Not much 38 Spl +P data using 358429 bullet.

I have Power Pistol powder...would 5.6grs be a good +P loading with this bullet?

Would like your recommendations for a good 38 Spl +P using the 358429 bullet.

Thanks!

Sorry...I thought my original thread was not posted and put up another one essentially the same.

My pardons...senior moment!

5.0 grs of Unique works well .

Sorry, don't know that specific bullet but if it's 158 gr the max load with Power Pistol is 6 grains, but that is for a Speer swaged LSWC. I doubt that there is any extra headroom for pressure. 5.6 gr seems good to me, but I'd like to cross check some data.

I see the bullet you are talking about is 170 grains. Do you have a chronograph??? I think I would back it up a little more and work up until I got satisfactory velocity.

PS: I like Power Pistol a lot but reloading data is a little sketchy.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I don't use Power Pistol much but I do like HS-6 and AA#5 for .38 Special +P loads.

What are looking to do with that 170gr bullet pushed to +P pressures. The pressures will be there but not the velocity.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

You did not mention the weapon to be used but.........

I am hoping that it is at least a K frame or heavier if you are
after a top +P load with the larger 170gr bullet with at least
a 4" barrel, before you stat this quest.

358429 in wheelweight over 6.0 AA#5 is stout and accurate in both my 4" Model 13-2 and my 3" Model 64.

Larry

Nevada Ed, my revolver is a Ruger Blackhawk, 357 Mag. I do not own any 38 Spl only revolvers anymore.

Buy either a Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook or their "Load Data Book" for .38. .357, .44 & .45. Here is a link for the Load Data Book: Lyman Load Data Books | Lyman Publications

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Gunsmithing since 1961

A manual? Say it isn't so. Gads!

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Still Running Against the Wind

PP being a little slower burning than Unique,I'd say that you are not far from the truth about a +P load.But,like mentionned above,what's the gun it is being fired into does make a difference.
You can consult the loading recipes available on the web but I personnaly trust only the ones certified from the powder companies.
Qc

Yes, everybody needs to remember that you can't just back up because you would then be looking at a copy of the page that's in your cache. You need to refresh the page.

This may be a dumb question but if your revolver is a .357 magnum, why mess around with .38 Special cases? The full length cases make life so much easier.

Bruce

"This may be a dumb question but if your revolver is a .357 magnum, why mess around with .38 Special cases? The full length cases make life so much easier."

How does it make life so much easier? In the neighborhood of 95% of the rounds which I fire in my .357s are .38 Special. Paper targets don't care. And I never seem to have the dreaded crud buildup in front of the .38 Special case mouth. Maybe that's because I always use a wire brush when I clean my chambers.

I'll bet Alliant can give some guidance as to where to start.

In the 2012 handloader magazine article where Brian Pearce duplicated the "buffalo bore" 1000fps/snub nosed revolver 38spl p+ load. He also did test loads with power pistol and the lyman 358429 bullet.

His load was 5.9gr of power pistol/358429 bullet.

Myself I love using 38spl brass in 357's for plinking loads. Less case volume with light loads ='s accuracy.

I used to say that you either shoot regular .38Spl or full .357 Mag loads.That was before I came across a model 13 that will shoot .38Spl +P more accuratly(and with less torque)than full .357 loads.I've tried and tried but to no avail.
My cast SWC come out at 154 gr sized and lubricated.Loaded with a little under 6gr PP or 5.4gr Unique,it has a controllable kick that prints right where the fixed sights are looking.
Chrono will be used for that load but I expect a little over 1000fps out of the 4''tube.
Qc

In years past (before there was even a +P load), 5.0gr of Unique was listed as a Max (and very popular) load. It no longer is listed as a standard .38 Special load, so it is probably a borderline +P load now and still a very good one.

Don

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NRA Cert. Reloading Instructor

Because worries about overpressure .38 Special +P loads go away and cylinder cleaning concerns are a non-issue. There was a time when .38 Special revolvers dominated the LE market and that made obtaining the shorter cases, especially once fired, as a reloading component much easier. That time came and went long, long ago.

Flukey things like this happen once in awhile BUT if recoil is an issue, reduced power loads in .357 Magnum cases are not all that difficult to develop and haven't been since before I began handloading in the late 1970's. Generally but not always, it's easier to develop accurate loads in the magnum cases because the bullet has a shorter unsupported jump between the case mouth and the barrel.

Bruce