Loads for 38 Special in 357 brass

[PapaWheelie]

Have a hard time switching to 357 brass when these shoot groups you can cover with a quarter ; at 25 yards.

A less than one inch group at 25 yards? Young man, you have obviously never seen me shoot. 3 out of 7 just in the black is a good day

 

[LostintheOzone]

I asked the question originally because I bought 1500 once fired 357 brass from Capital Cartridge and have a total of two 38 brass that got mixed in in error.
Bullseye seems to be a very popular powder here, I will have to try it. Thanks

Bullseye meters better but is dirtier than American Select. I've tried Bullseye and went to AS. The burn rates, load data and MV are very similar. I would try them both and see which one you like the best.

Happy trails.

 

[Warren Sear]

A man just can't go wrong with Bullseye or Unique in a .38 or .357!

 

[Luke Duke]

A less than one inch group at 25 yards? Young man, you have obviously never seen me shoot. 3 out of 7 just in the black is a good day

Forgot to mention that is with a well rested gun. not freehand. My shooting is more like yours freehand. But if the guns shoots good rested you cant blame It.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Nothing wrong with just loading the long .357 cases for the weapon.

In my 686 6" a " .38 special load " in my weapon tested out at;

110 Jhp Red Dot 945fps to 1305fps with Unique powder.
135 Jhp Unique 860fps to 1035
158 Lwc Trail Boss 755fps to 1014 with Unique

Sorry, I do not shoot the 148gr out of my 357 Magnum revolvers, which are reserved for my J frames.

I do not hot rod the little 110 Jhp in my .357's and seldom use them even from the 1254
to over 1500fps that I did test out.

The 125 Jhp is the minimum weight that I think, works in this weapon from a full load of w231/CFE
fast powders to SR4756 and IMR2400 for loads from 1450 to 1500fps.

158 Lwc loads starting with Trail Boss around 790fps for target work
up to 1100 to 1200fps Unique powder loads for longer range work to
full loads around 1320 for hunting but these may start leading the barrel.

The 158 XTP bullet with IMR2400 can get up to 1340fps as a second choice for a hunting load.

For general plinking loads with a Jacket coating you might try down loading the Hornady 140 gr bullet.
They shoot great in my revolvers and the price is right.

Ps;
with a .357 case you are actually shooting a "Reduced" 357 load, not a .38 special load.
Carry on.

 

[Bronco89]

Shooting .38 Spl in a .357 mag cylinder is no big deal. Some will have you believe the dreaded lead ring will make it impossible to use .357 casings ever again.......Clean the gun after shooting, I use a .40 brush.....no more ring around the collar..play on words there........Randy

I second Randy completely. I shoot almost all lead. in 38spc/44spcl. Occasionally, I'll load up some magnums. Even then I usually shoot lead. In 357 mag cases however, Hodgdon has loads published that are 38 spcl pressure in Universal and 38+P pressure in Tightgroup loads. I haven't tried the Tightgroup yet, but the Universal is a standard load of mine.

 

[nbedford]

Read somewhere it's like 10% but I generally just play around midrange til I find the accuracy I'm happy with. You are shooting SP level loads in a Magnum so high pressure isn't an issue. 4gr of Green Dot under a 158gr LSWC has been working for me.

I use 3.1 grains of Bullseye under a 148 grain WC for my target 38 Special loads. If I was loading for 357 I'd do a tad less than a 10% increase in powder weight with Bullseye = 3.4 grains. Might start at 3.3 grains of Bullseye.

 

[sniper]

A lot of this "thing" has been kept alive by the "Skeeter" loads, which have been printed and reprinted since the '50s and 60s.
"Skeeter" Skelton, who was a prolific gun writer during that period, was a Border Patrolman, and a member of their pistol team.
Pay was not a lot then, and with a growing family, he could get all the .38 Spl. brass he needed...free. 357 brass was somewhat scarce, and expen$ive, too. So, he developed a lot of his loads in .38 spl. brass.
I tried his "medium" load, using 2400 powder, in 357 brass, but didn't like it very much!
It is very practical and safe to develop hot .38 loads in 357 brass. The current wisdom is to add a "smidge" of powder, ranging from .2-.5 gr. of powder to compensate for the additional space in the longer 357 case. That has worked for decades.

Patrick Sweeney, a Guns and Ammo magazine editor and competition shooter, said in his first reloading manual to go (safely) from .38 Special to 357 Magnum, just take a standard .38 (~17,000 psi,) or +P load (~ 19,000 psi)from a good reloading manual, and add 10%. That will mostly be lower than 357 Magnum starting loads, and provide no problems when shot in well maintained 357 Magnum guns. (Generally rated to max. ~35,000 psi.)
Whenever I shoot .38 rounds in my revolver, regular cleaning removes any traces of material left by the difference in case length.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

I'm amazed at the extent of the disparency of reactions between the need to obsessively clean every smudge on a SS gun (and fear of the deadly crud ring!) vs. the reticence to actually clean a revolver's cylinder after a trip to the range...

Are we talking about after shooting 200+ rounds of hot reloads in 38 Special cases in a 357 Magnum or a half a box of 130gr fmjs?

Cheers!

 

[AJ]

I rarely shoot .357 Magnums in my Model 27-2 3.5 inch. Normally I use either a 148 grain HBWC or a DEWC with 2.8 grains of Bullseye. Punches paper nicely and virtually no recoil. If I want magnum loads, I go to a JHP of whatever I have on the shelf and some 2400 powder.

Rings in the cylinder? Hoppes and a bore brush (.38 cal). If I am in a hurry, then I chuck a cleaning rod in my cordless drill with a .38 brush on it. One or two passes and viola it is clean....

Back in the day when I was poor and .357 cases were few and far between. We were a bit creative and used heavy .38 loadings in .38 Special cases. Of course this was in a .357 Magnum revolver ( in my case a Colt 357 Revolver).

 

[rwsmith]

I shoot both...

I'm amazed at the extent of the disparency of reactions between the need to obsessively clean every smudge on a SS gun (and fear of the deadly crud ring!) vs. the reticence to actually clean a revolver's cylinder after a trip to the range...

Are we talking about after shooting 200+ rounds of hot reloads in 38 Special cases in a 357 Magnum or a half a box of 130gr fmjs?

Cheers!

Man, this is an old thread, but since it's revived....

I shoot both .38 and .357 at some range outings. I don't like to take range time cleaning my cylinders, so I shoot .357s first, then .38s. Usually, however I just shoot .38 loads in .357 brass.