Post your favorite 38 Special Recipes

[Bart 44]

150 - 160gr (they usually weigh 156-158) cast LSWC over 3.5gr of Bull.

Dennis.

 

[epj]

What no Clays???
I used to use W231 (and before that Bullseye) but
3.0 of Clays under a 158Gr Round Nose Flat Point is my hands down favorite these days. Clean, accurate, shoots POA in fixed sighted guns, works well in speed loaders yet makes a more defined hole in your target. Same load with a 158gr Lead SWC or a 148gr BNWC with 3.1gr of Clays under is it also nice for pure paper punching. Nice side benifit is that you can get 2300+ rounds out of a single pound!

I use 3.1 and may venture up a couple of tenths more when I get a chronograph. Those would be reserved for .357's. After a point, pressure rises very rapidly with Clays and if you need a lot more oomph, you need a different powder.

 

[cocojo]

I found 4.4 grains of WW 231 and 158 SWC or RN is very accurate in my guns, more so than 4.5 or 4.3 grains. Velocity is 775 from a 2 inch S&W, and it's non +P but right at about 16,5000 to 17,000 foot pounds.

 

[reuters]

38 Spl. favorite loads

For me the most enjoyable load for the 38 Special is as follows:

Any high quality 158 Cast SWC bullets
I prefer Federal brass but other commercial brass will do
3.5 grains of Winchester 231
Winchester or Federal small pistol primer (Wolf works well too)
The velocity will be in the 750 fps range in 4" revolvers

This load is mild enough to shoot in older non +P rated revolvers but has enough power to feel like a center fire ammo. It will reach out to 50 yards with good accuracy.

What is your favorite 38 Special load?

Hi kci-mia,
My # 1 load is Hensley & Gibbs # 73 cast SWC at 140 grains sized to .358 and a US made blue stiff lube that I unfortunately don't know the brand of. Loaded with 3,5 grains of Vihtavuori N310 in Norma brass and CCI small pistol primer. Moderate taper crimp applied, crimped in crimp groove. This load travels 870 fps and it is accurate at least out to 80 yards.

My # 2 load is LEE WC TL cast bullet 145 grains sized to .358 lubed with liquid Alox. Loaded with 2,5 grains of Vihtavuori N310 in Norma brass and CCI small pistol primers. Moderate taper crimp applied and bullet protruding 1/24" out of case mouth.This load travels at 740 fps and it is a typical bullseye target load accurate out to 40 yards then the bullet gets a tendencey to make oval holes. Accurate range can be improved by switching to VV N320 and increase the load to 3,0 grains.

Both loads are within pressure limitations and safe in J-frames. For some reason they are no longer listed with N310 in the VV reloading manual but they used to be in the 80-90's.

My old K38s loves them, these are used at competitions and I annualy reload approximately 4000 of these all together.

Good luck

Reuters

 

[running iron]

Just tried 4.9 grs. of Auto Comp with the 158gr. Hornady XTP. All holes touching at 15 meters using a snub nose model 85. Book say 865 fps.

 

[JakeB]

Are you all seating to the crimp groove on the bullets or some other specific OAL?

OAL would be nice to know on some of these loads.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Good point, Jake.

Mine are to the crimp groove. I posted WAY on back there, the time tested load of 3.5gr of Bullseye under any 158-160gr LSWC. Mine is an H&G #290BB that was designed by Phil Sharpe. Great bullet and fun to cast.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bearcat74]

I load 3.5grs of Bullseye and a Berry's Plated 125 HP, it is accurate from my 686, probably not as loud as a .22.

 

[hogblue]

3.5 bullseye + 158 LSWC.

 

[valkyriekl]

Are you all seating to the crimp groove on the bullets or some other specific OAL?

OAL would be nice to know on some of these loads.

For my hollow-base wadcutters (2.7gr Bullseye, 2.8gr AA#2, or 3.1gr W231), I seat to 1.186" OAL--it's not exactly flush; a little bit of the bearing surface/driving band sits outside of the case, and then the nose of the bullet adds a little more (I use Remington 148gr .358" swaged Hollow Base Wadcutters, and these have a little nose on them). For HBWCs, seating them "flush" would do just fine. I use a light roll crimp on these.

For my semi-wadcutter loads (5.8gr AA#5), I seat my bullets (Remington 158gr .358" swaged LSWC) to 1.440" OAL. The swaged bullets I use don't have a crimp groove, so I seat them on the first driving band. I use a light-to-medium roll crimp on these.

I don't change anything when I use cast bullets (Valiant 158gr .358" cast LSWC), but they seat a little longer at 1.443" OAL. This is just within the crimp groove on bullets. Not that it matters too much--I don't shoot the cast bullets for accuracy past 50 feet; they're too inconsistent. I use a light-to-medium roll crimp on these, too. I've been using 5.8gr AA#5 powder behind these cast bullets, but I could probably substitute something like 4.0gr of W231 and get away with it, since I'm not shooting these for accuracy (these would be more of a self-defense practice load).

 

[38SPL HV]

Great thread, bet there will be some new additions:

All with 158 gr lead:

38 Spl:
3.5 grs Bullseye
4.0 grs WW231

38 Spl +P:
5.6 grs Power Pistol
5.0 grs Universal
5.2 grs Unique

38 Spl Remington "Hi-Speed" 158 gr lead equivalent (catalog number 6538, circa 1970) - 6.0 grs Power Pistol with 158 gr Speer LRN and CCI 500 primers

(chronograph confirmed that this load approximates velocity of the actual "Hi-Speed" round in actual revolver, not test barrel)

 

[Qc Pistolero]

An old thread indeed but one that's always of actuality....even if the 9mm is grinding the popularity of the .38Spl away.
Mine are:
A)H&G no 50 WC sized .358 lubed with liquid Alox from LS Stuff White Lab.Cast soft(aprox BHN 6)on top of 2.6gr 700X in WW target brass.Holds into the 10 ring when I do my part.If out of it I know I done something wrong.
B)NEI 154gr SWC Keith type with my lube(50/50 beeswax/Alox 350 from supplier already mentionned+ hardened with parafin according to the season,soft in winter,harder in summer) over 3.8 gr Titegroup.Non +P and chronoed a little over 900fps from a 6''bbl.
Qc

 

[38SPL HV]

Nice loads QC!

 

[Qc Pistolero]

Nice loads QC!

Thanks!
And they're both easy on the wallet which suits me fine since as per my wife,I'm cheap!
Qc

 

[daniel lawecki]

158 grain cast SWC in front of Titegroup small pistol primer 38 special cast. Low end of the reloading chart.

 

[jculloden]

158 LSWC Bayou coated 3.5 VV N320
Federal small rifle match primers

 

[Bakebfr480]

12.5 grains of 2400 with Elmer's bullet.

 

[Mistered]

Man I have shot 1000s of 158 gr cast with 3.5 gr of Bullseye in the past but recently I loaded up some 125 gr cast RN intended for 9mm (but they mike .357) and 4.0 gr of 700X to get rid of both and they are tackdrivers out of my 2" M-60!