Several series of handloads were tested over the chronograph screens over a couple of hours late Saturday afternoon and a couple more hours late Sunday afternoon.
Loads were not uniformly tested in 10-round series due to constraints dictated by the supply of 200 grain bullets but rather were tested in 6 to 10 round series. Therefore standard deviations may be less than truly meaningful in all instances but they were calculated.
Cartridge cases used for these tests consisted primarily of Remington (R - P headstamped) nickel plated cases with one additional box of older Remington-UMC brass cases also used.
In all tests, the cartridge cases gave normal ejection and exhibited normal primers except for the heavy Unique and Herco load when fired in the Webley. A single pierced primer apiece for each load was observed. It was noted that the firing pin has some roughness that needs smoothing, nonetheless this could be an indication that pressure was straining things a bit.
Loading these long and heavy bullets in the .38 S&W is not for the careless handloader with haphazard habits and no attention to detail.
It was arbitrarily determined to disregard the recommended .38 S&W cartridge overall length of 1.20" when producing handloads using long 200 grain bullets. Measurements taken of factory loads proved even shorter, coming in at 1.170". If the seating die was adjusted to factory .38 S&W cartridge lengths in preparation to seat 200 grain bullets, then a compressed or near-compressed powder charge would result. Considering the range of fast-burning powders useful for handloading the .38 S&W, compressing a charge of powder with the bullet would very likely cause a high-pressure event to perhaps dismal conclusions if the resulting loaded cartridge was fired.
A cartridge overall length of 1.273 was settled on as a proper compromise between allowing enough internal space to accommodate all powder charges while insuring the bullets would not crowd the the chamber mouths of the cylinders of the test revolvers.
Each and every powder charge thrown was hand-weighed and any correction was adjusted for. This may have contributed to the pleasingly small extreme spreads generally seen throughout the tests. Old reference works on the .38 S&W indicate it had a reputation for great accuracy and some target arms were turned out by the premier handgun manufacturers of the later 19th century. Perhaps the .38 S&W's extremely small case capacity coupled with low operating pressures contributes to uniformity and makes it a now-unheralded choice for accuracy work if housed in a well-made gun.
And so we come to the
Mother Of All Chronograph Testing of the .38 S&W with an emphasis on the 200 grain bullet.
Colt Bankers' Special with 2-inch barrel
Factory Load: Winchester 145 grain round-nose lead
742 fps Muzzle Velocity
177 ft/lbs Muzzle Energy
55 fps Extreme Spread
22.6 Standard Deviation
Factory Load: Winchester 200 grain round-nose lead (probably pre-war ammunition)
647 fps MV
186 ft./lbs ME
18 fps ES
8.4 SD
Handloads used primarily centered around experimentation with a 100 round batch of 200 grain .360" diameter cast lead round-nose bullets.
158 grain .358" cast lead semi-wadcutter, 2.5 grains Red Dot (from a batch loaded 11/23/95)
738 fps MV
191 ft./lbs. ME
25 fps ES
10.1 SD
200 grain Remington .358" lead round-nose, 3.1 grains Unique (from a batch loaded 11/16/95)
741 fps MV
244 ft./lbs. ME
80 fps ES
20.3 SD
All the following loads were produced with a 200 grain cast lead bullet as kindly provided by
LouisianaMan. This bullet differed from the Remington 200 grain component bullet in having a slightly more blunt nose profile.
2.0 grains Red Dot
620 fps MV
170 ft./lbs ME
37 fps ES
15.6 SD
2.2 grains W231
644 fps MV
189 ft./lbs ME
24 fps ES
10.3 SD
2.3 grains Green Dot
635 fps MV
179 ft./lbs. ME
30 ES
12.0 SD
2.4 grains (new) Unique
614 fps MV
167 ft./lbs. ME
59 fps ES
59.7 SD
2.7 grains Herco
Was attempted unsuccessfully. The chronograph gave "no-reads" and on three occasions bullets were stuck in the barrels of both revolvers just ahead of the forcing cones. This load is too light.
"Performance" .38 S&W Loading
The following loads could be considered as unofficial .38 S&W "+P" loads. These would only be suitable in quality late vintage Colt and Smith & Wesson solid-frame revolvers having swing out cylinders, in the Webley and Enfield .38/200 revolvers produced for British military contracts, or their commercial equivalents. Commercial Webley .38 revolvers were produced for many years prior to the adoption of the very similar military issue Enfield No. 2 Mk I in 1931. Early Webley .38 revolvers probably should not be fired using such loads. Any use of these loads in any 19th century revolver of top-break design would very likely come to grief.
A side-by-side test of "old" Unique and this new "cleaner burning" Unique was conducted during this part of the testing in order to discover any differences between the two. While it could only be an indication of lot-to-lot variations, when examined with results from similar chronograph tests in the .38 Special and the .45 ACP it tends to indicate that the new formulation of Unique is a bit more energetic. Old familiar Unique load data for a reloader's favorite cartridges should be retested by working up.
