Hogdon Longshot powder for .38 Spl+P

[Doug.38PR]

Up until now I've mostly been dealing with Alliant powders to try to create a SAFE but fast .38 Spl.+P load for use in a K-frame .38 gun.

Power Pistol is not all it's cracked up to be
2400 is too little powder for what it's designed for (magnum loads)
Unique is get me around 950 ft per second out of a 4 inch barrel (which is just about what I get out of Power Pistol.

The loading data I see for Hogdon looks like Longshot gives the best velocity out of all their powders. (of course I don't know the barrel length of their loading data.)

Anybody else have any experience with this powder? What are your results?

Also, I can't seem to find any data fo 158 gr lead bullets

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I use mostly Hodgdon and Winchester powders and have studied them a lot. When I load jacketed bullets for the .38 Special +P I did use Longshot and it worked well with jacketed bullets. If you load lead bullets like for the FBI Load I would not use Longshot. I just can't find an accurate load with lead and Longshot but I can with HS-6. For some reason those who develop load data have decided lead bullets are not good in the .38 Special +P and I can't understand why since the FBI Load is one of the most successful .38 Special load ever developed.

If you're going to load a lot of lead bullets I highly suggest you buy a copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition. It has everything you need when loading lead bullets. I also suggest using HS-6 instead of Longshot when loading lead bullets in the .38 Special/.38 Special +P. Since it will also deliver good results with jacketed bullets it will cover all your .38 Special +P loading so you don't have to buy 2 powders. (and it's not as loud as Longshot lol)

 

[Nevada Ed]

ANY 38 special +P load will be SAFE in a K frame.

Alliant Red Dot to Blue Dot powders will get you +P fps in a 4-6" barrel.
Red Dot will get 800 fps in a snub nose but it is a bare bones +P.
Powders slower than this are not really needed but will work
and HS 6 is another good powder from the other powder company, if you prefer ball powders.

Powder is tight , so lots of us are going to a secondary powder until the boat comes in.

Good luck.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I wrote this up a while back:

These were just to get a feel for the powder since I have not worked with it in 38/44 before. Let’s try longshot. Say 5.7 grns.

6.5” 986+ 892- 94e 948m 29s
5.0” 969+ 920- 49e 940m 15s
4.0” 933+ 863- 70e 901m 24s

I was not expecting much from longshot but it was obviously accurate. 5.7 grns was quite mild but the sd’s and es’s are looking reasonable for such a light load. I will have to work up longshot more in 38/44

 

[Doug.38PR]

looks pretty good. Worth buying a can

 

[1991a1colt]

VV350 Love it....

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cdog]

I've used Longshot in a few calibers, but not the .38.

It's a very good powder for full power 9 mm and .40 S&W. It should deliver what you're looking for.

 

[ddixie884]

Anyone done any more with .38spl+P and Longshot?

 

[scooter123]

I use it for high energy 40 S&W loads because it will push a 165 grain bullet to 1150 fps. However due to it's poor metering properties I ONLY use it for this specific load. With a SD of 0.14 grains it's a powder requires hand weighing and that is a PITA.

There are two powders I like for 38 Spl., Vihtavouri 3N36 (meters wonderfully with ZERO Position sensitivity) and Accurate #5 (also meters wonderfully and only a hint of position sensitivity). BTW, becase data for 38 Spl. AND 357 Magnum are available this means that you can utilize the complete range from mild to full house. If you want a mild 357 Magnum for a treasured model 19, no problem, just load in that uncharted area between 38 +P and 357 Magnum, it's actually perfectly safe and can yield 9mm equivalent loads.

 

[Collo Rosso]

I also suggest using HS-6 instead of Longshot when loading lead bullets in the .38 Special/.38 Special +P.

Powders slower than this are not really needed but will work
and HS 6 is another good powder from the other powder company, if you prefer ball powders.

