New guy learning reloading.. 38spc and 357 target loads??

[k53]

OK, so starting a new thread.

I have a M19, and getting started planing to reload. What I will be loading at this time, is just normal plinking and target loads. The 38 spec Im looking for a basic load that will be good, and farly accurate for target use, and will also be used for just tossing lead. The 357 Im looking for a load, like that also... but a little hotter. Not a screamer... just something a bit hotter then the mild 38spec. Right now I have a lot of cast 158gr SWC bullets that dad casted up back in the 70's so that is what I will be using. So... ive been searching around for ideas, and reading a few manuals.. MAN its confusing getting a baseline load to work with!! So... all you guys that have been doing this for a wile... give me some good starting points.

Im thinking of just grabbing a small can of bullseye, and just starting from the beganing, and work through all the diferent powders as i progress... probably what most of you oldtimes did.

 

[k53]

OK... a little background...

Dad target shot, and reloaded, and casted a LOT back in the 60's and 70's. Sadly we lost him a few months ago, and I receved his guns. Right now Im using up a lot of his reloaded stuff that he had left over from the 70's, and I realy like the loads. Sadly i cant ask what they were, and at this point anyways, I havent found any notes showing what he used for load data.

So Im about halfway there getting ready. Got the bullets.. primers, a TON a cases, and most of the tools... Just need powder, a few odds and ends, and the info, and skills to do it!! Thanks for any help!!

 

[alwslate]

Sounds like you have the tools and the desire but are just at the start
gate of a long learning process. I would suggest that you not proceed
to loading shells with only a few tips from net users but instead look
for a club or shooting range in your area that offers a reloading class.
While waiting for your hands-on instruction buy at least one current
loading manual like Speer or Lyman and study it. Better safe than sorry.

 

[k53]

Sounds like you have the tools and the desire but are just at the start
gate of a long learning process. I would suggest that you not proceed
to loading shells with only a few tips from net users but instead look
for a club or shooting range in your area that offers a reloading class.
While waiting for your hands-on instruction buy at least one current
loading manual like Speer or Lyman and study it. Better safe than sorry.

Yes I do know a reloader and he is going to walk me through the first few sessions. Thanks for the advice

 

[ruger-p94]

I can only say things about Unique. I was reloading 38 and 357 but have decided to just go with 357 now. You can do everything with a 357 you can do with a 38 but more. I also use a SWC 158 grain bullet. It is a nice round to play with and you can keep it just below the leading level easily. For me the fun was trying to get a load that got me on target and I was comfortable with. I ended up with 6.5 grains. Experimentation is fun but make sure you get a good book and keep within specs as stated before. Modern Reloading second edition by Richard Lee is a good bedside book to get. It takes you through the whole process and technical stuff without boggling your mind up. Best piece of advice....get a nice quite area where you won't be distracted, take your time, be accurate, be safe, and have fun.....great hobby. cheers

 

[Titegroups]

The nice part of loading 38's for a 357 is you're running it at half throttle with max 38 loads which leaves you with a considerable safety margin. there are a lot of powders that will work fine. Where most loading manuals are brand specific the lee manual is more generic and there's plenty of good load data in it. Bullseye, Titegroup, Win231, Unique will all make good loads. Just follow the data.

 

[PDL]

Reading and understanding a good reloading manual is one of the best places to start. Working with an experienced reloader can help you better understand what the manual had to say. Just be aware that they can be teaching you bad habbits as well as good.
Just about all powder companies have online sites with load data for their products. There are other reloading sites that can provide good data as well. Start looking at those.
Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp
http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/accurate_load_data_3.5.pdf

Have fun and be safe.
Oh, just FYI in my M36 I usually target shoot with 4.0 gr of W231 using mixed brass, CCI SP primers, and 158 gr. lead SWC or TC bullets. Bullets from either Penn or Missouri Bullets. Works for me, YMMV.

 

[mikld]

Just for a refrence since you've got a mentor, get The ABCs of Reloading and Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Handbook. If you are going to be loading lead bullets get a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook. You'll be able to refer back to the ABC for info, and use the Lyman books/manuals for load data (recipes)...

 

[ryanjames170]

i would pick up a Hornady reloading manual just becuse there cast bullets are prety cheep as well as there JHP bullets and i think there recipies would work good with Lee's tumble lube type bullets as well, if you get into casting

i personaly use Bullseye becuse u can get 1800-2200 rds of ammo loaded out of it with a modest 38 spl standard presure loading.

 

[TSQUARED]

For nice mild oads with lead bullets use Trail Boss powder. All the loading data is on the Hodgdon websire - Hodgdon - The Gun Powder People

 

[Whiskey_Sour]

+1 on the TrailBoss, prolly the best powder to start with.

 

[TheTinMan]

Please note that the Hornady data for lead bullets assumes that you are using their swaged lead bullets which are very soft. That manual specifically suggests a target velocity of 800 fps and a Max of 850 fps to avoid leading. Works just fine in .38 Special but it's hard to keep velocity down that low in .357 Magnum.

OTOH you can buy projectiles from Penn Bullets which are rated up to 1,600 fps ("premium"). I've had very good results with their 158gr TCBB (truncated cone bevel base) in both .38 Special and .357 Magnum over Win 231. ACCURATE! I prefer not to worry about the higher velocity you're likely to get with .357 Magnum - even in plinking loads - and just stock one bullet for .38 caliber.

If you haven't bought powder yet, Trail Boss has the appeal of filling up a lot more of the available case volume. Especially in .357 Magnum. It looks like it wouldn't meter very well though so hopefully someone will speak up about that question.