So-called "+P" efforts with the 200 grain bullet in the Colt
3.0 grains "Old" Unique
644 fps MV
184 ft./lbs ME
72 ES
30.3 SD
3.0 grains "New" Unique
689 fps MV
210 ft./lbs. ME
19 ES
7.1 SD
3.3 grains Herco
767 fps MV
261 ft./lbs. ME
31 fps ES
15.1 SD
Webley Mark VI with 5-inch barrel
Factory Load: Winchester 145 grain round-nose lead
712 fps MV
163 ft./lbs. ME
75 fps ES
32.2 SD
Factory Load: Winchester 200 grain round-nose lead
638 fps MV
187 ft./lbs. ME
42 fps ES
18.1 SD
Handloads
158 grain .358" cast lead semi-wadcutter, 2.5 grains Red Dot
714 fps MV
179 ft./lbs.
58 fps ES
24.1 SD
200 grain Remington lead round-nose; 3.1 grains Unique
725 fps MV
233 ft./lbs. ME
59 fps ES
26.0 SD
Handloads with 200 grain bullet provided by LouisianaMan
2.0 grains Red Dot
620 fps MV
170 ft./lbs ME
37 ES
15.6 SD
2.2 grains W231
603 fps MV
162 ft./lbs. ME
19 ES
10.5 SD
2.3 grains Green Dot
595 fps MV
157 ft./lbs. ME
40 ES
18.7 SD
2.4 grains (New) Unique
575 fps MV
147 ft./lbs. ME
10 fps ES
4.7 SD
So-called "+P" efforts with the 200 grain bullet in the Webley
3.0 grains "Old" Unique
635 fps MV
179 ft./lbs. ME
54 fps ES
25.4 SD
3.0 grains "New" Unique
659 fps MV
193 ft./lbs. ME
56 fps ES
20.4 SD
3.3 grains Herco
726 fps MV
234 ft./lbs. ME
52 fps ES
20.5 SD
Some Observations
These were velocity tests only. Penetration tests in water-filled gallon milk jugs and other "non-tests" will be conducted at a future date.
I was surprised to find that the 5-inch barrel of the Webley consistently clocked slower velocities than the 2-inch snub Colt. An examination of the Webley showed a somewhat larger barrel/cylinder gap than I had remembered in the revolver. End-shake was apparent and the revolver could benefit from a shim.
It was curious how the light charge of Herco was a bust, too weak to propel the bullet reliably yet the maximum charge of Herco used gave the 200 grain bullet the highest velocities of the day. When one considers that the difference between the two charges is only 6/10ths of a grain it becomes apparent that cartridges with very small case capacities have less room for error.
Webley bore diameter slugs .360". Colt bore diameter slugs .359".
I've loaded .358" 158 grain lead semi-wadcutter bullets in the .38 S&W for years, using them in both of the test revolvers and enjoying perfect satisfaction at ranges to 15 yards. These bullets group quite well despite what is sometimes claimed on firearms forums about shooting undersized .38 Special bullets through the larger .38 S&W bore.
The Webley loves the 200 grain bullet and shoots it accurately and to point of aim. The lighter 145 grain factory loads and the 158 grain handloads shoot low. The Colt shoots the 200 grain bullet 8-10 inches high at 10 yards.
I cannot explain why the old 200 grain Remington .38 Special bullet used with 3.1 grains of Unique (741 fps from the Colt), as loaded in 1995, registered such a higher velocity when fired in the same chronograph session as the two different lots of Unique loaded to 3.0 (the fastest lot of Unique at 689 fps as fired from the Colt ). Bullet was different than LouisianaMan's batch in the following ways: diameter .002 smaller, bullet was longer, lube is different and the crimp may have been heavier on the Remington bullet (don't remember 18 years later).
Only a moderate crimp was utilized with this batch of 200 grain .38 S&W handloads. The case mouth was turned into the bottom of the second driving band just enough to maintain tension. No bullets jumped their crimps. Of course even with these heavy bullet loads the recoil of the revolvers is more of a push than an abrupt impulse.
I sometimes refer to the Bankers' Special as "the plucky little Colt" and it lived up to it's nickname during the test. It churned through the entire test with nary a bobble or complaint. With the 3.3 grains of Herco, it felt much like the Detective Special in recoil. The square butt frame makes it a non-issue.
To Summarize
The average runt .380 automatic pistol holds the same number of cartridges as the Bankers' Special. The .380 bullets typically weigh 100 grains or less, giving the pistol a 600 grain payload when fully loaded. One the other hand, the very compact Bankers' Special revolver can be loaded with 1200 grains of heavy lead and fling the bullets to adequate velocities.
Even the 5-shot Smith & Wesson Models 32 and 33, Terriers, Regulation Police, and general run of I-Frame and J-Frame .38 S&W revolvers can field 1000 grains of lead. Of course one has to reload the .38 S&W to gain performance of this sort.
What all this means is that the .38 S&W reigns supreme and the .380 eats dirt!
See another post on this project if you have an interest. Have my eye on a bit newer Smith in this caliber but am still on the fence. I think it is a J frame. 
