Hello Guys,
I have been toying with the idea of reloading (again for 38 Special) with a 158 gr Keith Design Bullet. I have not reloaded for the 38 Special cartridge in YEARS but always loved the look of the projectile. My old Model 14 liked the 133 gr cast SWC with 6.0 grains of Unique, and my Dad an I used to do a ton of 148 gr wad cutter loading with 3.6 grains of Bullseye. I believe that I am going to carry a Model 15-3 2 inch that I recently procured and would like a good carry load with that Keith Design Projectile... Perhaps a Hollow Point?
"I just LOVE that long nose look"
Any Input and thanks...

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Mike...ConquestN98858

If you can find them, to duplicate the FBI load, the 158 gr LSWC HP bullet is what I think you are looking for.

Duplicating Buffalo Bore FBI Load

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've shot Oregon Trail 158 grain SWC in 38 Special in Starline brass. I'm between revolvers at the moment but have a lead on a M27-2. Midway has these:

Oregon Trail Laser-Cast Bullets 38 Cal (358 Diameter) 158 Grain Lead

It kind of depends on how literal you are about *Keith* style bullets. A "True" Keith bullet will weigh 168-173gr ( in solid form ).

There are a boatload of 158gr "SWC" bullets , many of which will shoot well.

As to SWCHP commercial , look to the Speer. Back in the day , SWCHP .38+P loads were offered by W-W , R-P , Federal , and CCI . The performance of all was very similar , and they competed on bid price. The Speer component bullet is the same as was used in the factory ammo.

You might consider looking at a modern reloading manual before you start picking up different bullets.

4.0gr of bullseye pushing a 148gr wc seems like a +p++++ load.
The 6.0gr unique load sounds pretty stout also.

As bigfoot44 pointed out, the true "keith swc" bullets weighed in @ around 170gr+/-. Lyman's version of the keith bullet, the 358429 weighed in @ 173gr. And the hp version (358439) of the same bullet weighs in @ 158gr.

Pics of lymans hp version of keiths swc.



There's many excellent designed hp's out there for the 38spl. It's hard to beat the tried & true cramer hunter design or thompsons gc'd hp design. The new 640 style & devestator hp's are also worth looking into.

I have loaded thousands of 150-158 gr swc's over the years. I have used a number of powders, but for the past several years, it has been 231. Consult a good manual or 2 as there are many powders you could use.

I use the Speer 158gr. SWCHP. It's pure lead and should expand well in flesh but may lead your bore excessively.

... That's the bullet that I have spoken about in HP form, also I have checked our old reloading data to find that the target Wad Cutter load was 3.6 grains of Bullseye! Thanks for all of the great info guys
Mike...

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Mike...ConquestN98858

I believe Keith varied his bullet design so it's hard to pin down exactly what a Keith bullet it, but one thing I know he ended up with was a large meplat along with the two grooves in the base for lube and bearing length of the bullet, making three equal driving bands. Many people call any semi-wadcutter a 'Keith' bullet. Make sure yours are close to the original design. I was never big on semi-wadcutters until I got back into loading and shooting. Now I use them a LOT.

Midway has swaged Speer 158gr LSWCHP in stock:

Speer Bullets 38 Cal (358 Diameter) 158 Grain Lead Semi-Wadcutter

The pic looks a bit rougher than the ones I've gotten in the past, which work well. It's not a strict Keith.

Yeah that picture on Midway isnt the best. ^^^

Those are pretty good for softer lead bullets in 38 though . I have shot those with 231 in my old Colts . And the same Speer 148 wadcutters too.

In the Keith style cast , I took notes from here on the Forum and got the Missouri Bullet Co's 240 grain bullets for the 44 Mag. It is a good bullet . I shoot, or have shot , a variety of 44 Mag bullets too.

I bought some of Rim Rock's 158 LSWC-HP/GC bullets. They're very soft (BHN:5) but have a gas check. They told me 1150fps is the suggested max. for them. Mine weighed right at 160gr.

Rim Rock Bullets | Cast Lead Bullets

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You can build a really good .38 Special +P carry round with a 158gr LSWC/HP bullet and one of a handful of powders. You can use HS-6, Longshot, Powder Pistol, AA#5, AutoComp and maybe 1 or 2 others. I prefer HS-6 because I can generate good velocities with less pressure than the other powders with a similar burn rate and because HS-6 plays well with lead bullets. AA#5 is also good with lead bullets in the .38 Special and I hear AutoComp is good with lead too but I have not shot it personally.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Keith's bullets also had square shouldered lube grooves.

I have a mold that casts about the same bullet as Rim Rock sells. I make mine soft like they do and use it in 357/38 and have great results. I also use HS6 and in both calibers. I'm hoping to use it in our Marlin this year for deer.

They must have sandblasted the bullet in the picture. I've bought Speer bullets for decades and they've all looked MUCH better than that.

All the ones I've gotten looked better, too. It's probably just "bad light on the porch".

Regardless, the soft lead makes for a very effective bullet. I load them over 6gr of PowerPistol for a close "FBI load" equivalent. The only slight issue I've had is that you need a strong roll crimp if you're shooting them in Airweights, or they'll pull under recoil.