i have a lil s&w terrier thats a 38s&w i plan on carrying as a back up lil gun, hey there better than a flat rock ammo is kind pricey for these lil guys, im looking for any advice on folks here who might reload this round not looking to "make it hot" just go bang.... advice on what lead bullets prefer hard cast size to use and what powder loads folks are using AGAIN not interested in anything but a factory SAFE shooting load, thanks

I have been shooting this round for a while now.
I just got a Terrier too. Have not shot that one yet though.
Shoot a Model 33 and a British Victory Model.
I have been ordering my bullets from Missouri Bullets online.
They only stock one weight , it is 146 grain and it shoots very well for me.
I have used Titegroup and Trailboss, I far prefer the Trailboss.
I could not find loads for Trailboss, but found loads for Colt 38NP
which is exact same round.I will not list my charge weights as I have crept up from the anemic loads they list.
I know it might not be best idea, but I figure they are listing loads for old top breaks and such, I just go a bit above the max, I think the max in book would be fine anyway,the round is not supposed to be a fire breather.
I think it is pretty great though, it is as big as a 38 needs to be, compare it to the special and it is so much shorter.

Bottom line up front: your S&W likely mikes at about .359, if it's like my own 32-1's and 33-1's. Any .358 lead bullets loaded for .38 SPL will stabilize fine for SD duty, so your purchase options are practically unlimited. The common commercial loads used when Terriers were a common carry gun were 145g and 146g bullets at about 685-720 fps; there was also a Super Police load with a 200g bullet at about 600 fps.

I shoot several 32-1's and 33-1's, plus a Victory and an Enfield. I've successfully tried many loads in them, but my carry load is a 200g lead semi-wadcutter over 2.5g Win231, which gives about 610 fps from the longer barrels and a bit less from the snubbies. This ballistically duplicates the old "Super Police" loads of days gone by, drilling deep into soft stuff but probably bouncing off car doors and windshields at many angles :-)

I cast my own bullets and load to a long COL of 1.240. This is at or near loads published in Lee 2nd Edition, IIRC, and they work fine in my guns--of course I can't vouch for yours.

If you have an I-frame Terrier, it's a weaker frame than my 32-1 and 33-1 J frames, but I have never seen any quantification of how much weaker. If you want to be conservative, you may want to use something like a 140-ish bullet at about 680-700. A great option is the common 148g .38 wadcutter loaded to a long COL by crimping it into a lube groove to give you a COL similar to the 145g-146g factory loads. Better bullet profile gives more thump & pressures won't be a problem. I cast a Lee 140g LSWC that drops at about 147g from my mold, and use 2.7g of Win231 to give me a MV of about 690 in a 4" gun. I use the normal crimp groove with this bullet, and this load duplicates factory ballistics.

Also, take a look at 38 S&W load devopment Pt. 1 for a variety of info about this cartridge.

I cast Ideal #'s 358246 and 360271, RN & SWC, both drop at .361 and 147 grains. I size to .360 and load over a minimal charge of A#2. They are both fine performers and very accurate in my 4" Regulation Police from the middle 20's.

I would use either a SWC or a full WC in that revolver to make it more efficient then the usual LRN bullets which are usually loaded for that caliber. I usually load a 170gr LRNFP bullet in my 38 S&W ammo but it's not meant for SD work.

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

PattonTime, where did you find info on using Trailboss for the Colt 38NP? I've been searching for days now and can't find any reference for it's use in either cartridge. Thanks

If you go to the Hodgdon site and follow the leads to Trail Boss, they give guidance on how to develop loads from scratch using Trail Boss.

I was looking at OldWesternScrounger for .38S&W, and saw that
they've got some .38-200 ammo in stock. Will that work in a Terrier?
And, if it does, is it down-graded enough to use in any of the Break-Top's? Thanks in advance, TACC1.

Thank you guesser!

Henry Stebbins wrote ca. 1960 that he once blew the top latch off a top break gun (I THINK a S&W) with 200 gr .38 S&W Super Police.
I'd give the top breaks regular 146 gr bullets.

That answers any questions I had about the 38-200 and break-tops. Thanks, TACC1.

Good advice re. the .38-200 for top-breaks--too much power for that design and/or its metallurgy. Several manufacturers make 145-146g LRN ammo loaded to about 685 fps, which was the power level the old top breaks were intended to handle. I presume the old Iver-Johnsons fit in the same category. Not sure about Harrington & Richardson top-breaks of 1960s-70s manufacture, but personally I wouldn't try it.

.38-200 or Super Police-type loads are great for J and K frame S&W's such as the 32-1, 33-1, and Victory models, plus D-frame Colts such as the Police Positive. All of those frames were also used for .38 SPL, after all.

I've fired .38-200 in a Mod. 33 I-frame, as well, but would do so only in limited amounts. Ditto for an original Terrier. Don't know how well they'd do with a steady diet of that--perhaps analogous to shooting .38 SPL+P in some older guns. . . .

This might be a bit of a cop out for this discussion but the NRA's magazine The American Rifleman has a pretty good article on .38 Special/.357 Magnum reloads this month.

Edit: My bad, I just re-read the title of this thread and realized the OP was talking about the .38 S&W.

__________________
FCSA Member
NRA Benefactor