Model 52, loading RN or SWC bullets

[Krogen]

First, I delight in shooting my Model 52 with HBWC bullets over WST powder. The gun is phenomenal; the shooter, not so much. I've often wondered how it would do with typical round nose or semi-wadcutter bullets. Of course, the magazine is too short to do this with .38 Special cases. It's a wadcutter gun, after all.

I thought about cutting down .38 Special cases to allow use of RN or SWC bullets and keep the required OAL. Case walls thicken toward to the base which may squeeze the bullet down too much. Then I thought of the .38 Short Colt. It looks short enough to allow seating of a "non-wadcutter" bullet within the specified .38 Special case length. .38 Short Colt loads "should" be safe in a Model 52. Whether the 52 will feed alternate bullets remains to be seen. Since it will feed wadcutters, one might think RNs or SWCs are easy-peasy. Starline conveniently makes .38 Short Colt cases.

Anybody tried this? What might I be overlooking in this (so far) thought experiment?

https://www.starlinebrass.com/38-short-colt-brass

 

[Sevens]

Years back I thought about doing this but I never got around to trying it. I think perhaps our motivation may have differed a bit — I had thought it might be a fun experiment but was probably thinking that I could save my “harder to source” HBWC bullets.

I never did do it… I suppose I probably won’t. But I must say that I think the idea of getting better results using non-HBWC bullets would seem to be folly, wouldn’t it?

What in the world could or would be MORE accurate in a wadcutter pistol than wadcutter bullets?

 

[minconrevo]

A HBWC bullet will be supported quickly by rifling. A RN or SWC will not, so accuracy might suffer. You might see if .38 Short Colt cases would work.

 

[Krogen]

What in the world could or would be MORE accurate in a wadcutter pistol than wadcutter bullets?

I agree completely! This is more of a wild hair than an expectation of improvement. It stems from some extra time and pondering, "I wonder if . . . ."

 

[Revoman]

Probably won't fit inn the magazine.

 

[Krogen]

Probably won't fit inn the magazine.

Certainly a RN or SWC in a .38 Special case won't fit. That's why I'm considering the .38 Short Colt case. Same dimensions as .38 Special except shorter so the RN and SWC bullets can stick out and presumably fit in the magazine. It remains to be seen if they will feed in the gun.

 

[taz666]

I think it could work out for you. You have to take into account the shorter case with your load. Think using lower pressure 9mm load data and match OAL with a 38 special cartridge. How much pressure can the model 52 handle? Big thing is if they will feed OK. You see those RNFP bullets that are more blunt ... acme sells that style in 125gn and 158gn.

 

[USSR]

I thought about cutting down .38 Special cases to allow use of RN or SWC bullets and keep the required OAL.

I did this. I cut down Winchester .38 Special brass to a length of .900", same as .38 Super brass. The bullet I use is a cast Lyman 358480 133gr SWC which was originally designed for the .38 Super. I seat the bullet to an OAL of 1.135, which fits and function in the magazine perfectly. I have been using 3.0gr of fast powders like Bullseye and WST, and they function just fine. I have yet to chronograph them; perhaps this summer. BTW, I call this cartridge the .38 Special K (K for Kurz - short in German). If anyone wants to play with this, contact me and we will work something out.

Don

 

[Model52guy]

Never thought about replacing 148 gr HBWC. Shot them for years. If it works, don’t fix it.

 

[RWJ]

Several years ago I did try some recent Remington manufacture .38 Short Colt out of my Model 52, and it ran without any problems in feeding or ejecting. I never did any serious accuracy work with it, but it was all 9 ring or better at 25 yards out of my gun. The .38 spl case is listed at 1.155 inches (figure flush seated HBWC would be the same), and the 38 Short Colt loaded cartridge has a OAL of 1.2 inches , but worked fine in my magazines.

One day in the future, when Model 52-2 extractors are no longer available, I may play with reaming the chamber for 9mm Magnum (1.16 case length vs 1.155 for .38 Spl.) and use a 9mm extractor with 9mm Magnum brass loaded with wadcutters/wadcutter loads as a substitute, just for fun.......