Haven't seen HS-6 in a while and found CFE-P a good replacement, and it usually delivers a bit more fps.

 

[OKFC05]

I got a can of Longshot off the prize table at a match, and tried it in various loadings. The data in the Hodgdon table are for 7.7" barrel in .38. Only if you PRINT the data does it tell you that.
Longshot's claim to higher speeds is done by "flattening the pressure curve" to give more total force without going over max pressure limits. This only works in LONG BARRELS, especially carbine and shotgun length. If you load and shoot in a 6" or 4" .38, you will not get the published speed in the tables. It will do it in my 8 3/8" scoped 686, but I use H110 in .357 in that gun for hunting.
Thus, I only found any real use for Longshot in heavy field loads for shotguns.
To be blunt, there are lots of good powders for +P .38 in normal sized revolvers, but IMHO Longshot is not one of them. And in .357 Magnum, both 4227 and H110 give far more performance.

 

[muddocktor]

I will disagree with you OKFC05, about Longshot. But with 357 Mag loads and not 38 Special. I find that Longshot gives great performance in mid to mid high powered loads in both 357 and 44 Mag and I haven't noticed any particular position sensitivity either. I've not had the issues that scooter123 is reporting about extreme throw deviations either in either my Dillon or my Lyman 55 powder measures. Are there powders that throw with a lower SD or weight; well yes there are. But I have more more weight deviation with Blue Dot in those 2 powder measures than I see with Longshot.

With that said, for 38 Special +P I rather CFE-P over Longshot any day. But I don't load a whole bunch of 38 Special any more, mostly just for my wife to shoot. I will say that when I need to load some more 38 Special I will be trying BE-86, as I have recently tried this powder and I like it a lot. I think it should perform very well in 38 Special and it meters accurately in my Dillon and Lyman measures.

 

[biku324]

I've replaced Unique with Longshot over the past few years for 1000 fps 180 grain 40 S&W loads at significantly lower pressure. I've also used it for heavy 44-40 loads in a Smith 544 and continue to use it in 41 mag 210 grain and 44 mag 240 grain lead bullets at 900-1000 fps with complete satisfaction.

Why load +P 38s?

 

[biku324]

I've replaced Unique with Longshot over the past few years for 1000 fps 180 grain 40 S&W loads at significantly lower pressure. I've also used it for heavy 44-40 loads in a Smith 544 and continue to use it in 41 mag 210 grain and 44 mag 240 grain lead bullets at 900-1000 fps with complete satisfaction.

Why load +P 38s?

 

[STORMINORMAN]

"Why load +P 38s?" Well...

I've replaced Unique with Longshot over the past few years for 1000 fps 180 grain 40 S&W loads at significantly lower pressure. I've also used it for heavy 44-40 loads in a Smith 544 and continue to use it in 41 mag 210 grain and 44 mag 240 grain lead bullets at 900-1000 fps with complete satisfaction.

Why load +P 38s?

Because not every S&W revolver is a 357 Magnum...?

The vast majority of J-frames are designed for +P loads.

Cheers!

P.S. Love your suggestion for 40 S&W. Just got some Longshot and away we go...

 

[biku324]

Ah, that makes sense!

 

[Rule3]

Zombie thread!


But what the hey.
Longshot is a great powder Never heard of it until I got a DEAL on a 8lb jug. I use a lot of it. 9mm 357 mag and 10mm For me it meters just fine.


I do not shoot much 38+P but would think it ideal for those. I am not big on the "clean, dirty" powder stuff but LS does burn to nice clean gray ash.
Folks call it "Loud shot" as it does bark!

 

[alwslate]

5.5 grs of Longshot in .38 spl brass with a 158 gr cast SWC chronos at
955 fps out of my 4" model 10-5 S&W. From the load data I have seen I
believe this to be near the limit of 17,000 psi for standard loads. For a
+P load 6.0 grs should break 1,000 fps and be well under the +P limit
of 20,000 psi.