General Quesion to Reloaders of 38 Spl

[turnejm]

Fellow reloaders,
I have seen a few questions raised about low recoil loads (training loads) for the 38 spl round, and was wondering about this offering that I came across.

Magtech Sport Ammo 38 Special Short 125 Grain Lead Round Nose Box of

Does anybody have any experience shooting these rounds or reloading this round?
This sure looks like a 38S&W round loaded with a 125gr .357 bullet, instead of a .360 bullet. Speer #14 Loading book has load data for such round. Looks it could be done with a set of 38 spl loading dies, so the case would sized right for a 38 spl revolver.

 

[SMSgt]

.360 bullet? A lead bullet for .38 Special is typically .357". Sounds like .38 S&W which is a bit larger diameter than .38 Spec. I'm not sure what that ammo is.

 

[AzRedleg]

Fellow reloaders,
I have seen a few questions raised about low recoil loads (training loads) for the 38 spl round, and was wondering about this offering that I came across.

Magtech Sport Ammo 38 Special Short 125 Grain Lead Round Nose Box of

Does anybody have any experience shooting these rounds or reloading this round?
This sure looks like a 38S&W round loaded with a 125gr .357 bullet, instead of a .360 bullet. Speer #14 Loading book has load data for such round. Looks it could be done with a set of 38 spl loading dies, so the case would sized right for a 38 spl revolver.

Those look like 38 Short Colt. I believe the originals were loaded with a heeled bullet but the ones in the link look like modern inside lubricated bullets are loaded. Starline still sells the brass. Never loaded any up myself but they look like they would lead up a 38spc cylinder pretty bad. Maybe I'll buy some brass and see how they perform. If you were using these in moon clips reloads would be pretty fast I bet.

 

[lebomm]

I've at least heard of this ctg. before, but that's all I know. I can't for the life of me figure what it's for. If it's supposed to be a substitute for .38 S&W, it's a poor one, since the case will surely swell at firing, and subsequent reloadings will wear it out early. If it's simply a low-recoil .38 Spl, I'd think the use of a full-length case would be more prudent, not leaving the fouling ring in the fwd portion of the chamber. As above, they resemble .38 Short Colt, but again, why bother? Were any Colts chambered .38 SC only?

Larry

 

[turnejm]

Valid Points of Information to Ponder!

The points being brought up are valid discussions! Why do people shoot 22 Shorts in 22 Long Rifles, 38 Specials in a 357 Mag revolvers. Along the same lines, why couldn't 38 Long Colt Starline brass be reloaded to a scaled down, standard pressure 38 Spl training round?

Just thinking "What If?"

 

[rwsmith]

I'm a tad confused.....

I'm a tad confused at exactly what that is but I'll tell you my experience.

I have loaded light lead bullets at low velocities and been satisfied. One time a friend loaded some 9mm lead bullets on a .38 special case with a light load and gave me a small bag to try out. They were a fun shoot for plinking. I didn't give them a thorough test for accuracy but these were real 'gallery loads' and fun to shoot.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Those can be found at Midway in the 38 special ammo section but...........................

that box of ammo is for the S&W 38 short and is marked on the box for the 38 short..... "Special" is not located any where on that box.

Glad to see a box for the old S&W 38 , out there.

 

[venomballistics]

The points being brought up are valid discussions! Why do people shoot 22 Shorts in 22 Long Rifles, 38 Specials in a 357 Mag revolvers. Along the same lines, why couldn't 38 Long Colt Starline brass be reloaded to a scaled down, standard pressure 38 Spl training round?

Just thinking "What If?"

22 shorts in a 22 LR happens because short is all they have on hand and they can.
38 spec in a 357 makes some practical sense. 38 special is cheaper to shoot and makes a longer range session with a 357.

doing the same with the 38 makes little sense .. theres no cost savings, the 38 is a low pressure cartridge to begin with as its a hold over from the wild west... While it can be done .. I cannot figure for the life of me WHY

 

[YARDDOG]

Those can be found at Midway in the 38 special ammo section but...........................

that box of ammo is for the S&W 38 short and is marked on the box for the 38 short..... "Special" is not located any where on that box.

Glad to see a box for the old S&W 38 , out there.

What about the (Spl) In front of short on the box ??
Y/D

 

[Grayfox]

Yes, it is a .38 Special Short.
Magtech Product 38G

I've never used this particular ammo, but I have used Magtech ammo and their componet bullets for reloading. Excellent stuff, I recommend it.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I stand corrected.......................by golly there is a spl on the label.

I over looked that.........one would think it would be Std or short but it isn't. Still a good load for the 38 S&W, though.

 

[mikld]

I think they are offered as a .38 Special training round. I can't imagine why anyone would fall for that though. They are listed as .38 CBC Special, and I can see no reference to a .360" bullet. Less than 700 fps and a 125 gr. lead bullet is prolly aimed at the recoil shy new shooter. Mebbe worthwhile to a new shooter that doesn't reload or have access to good old 148 gr. target ammo.

Vintage revolver fodder? Mebbe, but I'd reload specifically for those...

 

[Nevada Ed]

I have reloaded a 125gr LRN cowboy bullet in my J frame snub nose with seven powders from Bullseye to Universal clays with a velocity around 600 fps that is a nice accurate, X-Lite target load.
In a 4" barrel it might be very close to this "Mag-Tech" load but it has to be a training load with the super low speed and light recoil. I sure would hate to try and hit a jack rabbit at 50 yards with this little popper, with the snub nose.

Snub nose at 15 feet with sand bag .........50 yards might be a 14-20" group with a rest.

 

[2152hq]

I fired a couple of these rounds out of my M&P. Mild to say the least.
The gent that was shooting them said he liked them for SASS shooting, said they were easier to handle than 38spcl.
I guess so...

Case looked about midway length between a 38 Colt Short and a 38 Colt Long.
They'd probably be nice to shoot in something like a Colt Lightning revolver. 38Colt Long ammo is pricey and tough to find generally for them. Some people just shoot 38 Spec. W/C in Lightnings but they might even be a bit too much for the old thin walled Colts in some instances.

I don't have a Lightning anymore, so I'll just keep loading 38Spcl.

Cute little things though...

 

[BobR1]

I have loaded 125 grain Round Nose Lead over 2.5 grains of Clays for the Airweight J Frame. Easy on the gun as well as the hand. NOTE: The Minimum listed loading is 2.7 grains of Clays.

This makes a mild load that you can shoot lots of at a setting. The Air Weight J Frame is no fun to shoot at all with my standard 5.0 grain Unique load under a 158 Round Nose.

Bob

 

[Michael J. Spangler]

I have a friend who trimmed his 38 brass short in order to help with chamber alignment when using moon clips.
The shorter round was less effected by the cases tilting in the moon clips and this lined up with the chambers better.

He could still push them hot enough to reach whatever powder factor needed.

Maybe that's the use for these?

 

[rwsmith]

I was thinking.....

These could be useful for practicing with an air weight or other light type of pistol.

 

[358156hp]

Along the same lines, why couldn't 38 Long Colt Starline brass be reloaded to a scaled down, standard pressure 38 Spl training round?

Just thinking "What If?"

It's really unnecessary to do so in 38 Spl. Why buy a more expensive & less available case to replace the cheapest & most available of the revolver cases? There are a number of guys loading 38 Spl gallery loads, just to see how little Bullseye is necessary for the bullet to reach a target 25 feet away. I suppose if you were rolling in a surplus of 38 LC cases it could work out for you though.