Best powder for 125 gr. .38 Special in 340PD?

[David Sinko]

I will soon be trading a friend for his brand new never fired 340PD. I have no desire whatsoever to shoot .357 Magnum ammo out of this revolver and will concentrate on .38 Special handloads. In the spirit of keeping the gun as light as possible I will focus on 125 gr. JHP bullets. What is a good powder that will not burn the titanium cylinder? I have a fair amount of Power Pistol which I think would be decent for a manageable 125 gr. load but I'm concerned that the excessive flash may be hard on the titanium. Is Power Pistol a good choice or is there something better in regard to unburned powder, recoil and velocity?

Dave Sinko

 

[OKFC05]

I hesitate to answer a question containing the word "best", but if you'll let me off the hook for "best" I'll give you my opinion.

I prefer the Speer #4014 135gr short barrel bullet in stubby revolvers. Most of the 125gr bullets I've tried are too hard for 850 fps speed to open reliably. The Speer #14 manual lists how to duplicate the .38 +P 135gr SB cartridge and the .357 version. I use HP38/WIN231.

You can load with a slow powder like 2400 or even WIN296 and get more MV, but half the powder burns outside the gun, with horrific blast and flash.

 

[Steve in Vermont]

I've loaded thousands of these bullets over 4.8 gr of W231/HP 38. Very accurate. While I cc with +P (Speer 135 gr HPSB) I don't load or shoot them for practice. According to the Hornady manual these should have about 800 fps. If you want +P in the future you can simply increase the load.

 

[Nevada Ed]

If you are looking to use the 125 JHP bullet for SD use the
"BEST" powder is the one that will give you the best bullet
performance out of your weapon.

With my 38 snub nose I have used Bullseye,w231,sr4756,800x, green, red, Universal and Unique with the Sierra, Winchester, Remington and Speer 125gr JHP bullets.

The Speer Gold Dot at 836 fps over my chrony and water jugs.......
FAILED to open up and just had the marks from the barrel on it.

In order for these bullets to work , you will need around 881 fps and I ended up with 905 fps where I matched the Remington home defense ammo specs.

You will need to pass on the fast burning powders and grab some med. fast to medium burn powders in order to get these velocities and near max or maximum loads might be needed in your weapon.

Both the 125 and 135 JHP will work in your weapon but it will come down to accuracy and recoil, to which load you select.

When you find the "Best Powder" then you have to find the "Best Bullet".............
only then, will you have all the pieces to the puzzle.

Good shooting.

 

[Rule3]

When you find the "best" let us all know

The powders to consider are the slowest you have that are listed for 38 special especially short barrel.

I love PP, yes it's loud and flashy but so what? How much you going to shoot it at night or how many before is supposedly eats through titanium??

HP38 will do what ever you want. I never understood the need to eek out a fraction more FPS from a snubby. In the over all scheme of things it will not matter at 10 feet. JMO

Go over to the duplicate the BB (FBI) load thread.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/91534-duplicating-buffalo-bore-fbi-load.html


Have fun, wear a glove as it's snappy!!

 

[David Sinko]

I guess I should clarify. When I say "best" what I really mean is a powder that will not damage the titanium cylinder. Keep in mind that I have been opposed to all these scandium and titanium revolvers for various reasons ever since they've been introduced, but I've finally come to the conclusion that I've been wrong and I really do need one. I really don't know a whole lot about them, other than the titanium cylinders can "burn." If my concern is unfounded, please let me know. But since these cylinders apparently do "burn," exactly how much shooting is necessary to make this happen and which powders will speed up the process?

I don't want to get every last foot per second out of this revolver. I have shot enough lightweight revolvers with different frame sizes and cartridges to know that the recoil will be uncomfortable to downright brutal. In my heavy 2" 940 I can shoot 124 gr. bullets at a verified 1180 FPS and do it comfortably. I'm sure a 340PD can at least handle a similar load, but can I handle it? I'll probably have to water it down some. I use Power Pistol in the 940 so I mention it as a starting point because I'm very familiar with it. Also, I really don't care if the bullets expand or not. When the bullet goes where it needs to go, I'm more a fan of penetration than expansion.

I plan on shooting this revolver very little. Between my 43C, 940 and various Models 60 I don't have to practice with the 340PD. I'll need to shoot this revolver just enough to know that it's absolutely reliable, that the bullets won't jump the crimp and that I can manage the recoil. It's just that I've never owned any other revolver where the cylinder has been known to "burn."

Dave Sinko

 

[turnejm]

125 gr 357 Mag load vs 125 gr 38 SPL Load?

First of All, This is just a Theory!

YMMV!

My calculations indicate that the case volume of a 357Mag case is about 11% larger than 38Spl case. With that measurement in mind, A powder recipe used in 38Spl load could be "upcharged" by about 11% and used in a 357Mag case, for the same given bullet. An example:
LoadBooks Data Sheet for Hornady 125gr HP-XTP - Power Pistol at 6.2gr yields about 925fps in THEIR S&W Model 15 Revolver. Given this example, a Hornady 125gr HP-XTP could use Power Pistol at 6.88gr. Then seat the bullet at 1.585" of C.O.A.L. (Cartridge Over All Length). This arrangement should yield approximately the same performance results from a 357Mag revolver as a standard pressure 38Spl revolver without the burn residue being left behind.

 

[Rule3]

It's titanium, it's not going to burn up. Maybe some flame cutting but that only goes so far and then stops, Probably stronger than the alloy 642, 442.

Honestly I would not worry about it especially if you are not shooting full house 357 Mags. HP38 , Unique will work just fine.

Whatever powder you have and shows in the +P section of the manuals.

 

[Forrest r]

There's nothing wrong with the pp/titanium combo. It's actually an excellent choice for a snub nosed revolver. I'm getting 800+fps out of a 2" bbl with 5.4gr of pp & a 158gr cast lrfhp bullet.

The titanium pistol your using poses no special problems with pp.

Loud? YES!!! Flash? YES!!! What more could you ask for if you ever had to use it. Personally I want/like something the puts lead & fear into whatever I'm pulling the trigger on.

The 5.4gr charge is a standard 38spl load. The P+ loads are a lot hotter but I personally would rather use/have something that I know I could put a lot of lead on target in a hurry rather than having a grenade go off in my hand.

Soft lead hp & pp ='s a win win combo.