The 38 special cartridge was introduced in 1899 as a black powder round. It reportedly gave velocities of around 850 ft./s with 158 grain lead round nose bullet. Smokeless powder loads of that era were reportedly loaded with 3.3 grains of Bullseye and about the same velocity. While many different powders and components have been used over the years, the standard loading hasn't really changed very much. Given variations from going lot to lot of powders and components, it's obviously impossible to replicate 1940s loads exactly. The Speer manual shows a velocity of 752 ft./s with 3.1 grains of Bullseye and 814 ft./s with 3.5 g of Bullseye. That's from a 6 inch barrel K 38 and 158 grain lead round nose bullet. I think if you tried a 3.3 grains of Bullseye load, you'll come as close to average factory ammunition of the last hundred years as you're likely to get.
|