My sq. Here's what the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook says for cast 125g flatpoint for 38 in the powders you mentioned. Thanks very much to LarryinTX for that! I use Bullseye powder but it's about the same burn rate. swatmag.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 38 Special 125 gr XTP American Gunner Item #90324 | 25/Box The American Gunner line of ammunition is a collection of tried-and-true, versatile loads that are popular with shooters for their target shooting, hunting or self-defense needs. JHP, 158 gr. The beauty of shooting a .38 is that you can easily practice at the ranges youd fight at using basically any cheap bullet at minimal expense. The powder charges used for .38 are forgiving. Your experience is definitely motivation for me to give my J-frame more range time! RN, 158 gr. Even better, is get some 38 S&W brass. Min Charge Max Charge Optimal Charge Bullet Make Bullet Type Primer Notes; Hodgdon - 700-X: 125 gr. Would you like to react to this message? I found some data for 148 and 158 gr bullets but no published data on the 125s. Thanks for the excellent article, Josh! Load shot well out of a variety of service handguns. Testing out some bullseye with 125 berry's bullets.. They have a large selection about the hard cast loads from 90 to 170 gains. I have 125 grain jacketed bullets, Bullseye powder and CCI 500 primers. 594/600 at the real distances of 24 rnds at 50 yds, 24 rnds at 25 yes, and 12 rnds at 7.5 yds. One cool load Im working on is two pellets of 000 Buck.. I thought about trying 2.5 gr. Bullseye and NRA Distinguished Revolver Because we have no action to cycle, the novice reloader can afford to be off a bit if they have an entry-level scale or powder dispenser. Minnesota. 158 gr. They all shot horrible at 25 yards. Designed in 1898, the .38 Smith & Wesson Special cartridge went on . Your email address will not be published. Starting being near 3gr - ish. Start conservative if you wish. I like Bullseye in the 38 Special, and it was a consistent performer with the 125 grain bullets. You have entered an incorrect email address! My guess would be almost identical, straight wall, not high pressure, definitely. How does WST compare to Bullseye powder? Ive played with several that I like, but the classic in 9mm is 4.4 grains driving a 115-grain jacketed bullet. The .38 ammo is more common to find than the .44 ammo, so that is a big reason to reload the .44. The .38 Special remains very popular for personal protection and Michelle Hamilton shares her thoughts on the top loads for concealed carry, like this 158-grain SWCHP FBI Load, based on her testing. Over 20,000 rounds, Ive found that theres rarely a wrong way to do .38 SPL. 7.) is so simple. And Vihtavouris N320 and N321 fall in this range for burning times. That one Ill keep. After making a healthy pile of brass with this load, I am unlikely to ever be without a few boxes of it on standby. 6.) Any hotter and we get into a recoil issue. She ran two cylinders of 100 grain wad cutters and gave it back to me. Alliant listed 3.6 gr Bullseye as maximum (15000 psi) in 38 Special and 3.8 as max in 38 Special PLUS P (17000 psi) with 158 LSWC bullets. Anything goes with bullets. Jacketed bullets create a bit more wear on the rifling, but its better than trying to wire brush out a bunch of lead build up. It is always higher when powder is next to primer. Read my very long thread about "DR loads that don't suck". Despite being well over one hundred years old, it still has perfect relevance for todays shooters, both novice and advanced. Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue. Of course, these will be used in a revolver. Your link has been automatically embedded. 357 LCR in 3 inch variant. IMHO .38 special is just fine for self defense, but just not enough to crack engine blocks. Ive not had a handgun entirely reject either load, so the recipe seems to be a worthy third alongside the previous .38 and .45. Damn. I have tried several different grips before finding the one that worked for me. : 13,300 16,800 Starting Powder: 6.0 gr Starting Velocity: 1,266 Very versatile cartridge. Re: 38 special loads by GrumpyOldMan 11/10/2013, 4:23 pm IIRC, the NRA Action Pistol power floor is a "factor" of 125, which requires a full 1,000 fps for 125-gr bullets. I fired 3 Remington 125 SJHP 357s from a 340 and thought i had nerve damage in my hand. I can not be held responsible for. 2) Ammo that would work in the Air Force's Air Crewman Colt's and Smith and Wesson revolvers that had weak alloy cylinders. I reload a 3 CA Bulldog in .44 with 200 gr wadcutters, to recreate the Man Stopper loads of long ago. Really interested in getting the. Discussion: Bullseye is a faster burning powder and some people feel better suited for the .38 special. These are light and easy to shoot. Therefore, your platform yields a lot of safety cushion with target loads. It'll look funky, but it will shoot. (Patrick Sweeney photo) September 15, 2021 By Michelle Hamilton, Field Editor. SWC, 160 gr. .38 brass isnt as common as 9, .40, or .45 brass at the range, but of all the revolver brass you can find its the most plentiful. 