We had a blast from the past with these . We're also going to test cast FBWC later on . Guns used were a 14-2 K38 , Colt OMM , S&W 52-2 , Giles Conversion & a Clark conversion . For those not familar with the Giles / Clark conversions they're made from 38 super Colts converted to 38 special . Gunsmithing works of art from a bygone era , back when everything had to be made . Twist on the Colt barrels is 1 in 16 & S&W are 1 in 18.75 . The Colts have a tighter bore as does the Model 52 ( .355 - .356 ) . Test were done out of a Ransom Rest & shot @ 50yds . No problems with keyholing in any , but the S&W's did show some tipping which I believe is from the slower twist . 38 special PPC guns have been with twist as fast as 1 in 10 . The 148 HBWC is a long bullet with lots of bearing surface & IMHO needs a pretty good twist to stabilize . Cases were R-P once fired , Fed 100 primers , taper crimped to .369 @ case mouth , bullets seated flush , cases were trimed to 1.145 . Bullets tested were Remington HBWC , Zero HBWC & Precision Delta HBWC all swaged lead . Loads tested were:

3.6 VV N340
2.8 to 2.9 VV N320
3.5 to 3.8 SR4756
2.6 PB
2.3 to 2.4 RS Comp
2.6 to 2.9 Red Dot
2.3 to 2.5 700X
2.7 to 3.0 Bullseye
2.7 to 3.0 SR7625
2.6 to 2.9 WST
2.7 to 2.9 AA #2
3.1 to 3.2 W231
2.8 Titegroup

The Rem HBWC has a robust skirt , nasty black graphite type lube & .359 size . IMHO this is the bullet for 38 special HBWC loads . The Zero were .357 with a small grease groove , lube felt like #1 grease to me also a good bullet . The Precision Delta also .357 , lube is Rooster Jacket dip , & leaded pretty good in all guns . To say they were disappointing would be an understatement . I know the PPC crowd likes them & IMHO they're welcome to them . Maybe if tumble lubed with White Label 45-45-10 they'd be different . Since Rooster Jacket is fixing to be discontinued I wonder what they'll use for their " match lube " . SR 4756 & Titegroup are not good choices for this kind of load in my mind at least . While accuracy was OK I believe loads were below powders pressure curve . Wish we could of found some RS Zip to test . Rest of the loads were acceptible . Of course each gun had it's preferences . Red Dot had very low spread & SD , but didn't do anything that other powders couldn't . With powder being hard to get we tested what we could get . I'm sure one could find a usable load from the above . I've shot a ton of Bullseye powder in my day , but personally prefer others in this caliber . The revolvers pretty much shot best with lighter end loads . The autos had to be loaded towards the upper end for function . Best accuracy was from 700 - 800fps which we all known for years . The N340 load is right at the 800 line & being a slower powder I wouldn't go lighter on charge weight . It burns clean as is . We plan later on to test cast flat / plain based wadcutters such as the H&G 50 , Lyman 358495 & some others of that ilk . We also plan on 158 RN & SWC tests due to the increased interest in Distinguished Revolver competition . I'll continue to post our results .

With lead loads in my M49 snub with weights from a 125LRN to the 158gr swc and RN..................all with light to Heavy crimps.

I have to agree on the call that SR 4756 does not work out too well in the accuracy and fps departments as proven with my test, also.

That's a heck of a test you got going there !! Good shooting.

Thanks again boatbum
This thread is great too, for reloading my gun selection.
Models 52, 10 & 67

The 231 load is shooting great in all three, but I bought a bunch of Hornady swaged 158 SWC'S and 148 HBWC's year and a half ago.

What are the differences between the Remington's and Zero's compared to the Hornady's? That cause you to select them. I'll try them when they're back in stock.

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I'd like to agree with you BUT

They're a whole lot cheaper . Remington & Zero if you buy in bulk offer a pretty good discount . Nothing wrong with the Hornady bullet except price .