I have an old Regulation Police in .38 S&W with a 4" barrel, in excellent condition, perfect bore, zero rust, zero end-shake. Here are the results of some load testing at the range today with this little gun.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS DATA APPEARED TO WORK IN MY GUN, AS DEMONSTRATED TO THE RISK OF MY GUN, MY HANDS AND MY EYES. I DON'T WARRANT THESE LOADS AS SAFE IN YOUR GUN--HECK, THEY MAY NOT BE SAFE IN MY GUN!!!!!!!

New Starline .38 S&W brass was used. Soft bees' wax and moly grease lube was used for all bullets except the Star HBWC. All bullets were seated very long--the grease groove was just beneath the edge of the case mouth, with most of the bullet sticking waaaaay out of the case.

1) Star 148 gr. .38 Special match grade HBWC, 2.50 WW 231, average velocity 580 fps. (very accurate, less than 1" groups at 16 yards).

2) Lyman 358311 RNL, cast with wheel weights, actual weight 162 grains, sized .359"---2.50gr 231, av. vel. 695 fps. (very accurate)

3) Lee SWC, cast with wheel weights, actual weight 143 grains, sized .359"--- 2.60 gr 231---av. vel 715 fps. (accurate, but not to the same degree as the HBWC)

4) Lyman 358156 Ray Thompson SWC, without the gas check, actual weight 160 grains, 3.4 grains Unique, 755 fps. (average accuracy, about 2" at 16 yards; seemed to lead the bore, perhaps because of no gas check)

5) Missouri Bullet Company, Cowboy #11, 158 gr RNL, advertised Brinell hardness 12----3.4 grains Unique, average velocity 805 fps. (very good accuracy)

Interesting fact: some of these loads equal or exceed a +P .38 Special in a 2" snubbie.

For example, I have previously tested a Remington +P .38 Special 158 LSWCHP "FBI Load" in a 2" Colt Detective Special, and the average velocity was 764 fps.

I am tempted to pull some of the Remington LSWCHP bullets, seat them in the S&W brass over 3.4 grain of Unique and see how they do.

Sir, my cousin has a victory model in .38 S&W. He wants me to help him load some ammo for it. Are you using .38 Special dies? I load 158 grain semi wad cutters in .38 special. I am thinking I would try using his brass and my .38 special dies and bullets to see how it works. I would just have to buy a shell holder. What do you think? Thanks, Waldo

Waldo, shud not work. I say shud not work because I have seen some folks do it, even tho they are not really happy with the results.

The 38 S&W has a diameter of .360 and the 38 special has one of .357. Using the 38 special dies will result in the bullet not making contact with the lands and grooves in the barrel and not being very accurate.

I strongly recommend that you buy a set of 38 S&W dies and either buy 360 diameter bullets or use the Magtech 158gr RN bullets from midway. They have a hollow base that will allow the bulllet to bump up enuf to grab the grooves in the barrel

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Slim, U.S. Army, Ret.

The first post lists HBWC. These should work just as well as HBRN. As to dies, YES, you will need .38 S&W, NOT .38 Special. The undersized bullets, as long as they are hollow base, should expand to fit the .360 bore without blowby.
I was lucky enough to find a very large lot of .360 round nose lead bullets on Ebay years ago before they banned bullet sales.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

Waldo:

Yes, I'm kinda cheap, and I'm currenty using .38 Special dies in a Dillon Square Deal.

I had to open up the shell plate on the Dillon very slightly to accomodate the S&W brass.

The sizing die leaves a slight bulge at the bottom of the case, but the cases chamber fine in my revolver. I'm using Starline brass. After firing, the slight buldge is still present, i.e., the pressure is not enough to iron out the bulge.

You would need to run your expander die waaaay down to make contact with the shorter S&W case.

I use a 9mm bullet seating die---it has the extra length you will need to push the bullet into the case.

Can the .38S/W brass be loaded with .357/.358 lead bullets and shot in the .38 special revolver....

First get some factory ammo. Remington .38 S&W match is .357. Privi Partisan is .358. Both good brass. You might want to slug the barrel. .38 S&W does not mean it's .360 or .361. My Webley Mark III bore diameter (lands) is .357. I load a bit lighter because it's a top break, but I use Missouri Bullet SWC Match .358 with very good result. I use W231 or Titegroup.
And, yes, you need .38 S&W dies.

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"from my cold dead hands" C.H.

1. Starline 38 S&W brass - $19.29/100 Midway
2. Lee 38 S&W Dies- $31.99 Midway
3 .361 dia. bullets 35.50 Missouri Bullet Co.
4. Optional - .358 dia. bullet sizing kit to resize .361 bullets for use in 38 Special - 20.99 Midway
5 I have settled in on 2.6 to 2.7 gr. of AA#2 for the 38 S&W Model 33-1

It sure beats trying to cobble together incompatable tools & supplies.