.38+P loads

[old pipefitter]

What powder have you guys found the most accurate for .38+P loads. I've loaded some AA-5, Power Pistol, Unique, and W-231. I'm using Speer Gold Dot SB bullets. My new Speer book says AA-7 would be another. Will be shooting in mostly short barreled .357's

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

The best powder ever for +P loads for me was the old Winchster/Olin 630P. Sadly it's been gone since the late 70s.

That said, I've always liked Unique or Winchester/Olin 231 for +P 38 Special or light 357 loads. My loads always feature either my cast SWCs or commercially cast SWCs, but I think those powders would still work for your Speer Gold Dot bullets.

 

[rockquarry]

I seldom shoot anything +P, but am pretty sure with careful load development and fine tuning, you could work up some very accurate loads with any of the powders you listed.

 

[The Preacher]

I use Alliant 2400 powder with 158 gr. LSWC's in my +P .38 Specials. Works great - velocity and accuracy....But most folk here will likely tell you that's not an appropriate powder for 38 Specials.

The Preacher

 

[rockquarry]

I use Alliant 2400 powder with 158 gr. LSWC's in my +P .38 Specials. Works great - velocity and accuracy....But most folk here will likely tell you that's not an appropriate powder for 38 Specials.

The Preacher

True. There's nothing wrong with #2400 in the .38 Special. I've had little experience with jacketed bullets in handgun cartridges, but you can get top velocity with #2400 using various 158 grain cast bullets, easily the best bullet weight for this cartridge, perhaps the weight it was designed for.

 

[The Preacher]

Yep.

The Preacher

 

[Nevada Ed]

Accurate is a good thing with +P loads but I also like the second option

that is low ES, so you know the load is doing a certain fps on impact.
I don't like my revolver SD loads with 50-90fps difference , even though
they might be tac drivers.

 

[Tim357]

6.0-6.7 gr Alliant Power Pistol with the 135 gr bullets.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

With a LSWC bullet I like HS-6. With a FMJ or HP bullet both AA#5 and Power Pistol work well depending upon which your gun likes best for +P loads.

Nothing at all wrong with W231 for both target loads and .38 Special +P loads if you would rather keep only 1 powder in stock. I did that for many years until I wanted to play a little with Speer GDHP replica loads for the 38/357.

 

[BB57]

I like Power Pistol. It will launch a 135 gr Gold Dot to 1025 fps in a 3" revolver.

 

[WR Moore]

Another goodie is BE-86. Meters much better than Unique, MUCH less flash than Power Pistol.

 

[Nevada Ed]

In these times, there is also the third option of
how much $$ do you want to spend, in making a .357 +P load?

With the high prices of powder now,

you can load from 6.5 to 19.5 plus grains of powder into a 357 case
for a 125 gr JHP bullet.

For example, in "My" 686, a +P load can be made with;
w231 at 8.0 grs or 2400 at 16 grains of powder.

(I know you asked for 38 spl +P, but I don't shot those out of my 686 6" revolver)

Carry on.

 

[TexasViking]

Ramshot True Blue is a very good powder for .38 +P, particularly if you have Western load data. It is similar to AA No 5. And while not quite in the same class as Titegroup or AA No 2 as far as being insensitive to powder positioning, True Blue does very well as a slower burning "universal" type handgun powder. Silhouette can be used for +P, but it will work best near the pressure limit, and not a good choice for standard Pressure .38 Special. With No 7 being even slower burning, you'll be lucky if you can find .38 Special +P data, other than what Western has printed for the heaviest of cast bullets.

 

[TAROMAN]

Power Pistol all the way for me.
Loaded a 160 Bayou coated to 955 fps in a 67-3.
With an Ultradot installed, I could easily hit the rams at 100 yards.
Actually easier than the turkeys at 75.

 

[jeeps]

A 158 swc over 5 grn. of Unique will cure the problem. Shot placement is queen.

 

[TexasViking]

What powder have you guys found the most accurate for .38+P loads. I've loaded some AA-5, Power Pistol, Unique, and W-231. I'm using Speer Gold Dot SB bullets. My new Speer book says AA-7 would be another. Will be shooting in mostly short barreled .357's

Western, nor Accurate before them, gave much data for No 7. The exceptions being the 110 gr. Barnes XPB, a monolithic copper bullet that creates greater friction in the bore, and a 230 gr. lead bullet for bowling pin matches, and that's restricted to the .38 Specical +P data.

They've also used AA No 9 in 9 x 19mm data. Both powders are a little slow burning in either case. The other powders you mentioned are all good, but I like to use a magnum primer with W231. One that's not on your list that I'd recommend for .38 +P is Ramshot True Blue.

 

[Buford57]

This is refreshing. A serious question about +P loads and reasonable answers including actual loads used by real people. Pinch me.

 

[Transamconvert]

Power pistol does the job but with significant flash and report.
I've tried BE-86 and True Blue with satisfactory results.
When looking at western data the Hornady 140XTP is a good stand-in for the Speer 135. For BE-86 I use 85-90% of whatever power pistol calls for as a rule of thumb.