How can I tell if they are cast or swaged? Only the Model 60 sometimes have factory installed grips that are not worthless. The mention of a Lee Loader somewhere above took me back to the good-old days. There have been guns Ive bought for the caliber, but the .38 wasnt one of those. Wes, SASS Wire rules prohibit posting specific load data on the forum, but it can be passed along via private message or email. I reload a 3 CA Bulldog in .44 with 200 gr wadcutters, to recreate the Man Stopper loads of long ago. Yeah, my wifes last gun, with +P it actually HURTS! . butt 686 shipped w/ Hogue monogrips, discarded immediately due to pronounced finger grooves. In the 1950s, 60s. 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 . No offense sir but those charges look low for Unique. I soon traded off a Colt Frontier Scout .22 LR for an S&W Model 15 and happily chased all manner of small game and landfill targets with my stash of wadcutters. 5 are good choices. Each of the classic loads is also economical. A 4 inch barrel would be my choice as well. Winchester 231 is between Bullseye and Unique for the .38 special (see my personal load above). And for 99% of the actual real world needs of a citizen for self defense it will work just fine. YMMV. 6.) It's given me good results in the 2, 3 and 4 inch barreled. Totally agree. My sq. 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. (For those who would. For best accuracy in slow fire shooting, you may want to raise gun before every shot. Agree 100% since I reload and shoot it since years, lost count. 01-10-2014, 06:49 PM #4. dverna. A little shopping around might do better, as would casting the lead bullets. Hodgdons Clays, International, Universal and HP38 are good choices. Now theres an old memory. I do this for my .357s but this article is about .38 Special loads. Most notably the lighter weight bullets. The trigger has smoothed out over time. I load a hard cast 125gn for my 38 special all the time. 41 Rem Mag 35,000 WAP, WMR, WSF, WSL, 760, 748, 231 and 540 are products of Winchester, Components Div. Lord only knows how many cartridge cases I hammered with a plastic mallet into that Lee, it had to be thousands. Three in particular proved as good as their longstanding reputations would indicate. If you are new to reloading. *WAP is not best choice for .38 special, too slow and inconsistent. I use 2.8-3.0 grains of Bullseye or AA#2 with 158 gr. I cannot begin to fathom shooting 20,000 rounds out of that revolver! 1.) Canister Sizes: View All Bullseye Recipes Hence I carry a semi-auto pistol chambered in .40 S&W. ammunition in the same gun enables that shooter to hunt larger game and to fend off beasts that snarl. Especially if you reload. Which left me with the last two. My J frame S&Ws are all older models, and came with the small grips that are still on some models. I almost spit out my drink when I read your comment. Id pay at least a dollar to see it. 25 Auto 32 H&R Magnum 32 Auto 32 S&W Long 357 Magnum 38 Special 38 Special +P 38 Super Auto +P 380 Auto 40 S&W 44 Rem. WITH THE SWAGED BULLETS REDDING SELLS A PROFILE CRIMP DIE. I have done it with 38 special and 44 Mag, only to have a lead coated bore that looked like a rusty old drain pipe. LOL. Recoil in that gun is less than most 45 ACP 1911s I have shot, and its still got around 500-600ft lbs of energy which is more than enough for feral hogs around the ranch back home. .38 Special is a lot more comfortable in a service size revolver like my Model 10. Posted: 4/17/2014 10:53:09 AM EST. Powered by Invision Community, 125 grain plated flat point in 38 Special. I have several manuals and some say that this load is a low +p, some say it is not, but it is very accurate. These loads are for my wife's revolver. Biggest problem I had was the lubricating cases for sizing and then cleaning them afterwards, I guess grit was somehow scratching the cases after getting stuck in the lube. The 125 Hornady XTP, a jacketed hollow point bullet that can easily handle 1500 fps velocities. I simply took mixed brass and ran em through the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP press with the bare minimum preparation. These grips seem quite comfortable and afford a pinkie finger rest for improved control albeit with a certain loss of concealability. ), I very much wanted to start with some tried-and-true Bullseye loads, but it took an epic scavenger hunt across many months to find a canister of the elusive classic. The load you use will be up to your gun. .38 will take care of nearly any critter that needs dispatching feral cats, raccoon, armadillo, even wait for it. So you only hang onto the primer boxes loosely? With a charge of only 3.1 grains of Winchester 231 powder, velocities run around 750 to 800 fps with good accuracy and mild recoil. 