44 Rem Mag 36,000. BTW, I wish I had any one of those three revolvers today. 38 Special 17,000 Now theres an old memory. Thanks for the guidance and suggestions. In my time with the cartridge, I have come to appreciate the mid to low end of the power spectrum and thus have made extensive use of Trail Boss powder and bullets such as Hornadys .358 158gr SWC. I never enjoyed touching off a 357 Mag in a K frame, and I cannot imagine the discomfort of firing it in anything smaller or lighter. Its like a pellet gun with a little noise and smoke if using black powder. Some use powders dispersed in liquids, some use electrostatic guns to spray dry powder on their bullets. This load tends to clock about 670 feet-per-second (fps) give or take 20, depending on the exact brand of wadcutter and the revolver its fired in. Is it more bulky? Caveat: I have decided that I want to be prepared for threat scenarios that include stopping a terrorist or spree-killer (the odds of which I fully recognize is statistically zero). This produces about 550-650fps from a 1 7/8 barrel and feels like shooting a very powerful .22LR. My experience has always been with bullseye powder. If you can follow simple instructions, you can safely load this cartridge. RN, 160 gr. Does anyone have any data. Something like the Ruger GP100 or S&W 686 yup, theyre the best caliber for those size revolvers. Most notably the lighter weight bullets. That for just a nice shooting load one cant beat 148gr wad-cutter for pure fun. 4.0 gr. Ive been shooting them for 50 years. The only way to shoot both 9mm and .38 special is to have two separate cylinders timed to the revolver. Ive been reloading and shooting for over 40 years and love revolvers but 90% of the time my carry gun is a Sig 365 with a 12 round mag and a spare. I.E. butt 686 shipped w/ Hogue monogrips, discarded immediately due to pronounced finger grooves. Your email address will not be published. Hornady also has load data for the 110-grain .357 XTP for the lower-pressure .38 Automatic. In terms of the best stopping power for .38 Special, I personally like 150 grain full wadcutters or 158 grain hollowpoint semi-wadcutters. So, I'm guessing the pressure curve isn't as severe as some of the faster burners. That being the case, I truly NEED as much ammunition as possible and the ability to defeat soft barriers such as auto windshields, sheet metal, drywall, doors, etc. The .38 Special is the most popular of all centerfire revolver cartridges. Both are excellent fight stoppers. Interesting. At one time or another, I also owned and shot a M38 Bodyguard (nka the 638), a M37 Chiefs Special (now the 637), a M60 (which is a tad heavier but no more user-friendly), and a couple of others. Load manuals often advise against downloading .38 Special jacketed loads to prevent squibs, especially the 110 and 125 grain bullets. Rules say (e) Ammunition- Any safe .38 caliber ammunition using the 158 grain round nose or Semi-Wadcutter bullet only. Currently using Titegroup, but started out with, and loaded many thousands of rounds, with Bullseye. I keep thinking about trading it for a Model 27 or, maybe, one of the new Pythons for extra weight. Horrible 5-12" groups at 25 yds. L6: 1.550 inch = 39.37 mm Barrel Length : 2.0 inch = 50.8 mm Powder : Hodgdon HP38 Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge, incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge. My son asked if I wanted him to help, then fired one shot and handed it back. Now, you have to go to a range or have a membership and pay to fill the backstop with lead. have been factored in, but Looks like starting with roughly 4.2 of W231. Ive loaded some wadcutters to the point of being flush with the case mouth and big lead bullets almost to the front of the cylinder. I am using this load in some .38 specials. Where many shooters quickly tire of even standard-pressure .38 in the little five-shooters, the wadcutter invites cylinder after cylinder of practice. I may have to rethink my plan. Ive saved all my .38 brass over the last couple of years for whenever I find time to get into reloading. LRNFP - your load, with a plated bullet should be Very Similar, or slightly slower and safer. of Bullseye, 148 gr lead DEWC and Federal 100 primers. A bullet with a copper gas check or copper plating is best for INDOOR ranges to keep lead vapors out of the air. The key to those rounds, in spite of their paltry muzzle velocity of something like 825 feet per second out of a snubbie, is their diameter and mass: they will make significant diameter holes and penetrate respectably in attackers. In several of the guns, the old standby couldnt quite duplicate the level of precision they exhibit with current production wadcutters from Black Hills or Winchester, but in each case, the load shot close to or right on the sights and nearly held the X ring. If you're looking for a real light load that's easy to shoot, I'd just use WW's data for the W231 with a 125 gr. Bonus is that dont need magnum Primers for these reloads. Ethan Johns is a military professional with worldwide