.38 Spl Load Suggestions

[Nevada Ed]

Hay, if the bullet clears the barrel, it's all good !!

Nothing wrong with light loads.

In my m49 snub I have had the 110jhp down to 629fps, a 125gr lead down to 483fps, the 135gr speer down to 568fps and the 158gr LRN down to 505 fps...........

but don't try this at home....... it just happened and all bullets cleared the barrel. There IS a REASON why they have a starting or minimum load !!

Safe shooting.

 

[Jaymo]

I like 2.8 grains of Bullseye under a Hornady 148 grain hollow based wadcutter.

 

[MyDads38]

2.8 grs. Bullseye behind a 158 gr. LSWC works well in my S&W Model 10-8 w/4" HB. Anything from 2.8 to 3.2 grs. should make for a nice target load. My shooting is mostly at 10 & 15 yards nowadays and the 2.8 gr. load cleans the X out of my targets on a good day!

 

[NC Bob]

I'm using Xtreme 125gr. plated flat points , 4.3 gr. Bullseye, and a CCI #500 primer in .38 special cases. COAL is 1.450" with a light roll crimp. Shoots pretty good from my 686's. Speer #14 shows 4.5 Bullseye with their 125 gr. jacketed bullets for about 914 fps. Please cross reference before using this load.

 

[Vigo]

Yes, the next step is getting some smokeless powder. I picked up some primers this weekend and a few more tools came in from Midway on Saturday. Just need powder and get set the thing up now. Going to try to locate Win 231 of HP38 (same thing I believe). I located some data on plated bullets that matches what I've seen here. I am going to supplement the plated ones with some plain lead eventually.

 

[Vigo]

Built a portable bench for my reloading rig. I am short on space, so I've gone with a wooden "table topper" you can clamp to a table and use. I was able to de-cap and size a few cases today in a test run. It works nicely.

Still in the hunt for powder, apparently with everyone else, but have some lead 158 gr semi-wadcutters on the way. The suggestions in this thread got me thinking I should have some of those on hand for when I head to ranges that allow pure lead ammo. They're swaged, so probably pretty soft lead. I think that ought to be fine for lower power target plinking.

What sort of lubrication do you suggest for them ( or am I showing my ignorance and commercial swaged bullets come lubed and sized)?

 

[Scuba2do]

Just did some reloading of 38 special this afternoon. We loaded 158 grain Berry round nose bullets and used 4.9 grains of silhouette. Will have to see how they shoot.

 

[PPCSHOOTER]

DON'T FORGET WST(WINCHESTER SUPER TARGET) THIS REPLACED THE 452AA IN THE WINCHESTER LINE.
2.7GR FOR 148GR HBWC LEAD
3.3GR FOR 158GR SWC LEAD
BOTH OF THESE LOADS KICK A## AT 50YDS.
USE ZERO SWAGED OR REMINGTON SWAGED FOR THE BEST RESULTS. JP

 

[Nevada Ed]

All "soft lead" and cast bullet from the companies are "Good to go".

Load them and shoot them............

I never understood why some think they need a 2nd coat of lube on these bullets??

Never be afraid to ask questions............

 

[Vigo]

All "soft lead" and cast bullet from the companies are "Good to go".

Load them and shoot them............

I never understood why some think they need a 2nd coat of lube on these bullets??

Never be afraid to ask questions............

Thanks- I contacted the manufacturer as well and they come pre-sized and lubed. I'm looking forward to getting a mixture of target rounds put together, some plated and some plain lead.

 

[Vigo]

Located a few cans of Trail Boss powder, which the loading manual suggests is a good powder for mild, target shooting. I guess my starting components will be Trail Boss, Winchester small pistol primers, and the 158 gr lead semi-wadcutters. The brass is some Federal I've been saving up. I have the 125 gr plated flat points, but I may try those after I get familiar with loading the plain lead bullets.

 

[David R]

Trail Boss good. Fluffy so it fills the case better. Its harder to get a double charge. It looks like doughnuts.

Good luck
Show us some targets when you have them.

David

 

[Vigo]

Made up a box of 50 last night using the 158 gr lead semi wadcutters and 3.5 gr of trailboss. Will hopefully get a chance to test them this week or next weekend at the range.

 

[Nevada Ed]

3.5grs of Trail Boss in a 38 case in my 6" barrel gets 700 fps and will group around 1.5" at 15 yards off a sand bag with iron sights.
4.0 grains of TB is a factory Dup. load for my 38 snub and my 6" tubes. I have tried the maximum at 4.2 grs ( my scales) but it does not do any better in accuracy in "My" revolvers and is just wasted powder.

I tried light to a heavy crimp with the lead bullets and found out that a light or medium light crimp is all that is needed with this light recoiling load. Heavy crimps just wear out the brass.

F100 or cci500 primers did not have much difference in how this powder shot but you should stay with just one primer, no matter what type for developing loads to keep errors to a minimum, in the accuracy department.

Hope to see a picture of what that powder will do for you..
Good shooting.

 

[Tony Marbury]

If your data list's the hollow point
125 grain, would it not be the same
As your flat point? Your bullet weight
Not your bullet nose profile that will set
Your pressure. The 125 gr is the heaviest
I shoot in the 38 its very veristal bullet
For plinking or long range, and u can go all
The way to plus P with it. I use unique powder
I can load all my pistol rounds with it
And I mean all of them, so it helps with having
This powder and that powder.

 

[gray wolf]

Plated bullets should be loaded as lead bullets, use the lead bullet data for a 125 grain lead bullet, that's what you have.
125 grain lead cast LRNFP 231 powder Min.3.8 876 Vel Max.4.8 1076 Vel.
Start at the bottom and work up till your comfortable and accurate.
Download the load data from hodgons data center.

 

[Vigo]

Loaded up a box with 3.5 grains and a half box with 3.0 grains and the 158 gr LSWC bullets. I only shot for about a half hour after our black powder match, but did get to at least test the ammo offhand. The 3.0 recoil was like a .22 and the 3.5 only slightly more. The 3.5 shot a little better. Shooting was all at 25 yards as that is the shortest our outdoor range goes. I have to head to the indoor range to do short to 25 yard shooting.

This stuff is pretty wild. It fills up most of the case and shoots reasonably well in terms of accuracy, but it recoils like a .22. The first 6 rounds with the 3.0, I was checking for squibs after each round because the recoil was different from what I'm used to. I think I will explore the 3.5-4.0 range next, once I get to the indoor range.

 

[Bugkiller99]

Noted you mentioned shooting black power, then Trail Boss. If you are hanging around those CAS boys (they're a good bunch), see if they have or can point you to Vihtavuori Tin Star N32C. Loading data on Lapua website. That's another option for powder choice.

Actually would like to try it myself. So if you find it, post a link here.

 

[shil]

Careful! All bullets of the same weight are not necessarily created equal. Bullet profile affects bearing surface and possibly seating depth. As always, start low and work up. As for N32C/Tin Star which was mentioned: I'd like to try the stuff myself despite what will probably be a steep price like all the Vihtavuori powders, but it's been, shall we say, elusive. Make that, "can't find any"!

 

[GCF]

Careful! All bullets of the same weight are not necessarily created equal. Bullet profile affects bearing surface and possibly seating depth. As always, start low and work up.

+1 - for example, 148WC's, & 150SWC's