I finally got time to hit the range to work up a 38-.357 load for some Bayou 138gr Coated Wadcutters I picked up earlier this year. I am using standard CCI SP, CFEpistol powder, and Starline once shot 357 cases.
The goal was to find a soft shooting, accurate load in the high 38 Special spectrum to the low 357 mag range. I was using once fired Starline brass for the load on a supported bench with a Crimson Trace laser.
It was 93 degrees and I came in about 45 fps faster than what the load data had been given for the starting point for a 38 SPL load and +70 fps at the high end of the 38 SPL data. I had a 2/10 grain increase up to a half grain in the low end of 357 pressures. The patterns were all within 2" with the 1000 to 1100 fps being slightly smaller and the powder started getting smokey with the higher loads just above 1200fps but I had just hit the low end 357Mag load. There was a linear increase of about 23fps per every 2/10 grain increase in powder.
I will be running this test again with 38SPL brass as the 5.3gr of CFE in a 357 case gave me 1048fps as a high end 38SPL load but in a 357 case. I have 2k of these bullets and about that much of cleaned 38 brass. I could push it harder but 1050fps is good enough for the range. It will keep me busy for a couple of months and once I nail down the 38 case load I will place another Bayou order.
.357 Bayou 138gr WC in 65-2
Linear Mode
