Bill Jordan specifically stated that the K frame magnums should be used with 38 special for practice, and that the use of magnum loads should be restricted to duty only because the gun will not survive a steady diet of 357 magnums. Please re-read his work for any necessary clarification, he wasn't shy about saying this out loud. BTW, most of his exhibition shooting was done with 38 Spl too, often with wax bullets. Bill did own N frame S&Ws too.
Yep, I have and have read his book,
No Second Place Winner. The K-Frame .357 has been long misunderstood, even by the police departments that bought them up early on. At first, they followed Jordan's recommendation, but eventually forgot all about it when they decided that cops should practice with what they keep in their guns. That's when they started having to send them back to the factory for regular adjustments and replacement. It wasn't the gun's fault. It was never designed to digest a regular diet of Magnums. In fact, the idea was to both practice with and carry .38 Special, but to keep Magnums at the read for special purposes, such as penetrating cover, stopping bad guys in cars, stopping body-armored bad guys, and the like.