32 H&R Mag 21,000 When I finally nabbed my own canisters of Bullseye, the first load I spun up was 2.7 grains under Hornadys hollow-base wadcutters. Bullseye is a little smoky, a lot sooty, and has a distinct odor. 5.) Your experience is definitely motivation for me to give my J-frame more range time! A Forum dedicated to the sport of Bullseye shooting, Bullseye-L Forum::Ammunition Discussion, byPacFltShooter Wed Oct 28, 2020 9:00 am, byPacFltShooter Wed Oct 28, 2020 5:36 pm, byPacFltShooter Wed Oct 28, 2020 6:46 pm, byPacFltShooter Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:45 pm, byPacFltShooter Wed Nov 04, 2020 4:50 pm. Not as easy to find brass these days as it is not the most popular round anymore. I meant to say NRA. Starting being near 3gr - ish. 4.2 gr. It seems to burn completely in the .38 and is not as critical as the faster powders like Bullseye. Then duplicate with reloads for practice. The big medicine was delivered by a 1911, but S&W K frames (favorites were Models 12 & 64) took care of everything else. Nice thing about reloading is that loads can be tailored for the gun that you are shooting. Have a Tritium sight and laser on it to boot. ES 27 SD 12 Independence 130 grain FMJ round nose MV 892 fps ME 230 ft./lbs. Current J frame factory grips have similar features and are made of a stiffer compound. The Speer #8 lists a max of 7.5 grs Unique with a 125 gr Jacketed SP This would be for plinking for my wife's ~3" Rossi, so something light and fun to shoot would be great.All three of those powders have published load data for that weight bullet in .38 Special.All three of those powders have published load data for that weight bullet in .38 . I use Bullseye powder but it's about the same burn rate. I once rented a Ruger LCR in .38 Special. I load my 38 target ammo to 3.5 grainsand my self defense 38 to 3.8 grains, when using 158 grain bullets (and Bullseye). Zero 158 grain swaged SWC, Starline brass, Winchester or Federal primer, 2.8 grains of Bullseye, roll crimp. The powder charges used for .38 are forgiving. A revolver shooting .38 SPL only requires the power of your finger to make it fire and can thus be loaded with ammo that is extremely mild or hotter than hot. Re: 38 special loads by GrumpyOldMan 11/10/2013, 4:23 pm IIRC, the NRA Action Pistol power floor is a "factor" of 125, which requires a full 1,000 fps for 125-gr bullets. Anyone that uses a J frame S&W should seriously think about swapping grips, and finding which set works for them. Ammunition is available everywhere handguns are legal. 357 Magnum 35,000 Dont get me wrong: I think the Smith and Wesson Model 642 Airweight revolver is an outstanding self-defense (concealed carry) revolver and you wont feel/care about how snappy/unpleasant the recoil may be in a real self-defense event. I thought the DR program was NRA, not CMP. Here is the dillema: The Lyman manual says starting load is 3.2 grains and MAX. A bullet with a copper gas check or copper plating is best for INDOOR ranges to keep lead vapors out of the air. I'm going to start with 3.8 grains. I miss those days. While I wish I could carry a 5 .45 WITNESS with several 10 round mags, as a senior citizen, the S&W J frame is my user friendly alternate. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Different colors can be used to identify different loads and since bottom of each bullet is also powder coated, there is less lead dispersed in the air at the shooting range. DR loads (158gr Remington swaged LSWC over 3.6gr AA#2 in Winchester .38 Special cases) I shoot American eagle, remington factory,remington umc, and mag tech. The Model 19 is fine with .38s but mildly uncomfortable with .357s. In 38/357 they don't list 105 gr bullets, but the do list 90's and 125's. Easy enough to extrapolate for a 105 grain . They are low because of swaged bullets. Forget about it. Load it like Trail Boss. .38 Special +P (Alliant Reloaders Guide) Warning! Only need cast when driving up to 1200 fps or so. 110gr JHP! Something like the Ruger GP100 or S&W 686 yup, theyre the best caliber for those size revolvers. I'd rather shoot my .45 then. Just shows the importance of trying/checking the feel of a gun and if possible, test firing it, before you buy it. I've been reading about this. 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). I dont bother polishing my .38 brass because I just dont let it fall in the mud or dirt. At belly button range, very nasty load. No more lead in the barrel or on my hands. Think a lot of people would find that a .44 special or .45 Colt, in a decent revolver, a viable alternate to a pistol. If you're looking for a real light load that's easy to shoot, I'd just use WW's data for the W231 with a 125 gr. I'm planning to use Alliant's Unique powder to reload with 125 grain flat point jacketed bullets from Berry's and Winchester small pistol primers. Upload or insert images from URL. Hornady 115-grain HAPs over 4.4 grains of Bullseye alongside 25-yard timed-fire target. I found some data for 148 and 158 gr bullets but no published data on the 125s. Thinking of using it in NRA Action pistol or PPC. Shot many thousands of my bullseye powder reloads with it. I shoot almost exclusively cast lead from my handguns. Like Wobbly. I'm seating to what's in my loading manual. 100 except where otherwise noted in "remarks" Be Alert: Publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data. I picked some up from my local Scheels yesterday. 