Whoah, guys, back the train up. He's doing fine.

Welcome, dude.

--4.7 grains of Universal is a starting load according to Hodgdon's own data (my Lee and Lyman books are all the way in the basement, on my bench, so I don't feel like getting up to triple-check)

--You seated too deeply by .03" according to the data. That's not a lot in a .38 Special.

--At that volume charge, .38 Special just isn't that sensitive to seating depth. It's a long, relatively narrow case--not a big deal. A missing .03" in depth works out to being around .012 cubic inches. If I'm remembering correctly, the case volume of a normally-loaded .38 Special is something like .6 cubic inches.

Hence, you're fine to shoot that ammo. Now for some cool stuff.

You're in a somewhat rare situation--data for the specific bullet and powder you're using exists. Most of the time, what you'll get is either data for a generic bullet ("158-gr LSWC") or a different bullet of an identical type ("125-gr XTP" when you're using a different jacketed hollowpoint bullet of the same weight). In revolvers, this just means you seat to the cannelure or crimp groove, and you're good to go. The specific pressure and velocity data will be off, and the OAL will range in usefulness from "not at all" to "marginal". The recommended starting and maximum loads still apply just fine in most cases.

In autos, you have to use your noggin a little bit. I tend to go by such things as:

--"Does it look right?" If I can see I'm seating the shoulder past the case mouth, it's pretty clear I'm doing something wrong. Ditto for if it doesn't look anything like a factory-loaded cartridge with the same bullet, but numerous times I've loaded ammunition for which I had no comparable factory ammo.

--"Am I getting any bullet setback when I smush it?" Same deal. If my expansion die is set correctly, then I should get sufficient neck tension on a rimless cartridge even before the crimp. If I don't, then I've either seated way too long (not enough bullet is contacting the case), or way too short (the case mouth is past the shoulder).

--"Is the bullet contacting the rifling?" A clear sign I need to shorten.

I usually aim to start off loading long and shortening as needed, using a combination of cartridge max dimensions, barrel "plunking", and good ol' secondhand info. Better to load too long and too light, and end up with a box of ammo that won't cycle, than it is to load too short and too heavy, and end up with a rapid disassembly. So far, I've been quite successful--I've usually no problem getting the first box of a new bullet or even cartridge to run flawlessly. Just a matter of taking my time and using a little sense.

.38 Spl isn't too sensitive in this instance. But if you were to use a charge that filled the case (Trail Boss comes to mind), then seating depth would be a lot more important. Double- or triple-charge a case (bad news), under a wadcutter, and seat just a couple thousandths of an inch too deep, and you can spike pressures in the mild .38 Special far beyond the Magnum level.

Similarly, other cartridges are less forgiving in terms of OAL. 9mm comes to mind. There's very little case volume, and charges tend to be rather case-filling. An OAL of 1.060" with a particular bullet might be fine, and 1.020" might be bad news, depending on the powder and charge selected.

There's nothing wrong with Hornady XTPs, but they're a little pricey. If you need a plated or jacketed round (or desire them), check out Xtreme Bullets--they perform well and don't cost very much more than lead. 125-grain plated costs about $0.08/ea, compared to $0.18 for XTPs on Midway.

If you don't need or want a copper-encapsulated round--and I will admit, they're very nice to look at (no sarcasm), and pleasing to load with--you can try out lead. Missouri Bullets sells very nice lead bullets, at a price of $0.06/each. Even a 158-grain LSWC--a superb match/target bullet--costs just $0.07/ea, or $35/500. A lead 158-gr will handle any velocity .38 Spl can produce.

But hey--don't stress, and enjoy the XTPs.

Universal is also not the greatest powder for .38 Spl, but it's not the worst, and it's certainly not a bad powder to have on-hand. It's one of those medium burn-rate powders you can use to load just about anything, even if there are usually better, more specialized choices. When you go to get your next pound, consider giving Bullseye, HP-38 or Winchester 231 (they're virtually the same powder), or Winchester SuperTarget a shot. All three are much finer and flow more freely than Universal, and are great for low-recoil target loads. If you want more velocity, I like Titegroup a lot, although I've never bothered to try it in .38 Spl (it's performed well in .45 ACP, which operates at similar pressures, and in .44 Special +P-type loads).

In any case, it's never a bad move to be cautious. But you're off to a great start.