Powders for .38 Special

[Hawk in WY]

Loading Rainier 125 gr. FP. Bullseye, Unique or W-231? I have all three. Thanks in advance.

 

[OKFC05]

Yes.
All will work.
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

 

[Fishslayer]

I use Bullseye & Green Dot. Recently I got a # of W231 & will be trying that out, too.

Different powders have different characteristics. Try some test loads of each one & find that "magical" combination that yields the "one ragged hole." You'll probably find that a load that's great in one gun might not be great in another.

Bullseye is a very popular powder for a number of loads, including .38 SP. I use a +P load in my .357 for target practice. With Bullseye you get a LOT of loads per pound. It's a bit dirty, but that's why I have solvent & brushes.

For plated bullets you'll be wanting to start with cast lead loading data. They don't do well with heavy loads.

 

[oldracer]

I was recommended the W231 for 38 loads when I started and so far have had great luck. I load both 38 special and 357 magnum cases with 3.3 grains of powder for the wad cutters and get great accuracy out to 50 yds. There is some residue from the powder and I get some lead splashing now and then around the forcing cone but I sure get a lot of loads from an 8 pound can.

 

[bobelk99]

I have loaded 2.5-2.7 Bullseye rounds for many years with good success.

I have found that 'old geezers' (someone who knows who Bob Chow was) tend to use Bullseye, and the younger guys lean toward the other two.

All three work well.

 

[pownal55]

I use more Unique than anything else, may be just a habit.

 

[mkk41]

W-231/HP-38 is pretty much all I use in .38s.

 

[geddylee10002000]

For me I have tried all three in 38 special and +P loadings. Not your bullet, although. Used a Lyman 358477, 358156 w/gas check, and some swaged 158 tumble lubed with Alox. Fired in a 36-1 3", 686+ 3", 19-1 4" at 25 yards off the bags, and 7 yards. Overall Unique did the best. I think it is the right combo of filling up the case with the bulk of Unique. Years ago I did a experiment with case fillers. It reduced the size of the groups tremendously.

 

[Hawk in WY]

I have loaded 2.5-2.7 Bullseye rounds for many years with good success.

I have found that 'old geezers' (someone who knows who Bob Chow was) tend to use Bullseye, and the younger guys lean toward the other two.

All three work well.

Guess I'll start with Bullseye then. Works well in my .45's. The advice to try all three is probably right. Wish there weren't so many variables in this sport.

 

[Yurko]

Still can't get Unique in my area so I use either titegroup or Clay's Universal.

 

[PDL]

I started with Unique 'cause I needed to load .45, .38, and 9mm. It worked well in all three. But I wanted something else and went with Bullseye. It also worked well with all three. Gonna load some test round of all of them for a range trip tomorrow and the only powder around was W231. I suspect that will work well also.
I liked Bullseye better than Unique for them though. I'll see if W231 does as well.
Basic thing is you've got to find out what works best with your choice of load in your pistol.
That's part of the fun of reloading.

 

[epj]

Still can't get Unique in my area so I use either titegroup or Clay's Universal.

Unique and Universal are so similar that the load data is ALMOST (but not quite) interchangable.

 

[Fishslayer]

Still can't get Unique in my area so I use either titegroup or Clay's Universal.

Yup. It's kinda "use what ya can find" these days. I got real lucky & scored 2400 AND W231 when I was looking for it. Bullseye hasn't been real hard to find but I have to make some calls and...oh well... who am I kidding? I just drive down to the shop so I can see what's new.

 

[GyMac]

Loading Rainier 125 gr. FP. Bullseye, Unique or W-231? I have all three. Thanks in advance.

I only loaded a few 125 grain bullets in .38 SPL but had good results with HP-38/Win 231. I'm sure BE would work great, but Unique would be my last choice - it seems to be the odd man out.

 

[webley green]

Except for a gifted open can of W-291, I have shot Unique exclusively in my .38, .357, .45acp and .45Colt.

 

[revolvergeek]

I have loaded a lot of .38 spl, .357 mag and .45 acp LSW and LRN reloads with Red Dot in years past. Never loaded any wadcutters though but I hope to try some in the coming weeks.

 

[photoman]

Bullseye works for me.

 

[Slowroller78]

The above posts seem to mirror my own choices. When I started reloading, I used BE in .38 with wadcutters. Very economical powder with light lads. I switched to Unique when I started loading for .44's, as I noted some inconsistency with BE. I was loading 240 SWC for these. For me, the down side of Unique is that it's dirty. Not a big deal outdoors, but kinda smokey on indoor ranges. I just got a can of W231 to try. I think that in a jam, though, the Unique would cover many of the bases needed in revolver cartridges, and quite a few in autos. Just wish it was a little cleaner burning. Regards,
SR78

 

[TAROMAN]

231 has always worked fine in my .38s.

 

[Troystat]

Not an old geezer yet, but I bought my model 27-2 from Bob Chow right before he retired (he also did a trigger job on my 17-4. The 27-2 does just fine with bullseye.

Troy