Call me crazy.....

[Malysh]

You are concerned with FPS and bullet weight.

I have to agree with Saxon that pressure (c.u.p.) is what you should be concerned with. Nobody else mentioned the generated pressure except him; and my intention to do so. Metals were not so advanced back then. You pick up an old gun, it's all steel, and you think "this feels really solid" but the metalurgy was not as advanced in the old days and you could ruin these old guns by using higher pressure loads than they were made to shoot. They may not explode but at the very least you will stretch the frames and may damage the lockworks. The aluminum alloy frame will be the most at risk.

And bullet design, as sixgunstrumpet mentioned, is also key. The reason the .38 Special fell into disfavor was the old round nose lead bullet design, not the power factors.

Shot placement is still paramount.

I think you will regret this decision if you load 38/44 in your snubs. You are risking your guns and worst, your personal safety. A modern 38 Special load is quite sufficient for self defense.
I am sure you have bigger firearms to satisfy your urge to have a "magic bullet".

Chose from your many guns, depending on where you are going to be that day, and what tactics and clothing (seasonal) you will be wearing.

 

[USMC0802]

Aside from the questionable safety of "hot" loads in older small-frame guns, I personally don't think one should ever choose SD ammo because it is "cheaper" - whether reloads or not.

I have also heard it said, and can see the logic, that if you are ever involved in a shooting, the prosecutor may paint you as a villain sitting in your basement crafting super-deadly custom evil ammunition intended to do the maximum damage and cause maximum pain to whatever poor dirtbag you dispatched.

My daily carry on the farm is a BHP with FMJs...simply because I end up shooting a lot of critters (armadillos, 'possums, groundhogs, moles, horseflies, etc) and this is a "cost" consideration. When I go to town I take a Glock 26 and a couple of magazines of Winchester Ranger Talons (so-called LE ammo).

To me, anyway, if you're likely to be shooting a pocket or carry gun quite a bit at non-human targets, ammo cost may matter. In a potential legal mess over shooting a human, I am willing to spend a few bucks on ammo that will perform reliably and possibly help me if I'm ever testifying in my own defense during a civil suit. "I was just using what the police use."

 

[Doug M.]

It is unlikely that one will find a load for a .38 snubby that works enough better than a standard target wadcutter, with SWC to reload, that is worth the hassle.

 

[Grayfox]

If you do this, I really want to see video.

 

[BigBill]

Have you tried the Speer 140gr JHP bullet yet?

I ask this because in my 6" python I could make pin point accurate shots at the 100yd berm at the smallest rocks that I could see. This 140gr bullet seem to be the sweet spot for the 357mag using 2400 powder.

Now I wonder how the s&w would do with this load. I was shooting off hand aiming dead on the target. For some reason the python always shot high @ 25yds. I got upset finally and took it out to 100yds. I'm thinking that's why the PO traded it in. I had rifle accuracy with a revolver @ 100yds. I know it's no biggie today but back in 1980 it was.

I been tempted to down load the magnum powder charge to a 38special load with the 140gr JHP bullet too. So I could try this setup in a 38 special.

 

[Reddog]

Fireman,
Why don't you play it safe and use one of your Mod 58s with a 220 gr. bullet at about 900 or 1,000 FPS? I bet it would handle the situation better and hurt your hand less! You talked me into buying one so I know what they can do!
Dick

 

[DWalt]

"I have also heard it said, and can see the logic, that if you are ever involved in a shooting, the prosecutor may paint you as a villain sitting in your basement crafting super-deadly custom evil ammunition intended to do the maximum damage and cause maximum pain to whatever poor dirtbag you dispatched. "

This is probably a myth. I have read several articles in the same vein that no legal records of such a prosecution occurring exist. However there was one case some years ago, I think in Colorado, involving a camper or hiker who got into an altercation with a local BG, and ended up shooting and killing him with some type of semiauto in .40 S&W. The prosecutor actually convicted him of murder by use of excessive force simply because of the caliber (.40 S&W) he used (it had nothing to do with handloads). I believe the conviction was later overturned and it led to a change in the state law the prosecutor used. There is a similar possible myth about people being convicted of murder in a self-defense situation by shooting the BG multiple times. I guess the idea is you are supposed to fire only one shot in order to not show your bloodthirsty, inhumane, and cruel intent. I don't believe there is a basis for that story either.

