.38 short colt loadings and pressure?

[Me239]

Hey, guys! I have a .38 short colt made from a trimmed .38 special brass case and loaded with 3.5 grains of bullseye with a 125 grain LFP on top. I couldn't find a pressure for this cartridge. Anyone know what the pressure would be like, or even better if it's safe to shoot from a 10-5? thanks!

 

[lebomm]

Sounds like a safe load for a late M10, but I'd examine the fired case carefully, just in case (no pun intended).
Do you have just one cartridge, or a boxful? And what will you use them for?

Larry

 

[Me239]

Hey, Larry! I made this cartridge myself and only made one. I can easily make more, but I just wanted to try the idea out before making a box of useless ammo. Just wondering, if .38 special is a low pressure cartridge (~18,000psi), why can it take these .38 short colts with load data and OALs nearing 9x19? Thanks! Oh and the cartridges are just for fun and plinking.

 

[Jellybean]

Depending on if your shortened .38 spl. case has the same capacity as a .38 short colt case, and just how you loaded it, I would give an estimate of around 20,000 psi, maybe a little more or less. Someone with a pressure program could give you a better estimate I'm sure.

Just exactly what are you trying to achieve with your idea?

 

[Me239]

Well one nice thing about the shorter case would be the lessened powder load. It's like a rimmed 9mm and fit much better in a pocket. And how does the 9x19 have so much greater pressure than the .38 short colt with similar case dimensions?

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

Depending on if your shortened .38 spl. case has the same capacity as a .38 short colt case, and just how you loaded it, I would give an estimate of around 20,000 psi, maybe a little more or less. Someone with a pressure program could give you a better estimate I'm sure.

Just exactly what are you trying to achieve with your idea?

I plugged the powder charge into Quickload and came up with 19,500 psi. This number is probably in the range, although I don't have a lot of faith in it since I was working with the default Quickload dimensions for 38 short Colt(knowing the cartridge overall length and length of the bullet can help to give a better estimate).

 

[ArchAngelCD]

PLEASE pick up a load manual or the most current edition of the ABC's of Reloading and read it before you make any more ammo. Just because a 38 short case and a 9mm case look similar in size in no way allows you to load the 38 Short to 9mm pressures. It's not the case that limits your pressures, it's the gun it's shot in.

There is no real way to guess what pressures you will develop when you load without tested and published load data. some powders will build pressures slowly and some powders will spike pressures quickly and can be very dangerous. Please take a step back and read before you load.

 

[Jellybean]

Well one nice thing about the shorter case would be the lessened powder load. It's like a rimmed 9mm and fit much better in a pocket. And how does the 9x19 have so much greater pressure than the .38 short colt with similar case dimensions?

There is nothing new about using shorter brass, but it's not always better. You can find revolvers chambered in 9mm and there was even a rimmed version, but they weren't very popular for several reasons. Maybe if the revolver was built around the cartridge it would be more popular, but I doubt it.

The reason for the pressure difference between the 9x19 and the .38 Short Colt is simple, it all depends on what you put inside them, both in type and amount of powder. Extrapolation of load data can be handy at times, but if you don't understand it, or don't know what you are doing, it can cause damage to your firearms at best, and serious injury or death to you at worst.

 

[Me239]

Thanks again everyone! I read the ABCs of Reloading as suggested and looked into it more. I guess what scared me is the fact I've seen this load in 9x19 before. I didn't know the pressure, but assumed it was somewhat high, being a 9x19. Oh, and for those of you with Quickload, the OAL is 1.084".