Help me out here. Consensus seems to be 4.0 or a little more for a good 158 target load. I am fairly new to reloading, but I have gone to the Hodgdon website for HP-38 which I am using, and pulled up the load recipes. For 158 LSWC it lists 3.1 gr as starting, with 3.7 gr/834 fps as Max. Where do you find a recipe for anything over that-especially as high as 4.5-4.7 gr?
Granted, the 158 load on the chart I am looking at seems to be abnormally low, but this is what the powder manufacturer is putting out. Is it an error?
Any help in understanding this would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Look at the pressures. Not only are there no +P loads in the chart you referenced, and the loads and pressures shown are light even or regular .38.
Other manuals show +P lead loads.
Just wondering how hot/cool this load is compared to others.
To answer your original question directly, the HP38/W 231 hard cast lead load that reaches standard pressure max load
with the lead bulets I use is 4.4gr.
The 3.7 load cited in Hodgdon is a couple thousand CUP below max. ALways compare the pressure shown in the loading chart to the SAAMI standards. Lead bullet charts may stop below SAAMI max pressure to avoid leading. In that case, get another loading manual to find loads nearer the SAAMI standard max, or +P. Don't guess, and don't start with max +P loads. Be sure you know what bullet it is for.
Thousands of competitors have used a "mild" +P to make minor power (PF 125) with the 158gr bullet, and shot loads around 4.5gr in the tens of thousands in various K and L frames. The reason IDPA dropped their power factor to 105 for Stock Service Revolver is that no standard .38 load makes PF125, and they did want people to have to reload or buy factory +P.
So your 4.2 is within SAAMI specs for a standard .38,
if your bullets are the same as mine. "Not too cold, not too hot."
With lead bullets using HP38/W231, you can load usually down near 3gr without sticking the bullet. Don't try that low with jacketed bullets!
Much ado is made about old manuals being different than new manuals. OK, lets use 2 loads from the current 49th edition Lyman manual, which shows for their #358311 160gr bullet, the max load in .38 Special for W231 is 4.9gr giving 16,800CUP for 906fps. Their #358665 158gr bullet recommends 4.0gr W231 for 15,900CUP giving only 837fps.
Big difference.
Why?
The bullets are different. Different bullets seal differently and not all lead bullet loads are interchangeable just because the weight is similar.
