As far as I know all .357 can shoot .38's just not the other way around. As for restoring the gun if ya want a shooter just fix the cylinder if it bothers ya but if ya wanna keep it as an heirloom I would say go all out and have it fully redone. As for changing the finish to blue or black I'm not sure on that one, and any how the shiny ones display so much better. just my 2 cents

Originally Posted by Sigma_6

As far as I know all .357 can shoot .38's just not the other way around. As for restoring the gun if ya want a shooter just fix the cylinder if it bothers ya but if ya wanna keep it as an heirloom I would say go all out and have it fully redone. As for changing the finish to blue or black I'm not sure on that one, and any how the shiny ones display so much better. just my 2 cents

Sigma_6 is correct. You can shoot .38 Special cartridges in a .357 Magnum revolver, but not the other way around; the higher pressure .357 cartridge was made longer so it wouldn't fit in a caliber .38 Special revolver. The bullets are the same diameter.

Open the cylinder and look at the inside bottom of the front frame section. The model number and serial number should be stamped there. Once you know that, you can do a little research and get an approximate value for the pistol. You measure the barrel length from the forcing cone to the muzzle.

Without seeing a photo, the marks you're talking about probably are normal. Rotation of the cylinder leaves a ring from the indexing whatcha-ma-call-it; ditto on the cylinder stop doo-hingys.

If it's a blued revolver, you could refinish it if you wanted to. If it's nickel, the cost to refinish it will probably be prohibitive. In either case, since it was in your family, I would leave it alone. The marks and nicks all tell a story. If you refinish it, it will always be worth less to a collector than if you left it alone.

My opinion is wheelguns are almost always better looking than semi-auto pistols. Good luck with your new pistol!

Thanks guys, I appriciate all the advice. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'll leave it alone, Thanks.

Originally Posted by SIGCrazie

Thanks guys, I appriciate all the advice. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'll leave it alone, Thanks.

Good choice. If corrosion is beginning to be a problem I could see refinishing but nicks just give it character. I'm sure there's a story there. Could you tell us what model it is and the barrel length(measured from forcing cone to muzzle).

How about a picture of it too? It is proabaly nickel finished. Good luck with it and enjoy it.

The full sized S & W 357 magnum revolver is probably one of the most fun to shoot gun ever made. I have a 686PP, 6" barrel (no lock) that is a pure joy to shoot. My wife liked it so well she bought herself a S & W TRR8 performance Center gun. That is a really nice shooting revolver.
You will love your S & W revolver and have many good times on the gun range with it. I agree with one of the other posters, keep it as is because those scratches give it character and each has a history put there by your father.