to kill the gator not fuck it up.
I couldn't agree more, but most states other than Louisiana simply don't allow them to dispatch gators. Dumbasses.
