Power pistol and .38 Special

s2harry

s2harry

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
228
Reaction score
110
Location
Commifornia
I noticed on the Alliant Site that Power Pistol had higher velocity so I tried it. 158 grain Extreme Plated bullet and 5.4 grains PP, max for standard vel.

Blast and Flames. Wow I wasn't prepared for that. I haven't shot these over the chrono yet. 5.4 is listed at 948fps and 6 grains max for +P is 1037fps.

Anyone use PP? What load and performance do you get in .38?
 
Register to hide this ad
Power Pistol is flashy, which is one thing I like about it, but it also gives good performance in many of the auto cases too.

Most manuals don't list any 158gr jacketed data for a 38 Special case & the only such data Alliant has is using BE-86.

The 6.0gr/PP you referenced is for a LSWC. A jacketed or plated bullet will be slower & higher pressure.

I don't have a chrono so I can't tell you any velocities but 6.0gr/PP is my personal "occasional" max load using Rim Rock's 158gr L-SWC-HP/GC bullet in my 38 snubnose. They shoot great.

Power Pistol's great even in reduced loads in the hyper magnum pistol cartridges. Very versatile.

.
 
BlueDot37, Im using Extreme Plated 158gr, so I figured its ok and not a hard copper cup. Are Extreme Plated harder than Berrys?. What do you think?
 
Last edited:
For 6.0grs? Guess it depends on the 38 revolver's condition & how much you shoot it. The 5.4gr would probably be better.

They list 5.5gr/PP @ 945mv from a 6' bbl. as the max +P load for their 146gr JHP.

.
 
Last edited:
Last year I did some testing (500 rounds) with 38spl p+ loads in a snubnosed 38spl (2" bbl). I used 5 different powders and 10 different bullets & loaded 10 rounds of each load/2 5-shot strings.

Power pistol easily out performed unique & be-86 with all 10 different bullets.

10 bullets ='s 10 different hp's (9 lead & 1 jacketed) that ranged in weight from 140gr to 160gr.

This year I plan on re-testing the better performing bullets coupled with unique/be-86/2400/pp. The testing this time will be done in bbl lengths of 2"/3"/4"/6"/8"/10"/12".

I want to see if the difference in bbl lengths aid in equalizing the difference in muzzle velocity that pp has over other powders in the short bbl'd 38spl p+ loads.

I was getting 950fps+ with the pp p+ loads in a 2" bbl'd revolver.

FWIW:
Brian Pearce did an article in the feb-march 2012 #276 handloader magazine testing loads that would = the buffalo bore a20/1000fps 38spl p+ load. He used a ruger lcr in the tests and the bb a20 load gave him 999fps in that lcr. He used 6.3gr of pp and the rimrock 158gr lead gas checked hp and got 1004fps in that same ruger lcr ( 1 7/8" bbl). While he didn't list the pressures of the different loads he tested. He did state every load he tested was under the max saami pressure limit. A real eye opener in that same article was the:
5.9gr of pp/lyman cast 173gr bullet (358429) that averaged 946fps in that 1 7/8" bbl'd revolver.

PP is well worth looking into/testing in the older low pressure cartridges like the 38spl/44spl/45acp/45lc. PP really shines in those style/type of low pressure cartridges. But pp is only average in the magnum cartridges like the 357 & 44mag.
 
s2harry said:
Anyone use PP? What load and performance do you get in .38?
Click to expand...

I use PP for .380, .38, 9mm and 45ACP but mostly 9mm.

The only recorded .38 load I found is 6.1 PP with a plated 125 gr Rainier. Chrono 877 fps average out of a 4" barrel.
 
I use 4.8 grains of power pistol for my 158gr LRN hornady bullets for 38spl. COAL I use is 1.455". I shoot outdoors so I haven't noticed any flash. hits steel plates with authority. I'm happy.
 
Alliant's velocities are from test barrels on universal receivers. Don't recall if they specify length and vented/non-vented (account for barrel/cylinder gap). While their load data is good, I've never approached their velocities in actual firearms.

