Low-density Powder for .38/.357

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GeoJelly

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I have recently gotten back into reloading after an 18-year absence. I lived in Germany for 16 of those years and buying powder there was just too difficult. Back in late 2016, I picked up two cans of Power Pistol in case the election went south. PP has worked very well for 9mm and .380 and even pretty well for .38 Short Colt (yes, I'm that weird ... ;) ).

I've started loading more .38 SPL and am worried about the volume density of PP - I just loaded some Speer 125 JSP's with 6.8-g of PP. As a test case, I double-charged a couple of cases with the PP load and it did not fill them; it left enough space that a bullet could prolly be seated.

OK, so to the point - I would like to get a can of clean burning mid-range powder - faster than 2400 (which I used alot many years ago). And, whatever powder I get needs to more fully fill a .38 SPL case. I've done some checking around and it looks like HS-6 might fit the bill, and not have as much flash and bang at the range.

Again, I'm not a complete newbie to reloading but a lot has changed in the last 20 years!! It looks like my old 2400/Unique loading days are long gone. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated...
 
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I use a lot of Bullseye, 231 and HS-6. I found that HS-6 needs to be loaded to the mid upper end in my guns to be clean burning and accurate. I load a lot of really whimpy loads though and Bullseye works really well for them.
If however you are worried about double charging then Trail Boss is what you need.
 
As a follow up to my previous post, I wanted to say I reload with many different powders which don't fill the cases. But I used to visually inspect the powder level during my reloading process. Now I have incorporated a powder check die into my Lee Classic Turret press.

Thankfully I never had any double charges, but I did have some squib loads due to my powder drop occasionally malfunctioning. This was what caused me to check every round. My point is you don't have to fill every case if you practice consistent quality control. You will miss out on a lot of great powders if you're only going to use Trail Boss.
 
Thanks, Gents, for your input and good info. I hadn't even thought of Trail Boss ... and I guess that's why I posted the question! I've never seen it for sale around here - but the only place with any amount of powder is Cabela's. The reviews on it are great on Midway but it looks like it's been out of stock for some time. Regarding technique - since I'm newly back into reloading - I actually triple-checked my PP loads today. Needless to say, I'm using a single-stage setup. Thanks again...
 
If the only goal is find a powder that takes up all the space in a .38 Special case... it's basically Trail Boss or give up handloading.

The .38 case is cavernous for a low pressure round as the .38 is. Powder choice cannot make up for technique, checks and balances.
 
You can Google.....

You can Google a chart that has powders in order of burn rate and gives their density.

They might not FILL the case, but hard to double charge. I try to always check the levels of powder in the cases with a flashlight as a last check before seating bullets. A couple of times I've seated a dozen bullets before I realize that I didn't do the final check.:(

700x, IMR SR 7625, Unique and Universal, Green Dot, Ramshot Competition, American Select Hodgdon Clays all have densities under 10 gr/cc and are probably worth looking at the charges you are going to use to see what volume they will take up.
 
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Tin Star and Trail Boss are your only viable options.

I understand your concern--it was quite an adjustment switching back .38 Spl after spending a lot of time loading 9mm and being able to see the case fill easily. All of a sudden, those big tall .38s seemed awful risky compared to the short little 9s. But I think that you're really limiting yourself in powder selection, and that it's just not worth it. Especially with a single-stage press. Even though you have the sort of "different" risk of double-charging, it's a lot easier to check each case before seating each bullet than it is on a turret or a progressive.

Perhaps instead of looking for volume, it might give you peace of mind to try a powder that's lighter in color? Winchester SuperTarget, for instance, is very light gray-green in color, and is very easy to see in a case.
 
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So many good responses and great info, Thanks again, Gents! And, especially Thanks for being kind and not pointing out that HS-6 is actually denser than Power Pistol. I just downloaded the Lee powder dipper chart, and although I don't use their dippers (have their dies, though), their chart looks to be a good reference for comparing the densities of the various powders. The only other powder that shows up in the Hornady manual (no data for Trail Boss or Tin Star in that manual) and is less dense than PP is 800X. For rwsmith - I won't tell how many rounds I've pulled in the last few months because of oversights ... :(. I don't think any of them were dangerous - I just wasn't absolutely certain they were safe, and better safe than sorry! One of the first things I bought was a bullet puller.