experience in specialized units. revolver, with a 3 barrel, and 4 6 oz. Fast burning and consistent Economical and accurate Principal Purpose: Handgun loads Remarks: America's best known pistol powder. But I think I was still loading the cases from that first box when I quit loading 18 years later! Instead, Ive favored things like the K and L frame Smiths (5 screw pre-model 10 and 686 in my case) and Ruger revolvers for higher round count activities. When you say "not working" can you be more specific? Display as a link instead, Thank you for the article. They are reliable accurate and deadly. Maybe once a year I would reset everything to load up a few hundred .38 Spl for the wifes Detective Special, then right back to .357. There is almost no recoil and the student can increase power level when they feel ready using the same gun. My use of the term adequate means that Hodgdon has produced a workable result for the .38 Special, .38 Special +P, and .357 Magnum that may be used for 125 grain weight bullets having velocity limitations. Softer alloys of lead are just easier on the machinery. Its the kind of load that will make you fall in love with the 1911 all over again! IIRC, I used 4.5 gr of Bullseye under a 125 gr lead bullet for a light plinker, and 5.6 gr of Bullseye under a 148 gr wadcutter (~815 fps, 4" bbl, probably around 750 fps out of a snub). While I do have a GP100 in .357 magnum, I dont like shooting .38 special ammo out of it, because cleaning powder residue out of the longer chambers is a real bitch. One cool load Im working on is two pellets of 000 Buck. People who prepare usually tend to focus on the survival basics: security/self-defense, water, food, first aid, sanitation/hygiene, knowing when to get out and when to stay put. Hornady 115-grain HAPs over 4.4 grains of Bullseye alongside 25-yard timed-fire target. Bullseye Select A Caliber or Gauge Below To View Recipes. Easy to reload and it started my reloading experience. I have one that has been loaded about sixty times and it is still in use today. Nothing, they dont need any. This load chugs downrange at 750 feet each second and functions standard recoil springs with no issue. I load rounds for my wife to shoot @ Win 231 4.0 to 4.3 gr. I have found that if you go down too low in charge you will have some ignition issues occasionally. CorBon Self Defense, 38 Special, 125 Grain, Jacketed Hollow Point, +P, 20 Round Box 38125 Many people tend to poo-poo .38 Special (standard pressure) for self-defense as being somehow underpowered. Zero 158 grain swaged SWC, Starline brass, Winchester or Federal primer, 2.8 grains of Bullseye, roll crimp. These two can cover the entire performance spectrum up to .38+P. If there is a search function for these forums (didn't see one) I'd be happy to use that too Go to the Alliant website and find the data for Unique and Bullseye. The .38 Special's MAP is 17,000 psi, whereas for the .38 Special +P it is 20,000 psi. Using higher pressure loads will wear brass out faster and it will become brittle with time. Just depends on what kinds of loads you plan to shoot. I can usually keep 1.5" groups with it at 25 yards if I do my part. You can always back off to the .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Mag if you choose to. Cartridge : .38 Special (SAAMI)Bullet : .357, 125, FP Rainier Useable Case Capaci: 20.320 grain H2O = 1.319 cm Cartridge O.A.L. 5, #2230, and #2460 are products of Accurate Arms Company You are absolutely correct. When using a 158 gr. But still nothing under 3.5". My Reloading Manual for .38 Special has plenty of data for 125 gr JHP, and 125 gr JFP for Scot Powders/Vhitavuori, but nothing for Unique/W231/Bullseye. Hmm. I have loaded wadcutters for plinking , Double end 148 grain,, mixed brass over 2.7 gn WST or Bullseye. DISTINGUISHED LOADS SUCK - Distinguished Revolver loads that don't suck? You cannot paste images directly. Therefore, the conventional wisdom is that they must be loaded to a lower velocity. AA#2 is about the same burn rate, but burns much cleaner with less smoke in my guns. Insufficient crimping ) ARCHIVED. ), I very much wanted to start with some tried-and-true Bullseye loads, but it took an epic scavenger hunt across many months to find a canister of the elusive classic. DR loads (158gr Remington swaged LSWC over 3.6gr AA#2 in Winchester .38 Special cases) I shoot American eagle, remington factory,remington umc, and mag tech. Enter to win an FN FAL Rifle. Thats a pretty clear explanation and comparison of the NEEDS of the strength of the chamber for each caliber. 