The upside of the grainage is that the small charges mean more loaded rounds per pound of powderhelpful since Bullseye can take a while to reacquire once the container is empty. No. Don't know of any bullets like that. 38 special was also my first cartridge to reload, and one of my greatest loves for reloading to this day. The load is a great learning tool in .45 for beginner and experienced alike. A bullet with a copper gas check or copper plating is best for INDOOR ranges to keep lead vapors out of the air. (Same issue found with a 12 oz. Interesting. How can I tell if they are cast or swaged? I have tested lots and lots of different bullet and found them all to be great. I thought the DR program was NRA, not CMP. Agree 100% since I reload and shoot it since years, lost count. Hornady Also compared a S&W 638 to the S&W 36. Minnesota. Nothing, they dont need any. .38 Special +P (Alliant Reloaders Guide) Warning! Lucky me. 10. "Berry's Superior Plated Bullets are the finest bonded copper-jacketed bullets available today.." ?. When you say "not working" can you be more specific? I load a hard cast 125gn for my 38 special all the time. You have never indicated what barrel length or brand or frame size you may be using these in. There are many fun uses for buckshot. Also internet references 2009, Copyright. Honestly, plated bullets won't give you the level of accuracy needed for bullseye competition, even at 25 yards. is so simple. I too must be older than my years (35), as I love reloading .38SPL and have a S&W 442, S&W 36, and my most recent acquisition is a S&W 19-5 that is an absolute joy to shoot. of Bullseye, 148 gr lead DEWC and Federal 100 primers. Good shootin! It doesnt appear like there is much of an advantage in using WST with lighter weight bullets. Think a lot of people would find that a .44 special or .45 Colt, in a decent revolver, a viable alternate to a pistol. CorBon Self Defense, 38 Special, 125 Grain, Jacketed Hollow Point, +P, 20 Round Box 38125 During my first half century on this planet, my caliber of choice for defense was 45 ACP- but for everything else it was always 38 SPL. Traditionally, the max SAAMI pressures were: 38 S&W 14,500 I recently picked up a 396 Nightguard and am a convert to the 44 Special! Ive been shooting them for 50 years. THAT TIME IS BETTER SPENT LEARNING HOW TO SHOOT THE REVOLVER IN THE RAPID FIRE PORTION. Using higher pressure loads will wear brass out faster and it will become brittle with time. Winchester 231 is between Bullseye and Unique for the .38 special (see my personal load above). 2.) Bonus is the CT #305 grips are both large enough to be actually useful, and can use the laser, or turn it off if you dont need the laser. Im also impressed by the apparent durability of your Airweight J-frame. For 3 that actually doesnt kick too badly. I just got some clays which I heard was very clean burning compare to bullseye. Accurate's No. Its worth mentioning that loaders do all kinds of obsessive rituals to squeeze the groups down. Nice thing about reloading is that loads can be tailored for the gun that you are shooting. Eventually somebody introduced me to tungsten carbide resizing dies, after which case life became near indefinite. Damn. My son asked if I wanted him to help, then fired one shot and handed it back. We've got some great loads for 158 coated and plated semi wadcutters, and we're trying something new. Others Have reported some success but few have more than one or two loads. I once rented a Ruger LCR in .38 Special. I will always love the 38 SPL (never cared much for 357 Mag), but that 3 seven shot Charter with both 32 S&W Long and 32 H&R Mag is truly the bees knees. I just dont like practicing with it. I routinely use only two powders: Trail Boss and Titegroup. The manufacturing process of swaged bullets requires relatively soft lead for two reasons. JHP, (WC= WadCutter, SWC= Semi-WadCutter, HP= Hollow Point, RN= Round Nose), (JHP= Jacketed Hollow Point and if GC indicated, means Gas Check at bottom of lead bullet). 