Any .38 S&W reloding gurus out there???

[JohnnieB]

I picked up a Circa 1919-1920 Regulation Police in .38 S&W and know absolutely nothing about reloading .38 S&W ammo.

I've been reloading .38Spl, .357Mag and .45ACP for years, so I have everything but the dies, but was wondering if anybody out there reloads .38 S&W so I can pick their brain a bit about where to get brass and bullets,or more correctly Boolits - I'll be shooting lead, but I don't cast.

A couple hundred reloads came with the gun. According the reloader's label, they were made with R-P brass, WSP primers, 148gr Magnus BBWC bullets and 2.5gr Bullseye.
Labels dated 4-20-93, so they are 18 years old.

Some of my later manuals top out about 2.2 gr bullseye under 148gr lead, but an older one one lists 2.5 as max.

I think I'll break those old reloads down and reuse the bras/primer and bullet, since it sure is a pretty gun and I'd hate to abuse it.

 

[jbrown13]

For starters, I DO NOT claim to be a Guru, nor anything close to that distinguished title.

My son has a circa 1932 Regulation Police in 38 S&W that we reload for and shoot with regularity. We use a Lee 3-die set, and buy 140 grain lead bullets, sized to .360", from Penn Bullets. We load them over 2.5 grains of W231 and they are surprisingly accurate if we do our part. You can get by with a .357" bullet, but we've found the larger bullets are a bit more accurate. We buy 38 S&W brass from Starline

There is a little published data in the Lyman Pistol & Revolver Handbook, 3rd Edition, and I've also found some data on an Internet site maintained by M. D. Smith. Reloading .38 S&W Page

Hope this helps.

 

[Krogen]

I recently started loading 38 S&W for a Webley and have been searching for data and components too. Missouri Bullet has a 0.361" bullet. Knowing them, it would be excellent. I found 200 gr bullets from Matt's bullets - only place I've found the heavier ones.

And thanks to you, jbrown13 for the link.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I've done a little reloading for the 38 S&W. I use W231 and a 170gr .360" bullet. I use Starline brass and CCI-500 primers.

 

[JohnnieB]

Thanks for all the info and URL.

It looks like I'll be wasting a stroke on my Lee Classic Turret with a 3-die set since they don't make a 4-die set, but my Doc says exercise is good for me, so I ain't complaining.

The top of front sight has been filed flat, so the POA/POI has been raised, meaning it has been sighted-in for a lighter/faster bullet.
Or at least I think so, but I might have that backwards - not too many working brain cells left.
Anyway, I'll have to experiment to see what it likes best.

I mic'ed some of the BBWC reloads that I got with it, they are .357" and there are 50 fired cases in a smoked plastic ammo box from Midway with the same handwritten label, so I suspect they were among the last rounds fired in it. There were cobwebs in the barrel, but after a little Kroil and elbow grease it is bright and shiny with crisp rifling and not even a hint of lead. So it was either well cleaned before it was put away, or the ammo didn't leave much lead.

I've got about 2K of fairly hard (18BN) 148gr .357" HBWC that my .38Spl and .357Mag revolvers like, I wonder if the RP will?
I'll work up an accuracy load with whatever size bullet works best, but hopefully I can use a $58/1K bullet for plinking.

 

[sjmjax]

Here's a link to an older thread with a fair number of suggestions.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/195627-38-s-w-reloads.html

 

[McShooty]

Just got a Lee 3-die set in .38 S&W and haven't used it much yet but it seems to work well. The sizer in that set is same as .38 Super Auto but the mouth flaring and seating dies are specific for the .38 S&W, of course. I have recently got some Starline brass and Magtech 146-gr bullets from Midway, but the larger distributors are often out of .38 S&W stuff, especially factory ammo. I guess they don't carry enough to keep up with the cowboy shooter demand. The Magtech bullets are soft and appear to be swaged. They mike about .360" which is nominal for this round. Bullets for .38 Special will run smaller but some might work well, but I have never had an RP so can't comment further. Hollow base bullets might be good if not too hard. Currently I am working on loads for the antique .38s using Trail Boss powder.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Johnny,
In the Notable Thread Index at the top of the forum, this link was in there.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/98749-38-s-w-load-devopment-pt-1-a.html

You may want to check it out, friend!

Red is a wealth of information!

 

[2152hq]

I loaded for a Victory and a Baby Russian in 38S&W.
I used the Lee dies and assorted brass.
Having boxes of 158gr LSWC bullets left around from my 38Special loading days,,I used those.
I found that sizing, but NOT expanding the brass was perfect neck tension for holding the slightly smaller diameter .357" bullets.

If I used the expander die with the set, the .357 bullets would barely hold in place in the case neck. To be expected with the .360" diameter being the norm but I wanted to see what my smaller bullets would do.
I didn't want this to become another special project.

To bell the cases, I set 30 or so on the flat of the bench vise after sizinging & priming (yes I primed them first). Then gently tapped a handy lathe center into the mouth of each to put the necessary bell in the mouth of the case.
So little force is necessay to do this, you can literally jump from one case to the next with the weight of the tool doing most of the work though the small hammer assists in keeping a candence.

Then charge and seat as normal.
I used RedDot powder. I don't recall the load and I won't guess here. But it was out of a Lyman manual and a minimum load at that.

Accuracy at 20yrds with the Victory as as good as any 38special Victory in my hands.
The Baby Russians razor thin front sight disappeared from my eyes view while sighting and the small o/a size got lost in even my hands. No points for accuracy, I'll blame me for that!,, but was fun to shoot.

 

[JohnnieB]

Skip,
Thanks for the point to Red's notable thread. Lots of good info there.

Found a dusty box of Remington 146gr LRN at a LGS. Didn't take a rest with me to the range, but @25yd, holes were appearing about where I was aiming and grouping well, so I'm pretty sure it was sighted in (Front sight filed) for the 148gr WC reloads that came with it.

I've still got to slug the barrel, but I'll probably stick to .358 HBWC for plinking. (500 Starline cases on the way. )

Great balance and surprisingly little recoil, so SWAMBO loves it.