4.0 gr. 1.455 in. These grips seem quite comfortable and afford a pinkie finger rest for improved control albeit with a certain loss of concealability. During my first half century on this planet, my caliber of choice for defense was 45 ACP- but for everything else it was always 38 SPL. Hence the lack of load data from just about anybody. Based on this Id load some at 3.3 and 3.5 and see what you get, but Id never exceed 3.8 ever. I keep it under my seat in case I get an unwanted intruder and I cant get to my IWB semi auto. Main fame for the .38 is now the J frame size revolvers, as a CCW gun. Powders include IMR, Hodgdon, Alliant, Vihtavuori, Winchester, Accurate Have you all found different seat depths to work better than what's in the manual? You will find plenty of Red Dot loads there. If you havent taken a look at what the .38 Special offers, youre selling yourself short. Yes I do have a few of the older high quality classic revolvers not the current made Cast Iron garbage that is being vomited out today. Loath and Loathe are different words that mean different things. I go with the cheap and easy shake and bake technique that requires only plastic Glad container with a lid, handful of black 6mm BBs and old toaster owen. I agree with your .38 Special assessment points for the very same reasons. I just bought some 158 gr SWC bullets that are pure lead. If you have the means, I highly recommend you trying one out. At 25 you can get away with a lighter load. Ive been loading 158gr FMJ with Titegroup and the only problem Ive had is getting the seating depth right after the die locknut slipped. Some medium fast powders would work with lighter weight bullets. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up. ,I looked at Speer data, nothing there. Interestingly, I had pistols that would shoot one well and the other impressively, but have not yet had one pistol do magic with both. That little 9 oz. Bullets are .357 for jacketed and .358 for lead in diameter. Ive tried full metal jacket and the Hornady Action Pistol (HAP) match hollow point in this load, and both ranged from good to great in my nines. Youre describing Remington Multiball ammunition (R357MB)- I used to carry that stuff decades ago. The Speer #8 lists a max of 7.5 grs Unique with a 125 gr Jacketed SP This would be for plinking for my wife's ~3" Rossi, so something light and fun to shoot would be great.All three of those powders have published load data for that weight bullet in .38 Special.All three of those powders have published load data for that weight bullet in .38 . Beginners to shooting can use a full size revolver or their carry gun with light to mild loads to become confident and familiar with marksmanship and trigger control. My Ruger LCR .357 Magnum is pleasant to shoot even with full pressure loads. 110gr JHP! 38 spl.s. I could knock out a pretty substantial chunk of my shooting needs with only these three loads. I have not loaded plated bullets in quite some time, since they are not useful for my accuracy needs. I favor the appearance of the C/T load and find it slightly easier to grab and orient in the loading process. For 3 that actually doesnt kick too badly. . However recoil will be the limiting factor especially for the short line. Between that, some other info on other forums, Winchester's data for a lead flat point, and numbers from loaddata.com, I think I have some to start with. This 1911 halved its normal so-so accuracy with 200-grain Hornady C/T SWC, shooting this nice two-inch group. Bullseye is the best powder I have found for 38 special. If you, I took the vow not to buy any more AR-15s a couple of years ago. The 919 case is tapered and therefore wider at the base than the .38 special is. WST is a good powder for a very specialized load. Bought my small handed wife a 642. I use Bullseye powder but it's about the same burn rate. I have two editions of it from different years that have that data. On 7/4/2018 at 11:57 AM, Bill Sahlberg said: There is nothing more accurate at PPC than 148 gr8 HBWC (lead) using 2.8 gr of 231 and a tight crimp with Starline 38 Special brass & a Federal Small pistol primer. Anyone that uses a J frame S&W should seriously think about swapping grips, and finding which set works for them. Winchester 231 is between Bullseye and Unique for the .38 special (see my personal load above). It doesnt appear like there is much of an advantage in using WST with lighter weight bullets. Maybe its just my age, but I may never shoot a 38 again after discovering the 32. Handload: 158 grain round nose lead /3.8 grains Bullseye MV 775 fps ME 210 ft./lbs. 100 except where otherwise noted in "remarks" Be Alert: Publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data. I started reloading 38 special as my first cartridge 8 years ago when I was 22, soooo.I have an old mans soul? 2.7 gr. So . Berry says load plated bullets to mid-range jacketed bullets of same profile and weight or equal to hard cast. My other son fired one shot and handed it back. Lord only knows how many cartridge cases I hammered with a plastic mallet into that Lee, it had to be thousands. Great Cast Lead Bullet for IDPA. Rookie, back in the day when I was reloading I went through a 3 round butt L. Horton special model 24, a 4 24 and a 4 624. But its also worth considering that its pushing the same size and weight projectile at the same velocity as the standard Army revolver load during the Civil War. Interesting. Classic loads are economical. Hi. HAVE FUN JP. Good shootin! What I learned after 50 years of shooting and reloading 38spl cases some where around 100 thousands rounds.
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