I'm going to check Cabela's this weekend to see what their pistol powder selection looks like. Initially, though, I like the sound of Trail Boss. All I am doing is indoor range shooting so I don't need much in the line of power factor - but retirement has forced me to pinch pennies and I just can't afford to shoot factory ammo + I have the time to handload and enjoy it alot.
 
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Green Dot is about 1/3 more bulky than Bullseye. My go-to target load is 4.0 gr of Green Dot in a .357 Mag case.

Yes, a double charge will fit but the difference is readily spotted if you look in the case. I use a tall stool at my press with an LED spotlight focused on the round being loaded. I look down into every case.

I'm more concerned with a squib than a double charge, actually. ;)
 
Wise_A said:
Perhaps instead of looking for volume, it might give you peace of mind to try a powder that's lighter in color? Winchester SuperTarget, for instance, is very light gray-green in color, and is very easy to see in a case.
Click to expand...

This. It's so distinct I question why every powder can't be made as visible.

WST is an excellent target powder, running shoulder to shoulder with Bullseye, 231, HP38, AA2, N310....

I could certainly live with it as the only target powder for 38, 9mm & 45ACP. Matter of fact, I know some high master bullseye shooters use WST in their 50 yard loads.
 
Try 700X I've had good results with this powder in both 45acp and 357 magnum. You hear a lot about how it doesn't meter well through some powder measures but I never had problems using it both my old Lyman 55 or the new 55 that I use. Very accurate powder and clean burner.

Trail Boss is a good choice and very safe powder to use just don't compress powder. I've even used it with 240 grain JHP bullets in my 44 magnum target loads with good results and it doesn't beat you up after shooting 100 rounds.

Accurate No.2 and Accurate No. 5 are also good choices for light to mid range 38 special and 357 magnum loads, powder meters great and has some bulk to it , more with No. 5 . Also very easy to see inside charged case . I always double check powder change by shining small maglite flashlight into cases before I seat bullets , this step only takes a few seconds and has never failed me yet. I use a single stage press for all my reloading and I never get in a hurry or load more than 50 rounds at a time ,I take a break and load 50 more. It takes a lot of time but I enjoy reloading I don't make it a chore.
 
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A link to the lee powder dipper chart.

https://leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/Dippers.pdf

The lee dippers use volume (38spl case ='s volume) to measure the weight of different powders. Hecse same dipper ='s 1.2gr/1.4gr/2.4gr etc.

You need to look at some reloading manuals and cross reference that data with the lee data. Slower powders use more powder per load than fast burning pwders. But that doesn't mean much, example:
reddot uses 4.1gr for a max load p+/125gr/38spl
pp uses 6.6gr for a max load p+/125gr/38spl

Both will take up the same case volume in the 38spl case.
 
Forrest r said:
A link to the lee powder dipper chart.
Click to expand...

Not to detract/disagree, Forrest, but I will suggest that the Lee dipper and VMD information is not quite 100% reliable:

(1) They err heavily on the side of caution, to avoid people overdipping.

(2) Some of their data isn't up-to-date.

For instance, I have a pound of AA#2--lovely powder. But the Lee Auto-Disk, dipper, and VMD data is all way off. The first time I used it, I thought my scale had broken, until I looked in the bottle. The AA#2 was filled almost to the brim. Meanwhile, a pound of AA#5 I'd gotten at the same time was about half-full. I worked out "adjusted" VMD numbers, and found that according to what I was actually getting, a pound of my #2 (stop giggling, children) should occupy about twice as much volume as the #5, which was close to Lee's VDM numbers.

So I concluded my scale wasn't lying. Adjusted the volumes up, followed the weights, got great function out of it.

Coincidentally, that makes AA#2 my absolute favorite powder for .380 ACP. And, I think, the only one I have on hand bulky enough to charge the cartridge with my Lee Auto-Disks.
 
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