The latest Hornaday manual claims 850 f/s for their 158 JHP and 6.0 gr of PP at the +P level. I get slightly over 1000 f/s from a 4 inch barrel with 6.4 gr PP and the Remington 125 JHP and Federal 100 primers. By Hornaday's book, that's still standard pressure, the velocity is slightly over book.
 
Last edited:
I shoot PP in .38 Spl. cases with 125 gr. JHP Zero or XTP bullets. My gun is a 6" 686 with a Walther barrel and a 7 port comp. The load is 6.5 gr. at 1050 fps. The powder works the comp. very well and there is almost no recoil. Lots of noise and flash, though. Very accurate to 50 yards. Haven't tested further distance.
 
I ALWAYS load at the low end for handgun rounds with one minor exception: .357 Mag for use when fishing where black bears outnumber trout.

I have at least one box of the FBI Load for self-defense. One box will last me many lifetimes.

High velocity ain't necessary for punching holes in paper and plinking in the Eastern Sierra.

Low end loading makes shooting more fun, especially for kids. (They don't 1000 FPS from 750 FPS.) Just as important, low end loads reduces stress on handguns.

I've used Power Pistol. The ONLY reason I prefer it to Unique is metering. Unique meters like corn flakes. Hence, I've substituted PP for Unique.

Hence, to answer the OP's question: I like PP. It is excellent powder. But there are lots of excellent powders. One of my favorite .38 Special loads is 158 grain LSWC (seems to be very accurate bullet) with 3 grains of Titegroup. Don't quote my powder charge. I'm working off memory. Regardless, it's minimum load. Titegroup is excellent powder for target and recreational shooting.

BTW, when Eastern Sierra trout fishing, kids seen to find shooting to be fun intermission between bites. My kids can go through a thousand rounds of fun in one intermission. This season, I might have to buy a 5-gallon bucket and fill it up with .38 Special ammo.
 
I have found PP the best for +P 38 Special loads.
Worked up this one for Field Pistol Silhouette:
LRN 160 Power Pistol grn. 6.3 LO 941 HI 969 AVG 955 ES 28 SD 9.07
Very accurate in my 64-3.
67-3dot.jpg
 
As I stated, I do not have PP.

Some say Unique is the way to go for +P. (5.4)
Some say HS-6 is the powder that gets it done. (7.0)

All I know that with a lead 158 gr. Lswhp bullet in a steel M49...
I had to back off a load of Blue Dot and only fire three of a five load test that hit 970fps before I finished, out od a 1 7/8" barrel !!

All other loads did not put up a red light.
 
s2harry said:
I noticed on the Alliant Site that Power Pistol had higher velocity so I tried it. 158 grain Extreme Plated bullet and 5.4 grains PP, max for standard vel.

Blast and Flames. Wow I wasn't prepared for that. I haven't shot these over the chrono yet. 5.4 is listed at 948fps and 6 grains max for +P is 1037fps.

Anyone use PP? What load and performance do you get in .38?
Click to expand...

Xtreme bullets are plated and they recommend only using mid-range jacketed data. PP is more for auto loads. Lyman's 50th manual shows a range of 4.3-4.8 grains with 5.3 being a +P load.

I load that same bullet at 4.8 grains of Unique @ 700fps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Dump1567
.38 Special Ammo Velocity Comparisons: Historical vs. Modern
2 3
Replies
40
Views
2K
38SPL HV
38SPL HV
S
Power Pistol in .38 +P loads...357 Magnum brass, 357 Magnum pistol?
Replies
11
Views
597
38SPL HV
38SPL HV
P
AA#9 158 JHP 357 Chrono Results and BC Gap Question
Replies
17
Views
1K
rockquarry
R
H
38 Special & Vihtavuori Powder
Replies
10
Views
2K
BrBa
B
Kiwi cop
Chronographing two .38’s
Replies
11
Views
1K
chief38
chief38

Latest posts

Back
Top