Good intentions

[maxxpower]

I had a birthday recently and a family member purchased some bullets for me. They found some 158gr plated FN and bought 500 rounds for me. They appear to be good quality.

I am loading for 38 special and I'm having a hard time finding loading data for these. I'm not interested in pushing these as hard as they'll go... just a nice target load. Any suggestions?

 

[MrPhil]

What brand are they? Typically, plated bullets start out as swaged pure lead and are very soft. I load 158 grain Xtreme FN with 3.5 grains of Clays. Very light shooting load.

As always, use caution when using somebody else's data.

 

[maxxpower]

Here's a link. They're the 158 FN plated:

.38/.357 - Rocky Mountain Reloading

 

[Steve C]

Use load data for the powder you have suitable for 158gr bullets in the .38 spl and split the difference between jacketed and lead. I'd use 4.0grs of W231 or Unique, 3.2grs of Bullseye to name a couple good places to start.

 

[maxxpower]

Is Unique better suited to a heavier bullet like this than Bullseye ?

 

[Amici]

I loaded MANY 158 SWC and 150 RNFP lead bullets over Red Dot.

If the bullets are plated, lead data may be more suitable (it varies from mfr. to mfr.). Most have plating so thin, the bullet obturates the way a lead bullet would, creating the same higher pressures as compared to a true jacketed bullet.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Like the others have said, you should treat "most" plated bullets like lead bullets and use lead bullet loading data instead of jacketed load data.

Load them up and don't crimp them too much because they will give you rotten accuracy if you break through the plating when crimping. I agree with the above recommendation of 4.0gr W231 with those 158gr plated bullets. BUT, any powder you usually use for loading the .38 Special will be fine with plated bullets.

 

[Skip Sackett]

What powder do you have on hand? The Accurate Arms data of yesteryear had data for Ranier plated bullets exclusively. It can be found still.

Using other powders, do as others have suggested, use lead data and work up. Remember, start low and work up!

 

[maxxpower]

I loaded 3.8- 4.0- and 4.2gr of Unique in some test rounds and headed out to the range.

4.0 seems right on for me. Accuracy was great and it felt great too.

Thanks for all of the help!!

 

[cmort666]

Is Unique better suited to a heavier bullet like this than Bullseye ?

It depends. It's better suited to HEAVIER loads with heavier bullets. It's a slower powder with a less steep pressure curve.

I use Bullseye for 99% of my handgun loads because 99% of them are at bullseye competition and practice power levels. I'm just shooting paper that's already dead. No need to kill it again.

The few .38 Special loads I've done recently for self-defense practice were done with Unique. I bought some 2400 for handgun hunting loads last year but haven't used any yet.

 

[michael thornton]

2.5 gr of bullseye goes a long way