 

[SAFireman]

Factory +p

Thanks for all of the comments gentlemen.

I am going to continue working on my 38/44 loads, but they are going to stay in the Heavy Duties.

I will likely be hunting up a couple of boxes of the FBI load to run in my model 36 and 38. There is no up side to trying to make the 38 Special into a 357 magnum lite.

I will continue to carry and enjoy my older J frames because I enjoy their history. If I feel the desire to carry a 357, well then I will bring out the 340 or 640-1.

Thanks for entertaining my ideas.....I may make a youtube video, just not with atomic 38 loads

And Reddog - I do really enjoy my 58's. I am toying with sending one off to have the barrel chopped. I don't think that it will fit in my pocket even then, but I am sure that I can find some way to enjoy it anyhow.

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Keep in mind that I am looking for a blown up S & W. I'll pay scrap price.

 

[Malysh]

Thanks for all of the comments gentlemen.

I am going to continue working on my 38/44 loads, but they are going to stay in the Heavy Duties.

I will likely be hunting up a couple of boxes of the FBI load to run in my model 36 and 38. There is no up side to trying to make the 38 Special into a 357 magnum lite.

I will continue to carry and enjoy my older J frames because I enjoy their history. If I feel the desire to carry a 357, well then I will bring out the 340 or 640-1.

Thanks for entertaining my ideas.....I may make a youtube video, just not with atomic 38 loads

And Reddog - I do really enjoy my 58's. I am toying with sending one off to have the barrel chopped. I don't think that it will fit in my pocket even then, but I am sure that I can find some way to enjoy it anyhow.

Atta boy!
Smart decision

 

[Old Corp]

Fireman,
Why don't you play it safe and use one of your Mod 58s with a 220 gr. bullet at about 900 or 1,000 FPS? I bet it would handle the situation better and hurt your hand less! You talked me into buying one so I know what they can do!
Dick

Don't feel bad Reddog - he made me buy one too. And to add insult to injury - it shoots better than I do.

 

[Reddog]

I'm fine, O.C.!
I had four other .41s before this 58. It's been one of my favorite cartridges for over 20 years! Fireman just pushed me over the edge towards the 4" with fixed sights! A well used 6" was my first larger than a.357. And it is very accurate! My son claimed it a few years ago. All my .41s have been very accurate. Same way with the .44s, both Magnum and Special. I've always felt it had to do with the mass of the bullet. I cast 99% of my bullets. I did a lot better with the large calibers a few years ago, though. Now that I'm nearing 80, I find myself shooting .38 Special most of the time! It doesn't hurt so much!
Dick

 

[Jaymo]

I'm thinking "The Load" would be more unpleasant to shoot from a J frame, steel or aluminum, than full power 125 grain .357s from a 2.5" 19 or 66 with wood stocks.
Remington 125 grain +P (scalloped jacket) .38s aren't a whole lot of fun out of a 36 with magna stocks. Not bad, like 240 grain .44 Spl from a Charter Bulldog with wood grips, but not a lot of fun.
That tiny grip accentuates felt recoil.

Gold Dot is my current factory HP.
I do like Buffalo Bore's FBI and Outdoorsman .38 loadings.
I don't like them in a J frame with magnas.
In a K or L frame or a Ruger DA, they're sweet.
In a glorified .32 frame, like a J frame, I don't enjoy them.

Lately, I've been loading all my .38 and .357s with Hornady HBWCs and Cowboy bullets. 2.8 grains of Bullseye (can't go wrong with that) for the wadcutters, and 3.5 grains of Red Dot for the 140 grain Cowboys.
Cheap, accurate, easy on the hands.