38 special question steel plates

[wantmoresmiths]

I believe your problem stems from using too light of a load. In my 627 with a 5" barrel, the Berry's 158 grain round nose over 4.2 grains of WW231, gives me a velocity of 700 fps which equates to a power factor of 110. 4.4 grains of WW231 gives me a power factor of 119, and my ICORE load of 4.6 grains of WW231 gives me a power factor of 128. Again these velocities are from a 5" barrel. Your 3" barrel will certainly provide even less velocity.

I recently shot a falling plate steel match where the match director advised that all steel would fall provided the shooter was using a minimum power factor of 135. (PF = bullet weight X velocity / 1000)

Your .44 will certainly provide better knockdown power using a much heavier weight bullet.

No matter which caliber you choose, I suggest that you chrono all your loads so you can determine the exact power factor for the load you are using. Once you determine what power factor will reliably knock down the plates, you can tailor your loads for any caliber to meet that power factor.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree a standard .38 Special will have a problem knocking over those heavy Steel plates and the .44 Special will do much better. Of course you can load the .38's with a heavier bullet or more velocity (or both) but that will be harder to control so going fast might be VERY challenging. (and fast is good in a competition lol) If the above statement a PF of 135 will fall the plates that same 158gr bullet at 900 fps will produce a PF of 142 and should do the job. Load up some 158gr LSWC bullets and send them over the Chrono until you get 900 fps. They will probably be in the +P range but just barely and they will be controllable.

If you're willing to buy another revolver a S&W M625 in .45 ACP will do a great job on those plates. You already have .45 ACP ammo for your 1911 and it's easy to load for and components are widely available. If not, I'm sure the .44 Special will serve you well too. A .44 Special with a 200gr bullet at only 750 fps will give you a PF of 150. A 230gr .45 Auto round at the same velocity will produce a PF of 172.5, not bad at all!

 

[MDMarauder]

Some good news! I just bought a 625 JM..

I guess I'll still finish working up my 38 spl loads for fun. I've been shooting 6.0gr of HS-6 that shot well in my M15, so I loaded some up last night. Also loaded 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 of HS-6 with a 158gr FMJ flat point to test in my M64.

Again thanks everyone for the help. Hands down this is the best gun forum out there.

 

[ACP230]

Jerry Miculek used to shoot pins at the Second Chance Bowling Pin
Shoot with a long-barreled M27 and 230 grain bullets. I heard he loaded them in .38 cases.

I used round nose lead 230 grain .45 ACP loads going about 900 fps.
Also 210, 215 or 225 grain LSWCs in .41 Magnum. The .41s were going about 1,000 fps from my six-inch M57 and were much more impressive
on pins. The flat nose on the .41 bullets helped.