38 special , bullseye, and 125 grain lead rnfp Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting : The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and . Maybe its just me, but having that tiny bit of extra length and weight in the cylinder that I was never going to use just kinda bothered me. Hmm. If I do carry a revolver its my 642 with a laser grip in my right front pocket or my SW model 69 5 shot 44 mag. I started loading .38s with a Lyman nut cracker and a home made measure for Bullseye over 65 years ago. That isnt unique to Bullseye, but is certainly more pronounced with the relatively small charges required. The stuff you learn shooting 20,000 reloads (on top of thousands of rounds of factory ammo) can be pretty interesting and I feel that Ive got a very good picture of what the .38 Special. The gun has appeared on TTAG before and has remained unchanged as far as accessories. Magtech Sport Shooting, 38 Special, 125 Grain, Full Metal Jacket, Flat, 50 Round Box 38Q And I still think a 158 at 600 beats hell out of a 22 magnum of any stripe. You can always back off to the .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Mag if you choose to. Jack it up a notch and go with .327 Federal Magnum. They all shot horrible at 25 yards. There have been guns Ive bought for the caliber, but the .38 wasnt one of those. Winchesters 231 or WSL are also good powders for the .38 special. I almost spit out my drink when I read your comment. These are put into a large hydraulic press and extruded into a continuous coil of wire. 148-grain wadcutter brings accuracy that begs the shooter to test their limits. And for 99% of the actual real world needs of a citizen for self defense it will work just fine. Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue. In terms of thousands of rounds of range practice, though, that is a definite no-go in my book. When I finally nabbed my own canisters of Bullseye, the first load I spun up was 2.7 grains under Hornadys hollow-base wadcutters. For those who have issues using auto pistils, due ti arthritis or other medical issues with the hands an LCR or 642 is a great choice. Please enable javascript before you are allowed to see this page. The .327 Fed Mag is IT! Powder Bul Weight C.O.L. These grips seem quite comfortable and afford a pinkie finger rest for improved control albeit with a certain loss of concealability. Note: More and more test are conducted with all rounds fired with powder UP against the primer for each shot, or DOWN on the bullet for each shot, then gently bring to horizontal to shoot. Last I looked still available at Brownells. each bullet is different for oal due to a crimp groove on most. Good point Len. When I finally took the plunge and started handloading (FIRST SHOTS WITH HANDLOADING: How Hard Can It Be? 125 gr plated or 125 gr lead RN. Has anyone loaded 38 special with these compoments? 750-850fps. Does anyone have any luck with Jacked Bullets. That for just a nice shooting load one cant beat 148gr wad-cutter for pure fun. I have experimented with both of Hornadys 200-grain semiwadcutters in this load: the more button-nosed SWC and the longer Combat/Target (C/T) version. Instead, Ive favored things like the K and L frame Smiths (5 screw pre-model 10 and 686 in my case) and Ruger revolvers for higher round count activities. I dont miss lubing casescarbide is king! Battis, if you go to the very bottom of this page you will see Castpics. Many of these men had no real experience with the handgun, and we had but a few weeks to get them up to very high standards that most shooters will never reach. Very forgiving with a straight wall case, and tons of bullet variety. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. That being the case, I truly NEED as much ammunition as possible and the ability to defeat soft barriers such as auto windshields, sheet metal, drywall, doors, etc. http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/Powder.aspx?powderid=1, I also have the Berry's 125gr plated flat point bullet and I am trying to find a min and max load with unique powder. What are YOU shooting? The cowboy loads would be good choices as listed, since these ARE reduced loads for that sport, where usually just hitting a metal plate to make a sound is all that is required of the round. Stylish But Serious: Kimber Super Carry Pro, Survival Savvy: Gearing Up for the Next Level, Force Multiplier: Knife and Gun Integration. 