9.) I did 400 rounds in one afternoon on my Hornady progressive. This 1911 halved its normal so-so accuracy with 200-grain Hornady C/T SWC, shooting this nice two-inch group. Unlike the author, I did *not* keep records, I cant even imagine how many rounds I loaded, almost 100% .357 magnum, since that was all I shot. Swaged bullets do not have the hardness of poured (cast) lead. But, with jacketed bullets that doesn't seen to be working. I bet you can find some nice shooting loads with Bullseye. Normal, mild .38 loads work fine with lead bullets. In terms of thousands of rounds of range practice, though, that is a definite no-go in my book. The .327 Fed Mag is IT! The jump straight to relatively hot GI hardball challenged many students, and failure to meet standards meant being dropped from the course. I shoot a Glock 21, and had a great time shooting some poly coated 230 grain round noses today. Bullseye and NRA Distinguished Revolver VihtaVuori Oy Company, reloading booklet (1995) Numerous magazine articles on reloading special calibers and personal loads where noted. Anything goes with bullets. Others Have reported some success but few have more than one or two loads. 38 Special +P 18,500 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. Jacketed bullets are legal for DR, as long as they are 158 grain round nose or semi-wadcutter. I have tested both brass and nickel-plated cases using mild loadings and have not yet worn out a case. If I get to see him shoot those loads, it would be worth the price of a new keyboard! Components add up to far less than even generic grade factory ammo. There really is a recently developed technology that prevents leading, while eliminating messy lubricants. I haven't used any of those powders but I like faster powders in 38 Special like Titegroup and Clays. Classics go well together: circa 1909 S&W .38 Special and traditional 148-grain wadcutter load of 2.7 grains of Bullseye. The fast powders, W231, HP38, Bullseye would go over pressure very quickly with any slight changes, in seating depth or primer change. Magnum 44 S&W Special 45 Colt 45 Auto 45 G.A.P 9mm Luger 9x18mm Makarov 32 S&W Long (Cowboy Action) 32-20 Win. 9mm 125 grain RN Lead Hard Cast Bullet. Good point Len. If you have a lightweight .38 or older gun, you may want to start with 10% less than max amounts listed above, and work up to the full loads. The least is usually supplied as a large cylindrical billet weighing several hundred pounds. Softer alloys of lead are just easier on the machinery. .38 Special (Using Hornady Bullets) reloading data with 353 loads. When you say "not working" can you be more specific? You cannot paste images directly. I'm not looking to blow up my old model 10. Use the lead bullet loads with the plated and you will be fine. Its worth mentioning that loaders do all kinds of obsessive rituals to squeeze the groups down. Honestly, plated bullets won't give you the level of accuracy needed for bullseye competition, even at 25 yards. 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 Any hotter and we get into a recoil issue. And it isnt my first rodeo with a J-frame. A circa 1918 Colt gobbled them up, as did several other 1911s that can be particular about bullet profile. But this piece isnt about the gun, but rather the cartridge. In terms of the best stopping power for .38 Special, I personally like 150 grain full wadcutters or 158 grain hollowpoint semi-wadcutters. The Pistol a Smith and Wesson model 27-2 The goal is two fold. I dont own anything in .38 special yet, but I have plans to buy a .357 magnum revolver in near future, so I already reloaded couple thousands of rounds in .38 and .357. of Bullseye with Lee's 125gr RN mold in a 38 special with so-so accuracy. Fifty yards of course is the preferred distance. of Bullseye, 148 gr lead DEWC and Federal 100 primers. IMHO .38 special is just fine for self defense, but just not enough to crack engine blocks. Caveat: I have decided that I want to be prepared for threat scenarios that include stopping a terrorist or spree-killer (the odds of which I fully recognize is statistically zero). The covered blackstrap and extended length Compac design I reckon are major factors in reducing perceived recoil. One cool load Im working on is two pellets of 000 Buck. This is an easy-shooting load that can cause some power-philes to tusk-tusk and comment. They are true classics, and I hope you get as much use out of them! I, like Spartacus, find the SAAMI recommendations an interesting spec for comparative purposes. in 158 weight berry's bullet 3.8 grains of bullseye with a taper crimp. 11/2/2022. Were all familiar with the old adage, Never bring a knife to a gunfight. And while we should, The active shooter is a relatively new phenomenon in the grand scheme of things. Loath and Loathe are different words that mean different things. 5, #2230, and #2460 are products of Accurate Arms Company I completely understand the respect for the performance of the 327 Fed, but not being a big fan of the 357 Mag (or 38 SPL plus P for that matter) I havent been drawn to the 327. I use 3.2 gr Bullseye to push a 125 gr cast along at 750 - 775 fps in the 38 SPL from 5 and 6" barreled revolvers. IIRC, the NRA Action Pistol power floor is a "factor" of 125, which requires a full 1,000 fps for 125-gr bullets. Hornady also has load data for the 110-grain .357 XTP for the lower-pressure .38 Automatic. THAT TIME IS BETTER SPENT LEARNING HOW TO SHOOT THE REVOLVER IN THE RAPID FIRE PORTION. Anyone know where I can download a chart where all the powders burning rates (regardless of manufacturer) is listed. You are absolutely correct. Bullseye or Titegroup cover 90% or more of my .38 Special loadings. I started reloading 38 special as my first cartridge 8 years ago when I was 22, soooo.I have an old mans soul?