.38 S&W Reloads

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I once tried some Beartooth bullets that were .360 dia, 200 grain GCRNL. Had somewhat disappointing results in a Webley. Not to point of aim and scattered pattern. Didn't do well in Colt & S&W guns either. May have been the particular bullet/load combination. Haven't done much more with the very heavy bullets.

I get much better results with generic .358 dia, 158 grain RNL or SWC with either 2.7g of 231 or 3.0g of Unique. Very accurate combination in my Colt PP's and S&W 33-1's.

Picture - 5 rounds at 7 yards with 33-1.
 

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I too have had good results with .358 diameter 158 grain LRN bullets in my Victory Model and Colt Police Positive .38 S&W revolvers. Tried the 200 grain .360 diameter bullets, not worth the extra cost, the .358 shot as good or better...

I use 3.1 grains of Unique to get around 700 FPS, accurate and mild recoil, shoots to point of aim in both revolvers.
 
Hi Jimmy.

I've loaded and fired the 2.0 grains Bullseye and 200 grain RN lead bullet combination. Slug was sized 0.360", although many war production barrels will have larger groove diameters.

Fired in a WWII S&W Victory model, the results were less than fantastic. Groups were 5"-6" at 25 yards, and the bullet was so slow you could SEE it downrange!

Results were much better using 148 grain HBWC seated shallow (almost maximum cylinder length). Better yet were 158 grain RN and SWC over Red Dot or Unique charges.

Please be advised that the only gun I've ever damaged was a breaktop .38 S&W firing deep-seated 148 WC using a Lyman recommended starting load. It split the cylinder on the 2nd shot. Those old-time .38 S&W were made of "semi-steel" and not up to modern smokeless powder pressures.
 
I load 38/200 ammo for my Enfield No2 but I don't use Bullseye, I use W231 instead.

Bullseye, W231/HP-38, Unique, Green Dot, Herco and a few others will all make good powders for the .38 S&W although the faster powders might not work as well with the heavy bullets. I think Bullseye is better suited for the 146gr bullets although Ken Waters has load data for Bullseye and a 200gr Lead bullet. (2.0gr like you posted in your OP)
 
Good Afternoon:
Tried two different .38 S&W reloads in a "Modified" Victory with a 2 1/4" barrel with "Bored" out chambers.
1. .38 S&W R-P brass. 2.0 gr Bullseye with a 200gr LRN .360 bullet
21 feet: 3.5" group

2. .38 S&W R-P brass. 3.1gr Unique with a 158gr LSWC .358 bullet
21 feet: 2" group

Considering using .38spl. brass with the .358 158gr LSWC bullet?
Jimmy
 
I have heard that if you use .38 Special cases in a .38 S&W revolver that has been bored out to accept .38 Specials, the cases will bulge. That bulge may cause the cases to get stuck in your re-sizing die. If you are having good results with .38 S&W cases, stick with those..
 
I've enjoyed shooting .38 S&W with 200g bullets and had satisfactory results from 32-1, 33-1, PPS, and Enfield. (I've also been very happy with 158g bullet loads, too.) Depending on the different profiles of the 200g bullets I've used & the seating depths I've tried, I've generally used 2.5g, 2.6g or 2.7g of Win 231 & these loads run 600-650 or so from a 4" barrel with consistent velocities and easy extraction.

I've got some Bullseye but haven't done much with it yet; from what I can tell looking at various load tables, anything that works with 2.5g of Win231 is often about 2g or so with BE. I certainly defer to Ken Waters & Pet Loads.

If your .38 S&W Victory is solid, you should have no problem pushing a 200g bullet up to 700fps average, according to Ed Harris, although British Mk. I and American-made .38 S&W Super Police factory loads were kept to low 600's to meet British military requirements & avoid blowing up too many weak top-breaks here on this side of the pond :-)

Bored-out Victory models have had lots of problems over the years with .38 SPL cases splitting, or bulging & jamming the cylinder, as the original .38 S&W chambering was slightly larger in diameter than the 38SPL. So, by boring out the cylinders for .38 SPL, they simply allowed the longer .38 SPL case to fit into the chambers lengthwise. By sticking with .38 S&W brass, you should be fine. The slightly longer "jump" to the cylinder throat won't make too much practical difference to your accuracy, I believe.

I don't think I've ever slugged the barrel on my Victory, but I've checked a couple of 32-1 and 33-1 and they were .359 groove diameter. I suspect, but don't know, that the Victory is the same, but it might be a bit fatter. British MILSURP guns and perhaps some other gunmakers' brands ran larger, up to the low-to-mid-.360's. If your revolver has a big groove diameter, I would expect problems with stabilizing any bullet of .358-ish diameter, but especially a 200g bullet, because the rifling can't "grab" enough of the bullet to impart rotation. If groove/bullet diameter is a decent match, your gun will do just fine with 200g bullets.

If you can cast your own bullets, you can "beagle" the mold to increase the diameter a few thousandths to work better in your gun, if necessary. Should you need help on beagling and slugging, just let us know.

BTW, 148-150g wadcutters are a great choice for the .38 S&W, as bullet weights are so similar to the 145-46g LRN factory ammo. Make it easy on yourself and load the wadcutter "long," i.e. crimp it in a lube groove, and your resulting COL will be closer to a .38 SPL round. . .That means more case capacity, less pressure, and thus a greater margin of safety with a gun & cartridge with which you are balancing a variety of specifications. When you're already juggling fast powders, possibly heavy bullets, chamber dimensions, bore dimensions, and bullet dimensions, there's no need to complicate things still more by loading a wadcutter flush with the case mouth. I'm sure it can be done, but I don't do it FWIW :-)

Happy shooting, and let us know how you're coming along.
 
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