8.) Send the cylinder out to get cut for moon clips and adapted to 9mm, so you can shoot both 38/357/9mm and use all on moon clips. Speer .38 shot cup, 5 grains of UNIQUE, and (3) #1 Buckshot pellets dates back to the 70s as a Junk Yard Dog load. She ran two cylinders of 100 grain wad cutters and gave it back to me. However recoil will be the limiting factor especially for the short line. The average street punk today has more firepower than the Russian Army did in WWII and trying to re-load a revolver in a fire fight is the best way to commit suicide that I could ever think of. But one classic target load is not far behind the .38 wadcutter in its own reputation with target shooters: a 200-grain semiwadcutter bottling up 4.6 grains of Bullseye. Similarly on drills with set times such as firing five shots in five seconds onto a bull at ten yards, the Bullseye load allows a little more time per shot to take advantage of a great 1911 trigger and lets the shooter nearly push shots into the same hole. I am using this load in some .38 specials. Wes, SASS Wire rules prohibit posting specific load data on the forum, but it can be passed along via private message or email. But not too tough. When you could leave city limits and just about every dirt mound in sight, was a plinking range. Hence I carry a semi-auto pistol chambered in .40 S&W. I don't completely understand the physics behind it. I load my own, 130 gr RNFP using Win 231 powder a little over the mid point in the published load data. Load it in 38 Special dies. In a day you can make over 100,000 bullets. 1.455 in. 1.) I went from 2.7to 4.0 gr and nothing to speak of. Would you like to react to this message? Wadcutters are tailor made for lightweight snubbie practice, allowing shooters to enjoy shooting the pocket guns. It is less of an issue on a progressive press, but still requires attention. Me too! Notes: Bbl Length: 5.6; primer: Fed. My M60 came w/ factory banana grips- open back, long enough for pinkie rest but too small in girth behind the trigger guard. LOL. Main issue is that the .44 spl. 125: 125: 130: 135: 140: 140: 146: 148: 158: 158: 158: 170 _____ Quick Links Home Load Data Bullet Points: BE SURE TO CHECK OUT & FOLLOW MY INSTAGRAM FEED CONNECT WITH THE 1895GUNNER.COM COMMUNITY . There is almost no recoil and the student can increase power level when they feel ready using the same gun. .38 special has got to be one of the best calibers there is . In a 1909 vintage Smith & Wesson target .38, the 2.7-grain load cut a nearly one-inch cluster, showing that classics go well together. The 357 magnum about 45,000 psi and the std 38 special about 17,000 psi. I'm seating to what's in my loading manual. I believe this particular bullet is meant for the 9mm,but drops at 358. Depending on the drill, 200-grain .45s let shooter push faster or use available time to shoot better, with significantly less recoil than hardball. Ideal load in a 2 J Frame .38. Most double end wad cutters are 148 grain, and DR bullets must be 158 grain. I've been reading about this. Recoil is subjective and I feel no difference between that and an 750-775 fps load. There is a difference in the manufacturing process of swaged bullets. Most DNR (Do Not Reduce) loads are well over 900-fps. June 13, 2016 in 9mm/38 Caliber. In the 1950s, 60s. I think you will find since the .38 special is headspaced on the rim your case length is very important to achieve your best accuracy. https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t2221-distinguished-revolver-loads-that-don-t-suck. Note the dark band of lube on the 3 lead bullets. Very versatile cartridge. JHP (now discontinued) 5 rounds . 38 Special 17,000 Im not a hoarder and I dont keep them, but I am detailed in my process. I haven't used any of those powders but I like faster powders in 38 Special like Titegroup and Clays. So you only hang onto the primer boxes loosely? TITEGROUP AND 125GR 38 SPECIAL LOAD DATA Ammunition-Gunsmithing Reloading Forum Register Notices Consider Becoming A Supporting Member Click HERE For The Benefits Reloading All Reloading Topics Go Here Thread Tools Display Modes # 1 01-24-2016, 05:38 AM RONALD HENSLEY Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Waynesville NC Posts: 114 Likes: 12 Bullseye Handgun Powders Smokeless pistol powder Billions of rounds have been loaded with Bullseye since it was introduced in 1913. Reduce by 10% to establish a starting charge weight. One cool load Im working on is two pellets of 000 Buck. Youre describing Remington Multiball ammunition (R357MB)- I used to carry that stuff decades ago. Easiest way is casting lines and a sprue mark on nose or base. WC, 158 gr. I havent shot too many full house Casull loads, but I get a huge grin when shooting my reduced loads of 7.5grs of Trail Boss under a Cast Performance 360gr WLFN. Choosing a bullet 100 except where otherwise noted in "remarks" Be Alert: Publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data. 3 gr of WST in a 38 spl case with 125 gr plated bullet is a very light load. Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. .38 Special is a lot more comfortable in a service size revolver like my Model 10. Discussion: Bullseye is a faster burning powder and some people feel better suited for the .38 special. No sh!t. I get 1000 fps with this load. Swaged bullets do not have the hardness of poured (cast) lead. The proof pressure MAP specified by SAAMI is 29,500 psi for both rounds. Just want to state for the record, that with one of the more heavy duty Corbin presses it is possible to easily swage some hard cast bullets. No more lead in the barrel or on my hands. I'm guessing they still go bang, and leave the gun to go downrange. I can usually keep 1.5" groups with it at 25 yards if I do my part. The other .38 Special is a 4 Colt Diamondback. Prefer to use the CT model 305 laser grips in lieu of S&W grips. Id pay at least a dollar to see it. Bullseye and NRA Distinguished Revolver I did start out fawning over all of the tactical gear, but once I had that covered my tastes matured I think to love the wood and steel guns. Data will be standard "book" .38 Special data and I'll not attempt to "hotrod" the loads. (Or so I have heard.). These two can cover the entire performance spectrum up to .38+P. Go figure. Min Charge Max Charge Optimal Charge Bullet Make Bullet Type Primer Notes; Hodgdon - 700-X: 125 gr. Ask your Dealer, or call Hodgdon), has a Cowboy Load section, (near the center fold), that lists data for about all SASS calibers. My use of the term adequate means that Hodgdon has produced a workable result for the .38 Special, .38 Special +P, and .357 Magnum that may be used for 125 grain weight bullets having velocity limitations. Use the lead bullet loads with the plated and you will be fine. For any loads over 900-1,000 FPS, I suggest using a jacketed bullet. Their biggest use is in making screws and small bolts. Totally agree. Components add up to far less than even generic grade factory ammo. I could knock out a pretty substantial chunk of my shooting needs with only these three loads. I recently bought trail boss and it runs fine out of my 14-3. Now, you have to go to a range or have a membership and pay to fill the backstop with lead. The beauty of shooting a .38 is that you can easily practice at the ranges you'd fight at using basically any cheap bullet at minimal expense. IIRC, the NRA Action Pistol power floor is a "factor" of 125, which requires a full 1,000 fps for 125-gr bullets. I think you will find since the .38 special is headspaced on the rim your case length is very important to achieve your best accuracy. At one time or another, I also owned and shot a M38 Bodyguard (nka the 638), a M37 Chiefs Special (now the 637), a M60 (which is a tad heavier but no more user-friendly), and a couple of others. I was just trying to get a general consensus of what other guys were using. Case life is excellent, especially for mild loads. Interestingly, I had pistols that would shoot one well and the other impressively, but have not yet had one pistol do magic with both. In my area, Bullseye is one of the first powders to disappear from shelves, lasting about a heartbeat longer than an econo bulk box of .22 Long Rifle ammunition. Bullseye 3.2gr / 763fps --> 4.2gr / 892fps (max), Unique 4.3gr / 773fps --> 5.3gr / 944fps (max), 231 3.9gr / 733fps --> 4.8gr / 896pfs (max). Thanks for your help. One cool load Im working on is two pellets of 000 Buck. My sq. I can get away with using it as cast w/ alox. 41 Rem Mag 35,000 Best to start a little low, and work up slowly with a chrono, though. WST for .38 special 125 gr plated bullets, Re: WST for .38 special 125 gr plated bullets. The .38 with careful selection of components can be the cats as* for almost any shooter. And.those Hornady 158 HPs are easy to reload but I have never had one open up in a varmint of any sort. * And yes I appreciate them for a hunting gun because of their fine accuracy and find trigger pulls (older classic guns). I realized that I had hit a very special count for a very special cartridge: 20,000 rounds of .38 Special. AA#2 is about the same burn rate, but burns much cleaner with less smoke in my guns. (This is prevalent among most aftermarket designs- they are smallest in the longest, strongest finger area, and largest at the bottom pinkie area.). No offense sir but those charges look low for Unique. Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue. I carry my M642 extensively, but I only shoot it occasionally because it is a snappy little b!tch with standard loads. I picked some up from my local Scheels yesterday. They are true classics, and I hope you get as much use out of them! Here is the dillema: The Lyman manual says starting load is 3.2 grains and MAX. Even better, is get some 38 S&W brass. Hodgdon's Basic Reloading Manual, (The free one, available for the asking. Ammunition is available everywhere handguns are legal. Shot many thousands of my bullseye powder reloads with it. Thats not quite how that works. I make a habit of counting the number of reloads I make by keeping a tally of primer and bullet boxes. But still nothing under 3.5". The 38 Special Ball round was designed a long time ago to comply with specifications laid down for ammo that was : 1) Compliant with the Hague Accords of 1907 in regard to "unnecessarily" injurious ammunition. Main fame for the .38 is now the J frame size revolvers, as a CCW gun. Last time we took it to the range, I was trying to cycle the old +P ammo to load standard Lehigh ammo, I fired one shot, put the gun down and cursed while shaking my hand. On my J frame S&W without the CT #305 Laser Grips, I swapped out to a Hoque set. So if you find a "lead" load it is also a plated load. The jump straight to relatively hot GI hardball challenged many students, and failure to meet standards meant being dropped from the course. 4.0 gr. It seems to burn completely in the .38 and is not as critical as the faster powders like Bullseye. Any pistol competitions yet? 158 gr. 6.) As an old bullseye guy I've stuck with Bullseye powder for almost 30yearsusing lead bullets. In my time with the cartridge, I have come to appreciate the mid to low end of the power spectrum and thus have made extensive use of Trail Boss powder and bullets such as Hornadys .358 158gr SWC. The 4.0 grain load is relatively mild recoil and was accurate. There are so many new powders today, its hard to keep up. As you move up in loads, you at least need the gas check on the bottom of the bullet to prevent gas melting the lead and fouling the barrel. Be careful about published sources (and doubly so about internet sources), regarding maximum loads for the 38 special. That's usually +P power level in .38 Special. Powered by Invision Community, 125 grain plated flat point in 38 Special. I load rounds for my wife to shoot @ Win 231 4.0 to 4.3 gr. .38 brass isnt as common as 9, .40, or .45 brass at the range, but of all the revolver brass you can find its the most plentiful. You are absolutely correct. Great article & thread!!! Or does the CMP make the rules for DR, and the NRA admins it? I have often thought about reloading .357 brass to .38 special velocities to get around that, but have just never decided to actually do it. Not as easy to find brass these days as it is not the most popular round anymore. Its hard to find those swaged SWCs and hollow point bullets anyone; it seems everyone is only interested in hard cast for velocity and penetration. was a breeze. I agree, an airweight has snappy recoil. This is an easy-shooting load that can cause some power-philes to tusk-tusk and comment. Ive not had a handgun entirely reject either load, so the recipe seems to be a worthy third alongside the previous .38 and .45. (Cowboy Action) 38 Special (Cowboy Action) 38-40 Win. Just depends on what kinds of loads you plan to shoot. Left to right:148 gr. ,I looked at Speer data, nothing there. I did 400 rounds in one afternoon on my Hornady progressive. Don't worry too much about lead/coated/plated/jacketed.
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