One other thought on powder selection - I use Win 231 for .38 Special, .357 Magnum target loads, and .45 Auto target loads. It may not be the ultimate powder for any one of those cartridges but works very well for all three. You probably can say the same thing about Bullseye though...

 

[k53]

Thanks for the tips guys!!

You know... ive been reading up on this for a year or so now off and on, and wile the manuals give you a lot of the info you need to saftly load... When it comes to choosing the powder and the loads... its still kinda a "spin the wheel" thing for the new guy. Ya, they list the diferent speeds, and PSI's of the loads... but is the new guy going to know if he wants somehting that goes 802fps, or is 875fps a better load? having this first hand advice of the pros and cons of the diferent loads, and powders is a huge help!!

Im going to hit up a few local gun shops and see what they stock for powders. Not realy worth the cost of shipping a small size... Im thinking I might try Unique to start... see how that goes. Thanks agean guys!!!

 

[GF1]

Good counsel here. Learn the process, and the "why" behind the steps, "red team" your own set up for ways that you could mess things up and plan around it. I would definitely begin with a single stage press, a good powder scale, a good powder measure, carbide dies, a primer seating hand tool. The most important tool and insurance against disaster is common sense and understanding what you are doing, having checks against potential errors.

For your desires, I would recommend a load of about 6 grains of Unique with a 158 grain hard cast lead SWC bullet (there are various sources for these), standard small pistol primers in .357 Magnum cases.

 

[gwpercle]

K53 ,
I started out with a Ruger Blackhawk in 357 mag. most of my loads were 38 special because brass was plentiful, picked it up for free at the ranges. Magnum brass was not thrown on the ground. And I started with Unique. Unique is a versital powder but is not good for light target loads. It needs some pressure to burn cleanly. I found a good accurate load in 38 special to be 5.2 grains Unique under a 158 gr. cast SWC . Shot out of a 357 mag. it is quite pleasant.

After trying to work up a target load with full wadcutter 148 gr. bullets and failing I got some Bullseye and 2.7 to 3.0 grs of Bullseye under a 148 gr. wadcutter is just the ticket.

The hottest loads I worked up in 357 mag. were 7.5 grs Unique under a cast 155 gr. swc with a gas check ( Lyman mould # 358156 ) cast of wheel weights and air cooled.
This is probably a maximum load but it was accurate and didn't lead in the Blackhawk. Like GF1 suggested start out with 6.0 grs. and if you feel the need for more speed work the load up .5 grs . at a time to desired level ( just don't exceed 7.5 grs. Unique ) All the loads here with standard primers.

I hope some of this helps you get started. You are right about things being more complicated...so many more powders, and bullets on the market. And this internet thing makes so much information available it gets mind boggling.
Just try to keep things simple, some people just seem to enjoy complicating things. Good Luck......gary

 

[tappedandtagged]

I have two loads for my .357 mag. The first is basically what you're wanting, a target load that has a bit more punch than a 38 splc. It's a 158 grn SWC on top of 6.0 grains of Unique. 6.5 grns of Unique worked well too. These are with small pistol primers.

The second is 11.5 grains of AA #9 with a small Magnum primer. I can't find my notes at the moment, but there was not as large of a velocity gain out of the #9 as I expected over the Unique. I have gone up to 12 grains of AA #9 and found it very accurate and a true magnum round. This is near the top, so work up slow!

At 12 grains of AA #9 I had sticky case extraction. I later found that this was due to crud build up from shooting 38 splcs in my wheel gun.

That brings up another point. If you're shooting these out of a Model 19, I'd load all of my loads in 357 mag brass. You can load them down to 38 spcl in the longer brass and do so without getting the crud build up in the cylinder.

 

[k53]

Ya I am planning on loading most in 357 cases, but I have a lot more of the38 cases then the 357. As I progress, and shoot more I plan to stock up on more 357, and slowly burn through the 38 ones. Of course by then I'll probably have a 38 spc revolver. . I've always had a soft spot for model 10's!

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

My go to 38 spl load is 4.3 gr Unique and a 158 gr SWC. Although, I'd call it more of a plinking load than a target load.

Also, Trailboss is fine. But remember it is only for lead bullets. It's not for jacketed. It is an easy powder to work with.

Good luck!

 

[tappedandtagged]

Ya I am planning on loading most in 357 cases, but I have a lot more of the38 cases then the 357. As I progress, and shoot more I plan to stock up on more 357, and slowly burn through the 38 ones. Of course by then I'll probably have a 38 spc revolver. . I've always had a soft spot for model 10's!

Be sure to scrub those chambers after shooting 38's. I'm still loading the same box of 50 that I bought a long time ago. So far I've gotten around 7 loads from them and they are a long way from worn out. I only stockpile ammo for my Glock 22 and AR. The rest, I load up what I foresee shooting in the next few months. I shoot about 50 357's and 100 44 mag's a month. Now that the temp is on the rise, I'm not even doing that, esp since my shooting partner is a 85 year old great-uncle! I don't like the heat and he doesn't need to be out in it. But you should see him punch holes with his 5" S&W model 29!! He is one 85 year old man I would never want on my bad side. He reminds me of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino!

 

[wharvey]

Looks like you got some great advice. As you've noticed there are a lot of powders to choose from. Unique was my first choice for years but the old formulation was pretty dirty. The new one is suppose to be better.

I've also used AA5 and I'm now using HP38, love it. I'd stay with medium burn rate powders like these. Fast powders, such as Bullseye are great but a bit more critical as to charge rate. Much easier to over charge a case.

Slower powders, such as AA9 are a bit slow burning for .357 but fantastic for .44 mag.

The 19 is a fantastic gun but many were ruined shooting too many full .357 loads. Stick with .38 and .38 +P loads and they last forever.