I'm trying to put some light, plinker, loads together for a new shooter. I have tons of Hornady 125 HPXTP's and about a half pound of HP38.

If I stay between 4gr and 4.5gr will I be in the 800FPS range?

Thanks

Kinda. sorta really depends on what you are shooting them out of??

Maybe some more info.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've reloaded several hundred of these using W231, same powder as HP-38. The Hornady 8th Edition manual calls for 4.8 gr (lowest) to give 800 fps, up to 5.3 gr (highest) for +P. 4.8 gr works just fine for me, very accurate. I also have Remington 125 sjhp and use the same load. In the Hodgdon site they recommend 4.3 gr (min) HP-38 for just over 800 fps to a max of 4.9 gr for over 900 fps. I'd suggest you experiment by loading some with 4.3 gr and another batch with 4.8 gr but I think you'll like the latter.

Thank you! I'll play around with some 4.3,4.4,and 4.5 loads and see what groups better.

Rule3,
It's a 4" M19.

Kinda hard to tell if you do not let us know if it is a 38, 357 or 9mm and what barrel length. (125 gr in all of them)

Some of us are not clairvoyant.

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Still Running Against the Wind

That's ok, I got my info from those that are.

With THAT jacketed bullet, DO NOT go below minimum. Those puppies will stick in your barrel if you go too low.

If you want a plinking round, go to lead. Cheaper and you can get them pretty low in velocity too.

FWIW

Just my 2c - I found that HP 38 does not do well with minimum loads - very sooty and inaccurate in my experience. Loaded towards the higher end, it is a different and very reliable animal. Personally, I'd go with a mid range load to start. HP 38 is more forgiving than a lot of others - just don't go over the manufacturer's max loading and watch the OAL.
RR