38 Special Load Question

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sjs

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I have a large supply of reloads I made years ago which was:
158gr LSWC, Bullseye 2.9 gr., COL 1.465.

I had not shot them for a long time but did this past week and they were very accurate in my revolver. That must be why I made so many of them. But I thought I would double check the load, and in my manual, the correct COL would be 1.44O.

I normally do not experiment and stay well within the published data, and I cannot recall why I used that length. My notes do not help either. I would normally not worry about that small a difference as long as it is on the lower pressure end but 2.9 is a minimum load. They function fine with no squibs. I am just curious how I got to that load.

Can anyone confirm that that load is within some published parameters somewhere?
 
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STANSDDS: "You may have loaded them to that length based on the location of the crimp groove in the bullet as that often determines the OAL."

This is my guess too. All 158 LSWC bullets do not have the same length between the crimp cannelure and the nose. As a reference look at the Accurate Molds catalog, pages 7-9 : Bullet Design Catalog | Accurate Molds

The critical dimension for pressure is seating depth, the distance from the crimp cannelure to the bullet base, not OAL. Don't worry about your loads they are just fine as-is.
 
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The OAL on .38 is non-critical....

.... especially for such a low powered load with a powder that takes as little volume as Bullseye. Extending the OAL a few thousandths will LOWER the pressure. But there is so much space in a .38 case with a 158 gr bullet loaded with Bullseye that bullet depth simply doesn't affect it very much. I've experimented with bullets at max AOL and seated to the rim, ogive or whatever with little difference in velocity.

This is NOT true in small capacity, high pressure cartridges like the 9mm Luger. Small differences in seating depth can vary the pressure widely.
 
3.5gr x.90 = 3.1gr. At 2.9gr your load is 18% under Alliant's suggested load figure.

It's good you are not experiencing any squibs.:eek: I'd stay away from the longer barrels, though...?

Ammo will "function" in a revolver as long as the bullet clears the barrel: powder-puff semi-automatic pistol loads can clear the barrel and still be too weak to power the action. As one can imagine, this is typically noticed right away.:rolleyes:

Cheers!
 
2.5 to 3.0 grs Bullseye with a 140 or 148 gr. LWC is a very popular 38 Special Target Load used in NRA 3-gun Bullseye Match .
I split the difference and used 2.7 grs of Bullseye when I competed ...
you shot legs in 22 cal , 32 or 38 cal and 45 cal ... I competed on a 25 yard indoor range ... 50 yard competition usually called for a load of 3.0 grs Bullseye and a 140 or 148 gr. LWC .
As a tin can and paper punching load ... 2.5 to 3.0 grs Bullseye with any lead bullet from 140 grs to 160 grs (Lyman #358432 is amazing) ... will be very accurate ...
at least it is in all of my 38 Specials .
Gary
 
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I didn't read all of the comments regarding your post. All I would add is possibly how the loads actually work in your revolver. Years ago, I loaded some .357 ammo for my friend, I used a Smith and Wesson model 28 but he had a python, if I crimped the rounds in the crimping groove, they were fine in my Smith but we're too long for his python. It's always a good idea to check everything before driving for an hour to shoot, only to find out that you won't be shooting because your ammo doesn't work.
 
Don't know, don't have a chrony.

I made these up years ago when I was trying to teach myself how to point shoot and I was going through a lot of ammo very fast shooting snubbies. Now, I am playing with informal bullseye shooting at 50 ft. indoors. I shoot both one handed and two handed and I am shooting only 3 and 4 inch revolvers. No squibs so far but I need to reload more ammo and measured the COL of this old ammo and got concerned.

I very much appreciate the comments, which were very helpful. This forum, and this sub forum in particular are just a treasure trove of knowledge.
 
My last 38 Special loads before Bullseye (BE) became an endangered species was 3.5 grs BE 158 gr RNL Lyman 358311 (crimped in crimping groove…used this load for nearly 50 yrs) and most recently +P 158 gr Speer SWC & 3.9 grs BE… 1.440” oal…the 358311 load was preferred.
 
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