.38 Reloads

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Seems a little light, but guessing that will get you in the low to mid 700s speed wise. Problem is Bullseye is unobtanium the last few years so I hope you have a stash of it.
 
Back in the Stone Age when I did lots of Bullseye shooting I always loaded 3.0 grains of BE in .38 Special with DEWCs. No particular reason, mainly just because someone I trusted told me it was a good load. I once tested it against factory loads. Seemed results were pretty much the same.
 
I started out with 2.7 of BE then 2.5 Clays shot a little better and was cleaner and filled more of the case. When I was working up loads for CMP matches, the best (and cleanest burning) was Win Super Target.
 
Never used bullseye. 2.8gr of AA452 always worked for me. Then I switched to 2.8gr of wst when it came out. 2.5gr of clays is another fantastic load also.
 
jimmyj said:
Many eons ago IIFC (?) the Bullseye Shooters loaded 148 grain W/C bullets with 2.5-2.7 Bullseye for compertition matches ???
Click to expand...
Yes that was the case, 3.0 was a little stouter load but insured complete sealing of the bullet to bore. In my early days, circa 1966, I scored many targets for the centerfire bullseye match with obvious pear shaped holes. I suspect those guys were shooting the lightest load that would function their M-52.
 
I have loaded thousands of 38 HBWC rounds on my Lee Pro 1000 with 2.7 gr of Bullseye. Still working on that 4 lb jug. They shoot just fine in my Model 52's and 38 revolvers. I tried loading Clays but found it didn't meter too well with the Lee disks and even got some squib loads.
 
2.7 gr of Bullseye under a 148 gr HBWC has been "The Load" as long as I can remember. Titegroup and WST work as well. My most accurate load is 2.8 gr of WST. Shoots accurately and very clean.
 
jimmyj said:
Many eons ago IIFC (?) the Bullseye Shooters loaded 148 grain W/C bullets with 2.5-2.7 Bullseye for compertition matches ???
Click to expand...
Yes indeed we did...U can get 20 reloads out of a box with such light loads...now if we shot stages that included 50 yds, sometimes we would bump it up to 3.0 but loads in the range you posted were the norm
 
I load 3.2 gr W231 because that is the bushing that came with my CH Autochamp, still setting my Dillon there now for wadcutters.

SASFixer said:
I scored many targets for the centerfire bullseye match with obvious pear shaped holes. I suspect those guys were shooting the lightest load that would function their M-52.
Click to expand...

Gil Hebard wrote of oval holes with factory wadcutters from a M52.
A PPC shooter here said he could "tip" his barrel and get oval holes on demand. Not too sure about that one, I suspect he got some slight keyholing all along and just took credit for it when he said he was doing it as a stunt.
 
jimmyj said:
Many eons ago IIFC (?) the Bullseye Shooters loaded 148 grain W/C bullets with 2.5-2.7 Bullseye for compertition matches ???
Click to expand...
Still doing it down in South Carolina for PPC shooting. I left in 2020 and they were going strong. I loaded 2.8 of BE. Can’t go too heavy without blowing the skirt off the HBWC. Nice to see another Coastie. Semper P.
 
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