Case life is excellent, especially for mild loads. A 158 SWCHP at 850-875 fps from a snub. A little shopping around might do better, as would casting the lead bullets. IT'S A COMBINATION TAPER AND ROLL CRIMP. Ethan Johns is a military professional with worldwide experience in specialized units. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I use 158 grain coated RNFP and don't use any of those powders that you list. The Model 19 is fine with .38s but mildly uncomfortable with .357s. 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. At 25 you can get away with a lighter load. The only way to shoot both 9mm and .38 special is to have two separate cylinders timed to the revolver. 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. Hence I carry a semi-auto pistol chambered in .40 S&W. A GI surplus 1911 that puts most loads into dinner-plate sized groups cut 3.8 inches with the classic recipewhich is probably the only time Ive gotten excited about an almost four-inch group! Is it considered safe to down load a cartridge that far under starting? LRNFP - your load, with a plated bullet should be Very Similar, or slightly slower and safer. With the powders you listed I would try Bullseye, 231, and Unique in that order. I reload a 3 CA Bulldog in .44 with 200 gr wadcutters, to recreate the Man Stopper loads of long ago. Of course, these will be used in a revolver. AA#2 is about the same burn rate, but burns much cleaner with less smoke in my guns. Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. You can fit 7.1gr of powder under the 125gn JHP bullet? I here from quite a few that 3.5 gr of bullseye is a good load for 158 gr lead Bullets for bullseye shooting. .38 special has got to be one of the best calibers there is . Good point Len. The floor does not apply for PPC, or the equivalent match for Action Pistol. Posted: 4/17/2014 10:53:09 AM EST. These are light and easy to shoot. They have a large selection about the hard cast loads from 90 to 170 gains. Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue. Jacketed bullets create a bit more wear on the rifling, but its better than trying to wire brush out a bunch of lead build up. I load it almost exclusively though with either a powder coated or plated 125 grn bullet. The .38 ammo is more common to find than the .44 ammo, so that is a big reason to reload the .44. YOU WOULD BE WASTING YOUR TIME TRIMMING THE BRASS. I probably shoot more 38s than everything else put together but a Dillon 750 makes loading a lot faster. Jack it up a notch and go with .327 Federal Magnum. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Therefore, .38 Special +P ammo can be as much as 17.5 percent hotter than standard .38 Special. Powder coating. 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). She ran two cylinders of 100 grain wad cutters and gave it back to me. 10 for a full cylinder. Powered by Invision Community, 125 grain plated flat point in 38 Special. I am aware of the plated bullet limitations on BE accuracy and am more interested in them for their "plinkability". for 38 special I have tested both brass and nickel-plated cases using mild loadings and have not yet worn out a case. Due to different barrel lengths, type of bullet, seating depth, primer type and other factors, you may not get near the FPS charted. 9mm 125 grain RN Lead Hard Cast Bullet. The .38 with careful selection of components can be the cats as* for almost any shooter. Load it in 38 Special dies. Battis, if you go to the very bottom of this page you will see Castpics. JHP, 158 gr. 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. Like almost all pistol cartridges called ".38" the .38 Special actually takes .357" diameter bullets. The gun has appeared on TTAG before and has remained unchanged as far as accessories. Anything goes with bullets. The 4.0 grain load is relatively mild recoil and was accurate. The SP101 is far more comfortable to shoot but not so much fun to carry. 41 Rem Mag 35,000 I carried a lightly customized 4 inch heavy barrel model 10 for years, with a black cerakote job. 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. One cool load Im working on is two pellets of 000 Buck. 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. I did find a 145 grain Lead HP with a rounded ogive (like the last NyClad) on Gunbroker that opens really well if you get above 800 fps. Thinking of using it in NRA Action pistol or PPC. I have read some posts online from people who claim that it makes no difference whether the bullets are swaged or cast; and they can be loaded to the same velocity, but the swaged bullets will lead up a barrel faster because the lead is softer. Disclaimer, I own or owned all the super calibers out there except the casull, theyre all fun and quite useful in some scenarios, but dont discount the old timer. I have loaded wadcutters for plinking , Double end 148 grain,, mixed brass over 2.7 gn WST or Bullseye. Ive done the majority of shooting in .38 Special in my Smith & Wesson 642. 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. Love my 642 for concealed carry, but have an SP101 (also a snubby) in .38 special (only) for use on the range. Wadcutters are tailor made for lightweight snubbie practice, allowing shooters to enjoy shooting the pocket guns. Generally, I'm looking for a load that produces accuracy from approx. So, I'm guessing the pressure curve isn't as severe as some of the faster burners. These loads are for my wife's revolver. All newly manufactured .38 Special revolvers must be proof tested to the same higher proof . 3 gr of WST in a 38 spl case with 125 gr plated bullet is a very light load. In a day you can make over 100,000 bullets. Only need cast when driving up to 1200 fps or so. Think that if a .44 spl. A longer case, with have a tighter crimp them a shorter one, what will lead to variations in pressure, and accuracy. Great article & thread!!! My best group was .9 inch out of a Model 15. I fired 3 Remington 125 SJHP 357s from a 340 and thought i had nerve damage in my hand. In one or two strokes, the bullet is formed ready for dip lubing. Most starting .357 reloading powder levels will fall in this .38 +P+ type reload, and the powder being used can be selected (faster or slower) based on barrel length. Soft shooting. Case life is excellent, especially for mild loads. Load manuals often advise against downloading .38 Special jacketed loads to prevent squibs, especially the 110 and 125 grain bullets. Totally agree. Load cut these cards at five yards out of this Model 15. Maybe its just my age, but I may never shoot a 38 again after discovering the 32. 2.9 of Clays is soft enough and dead accurate at 50yds. Everyone here who has tried plated bullets including myself, have had disappointing results in accuracy. They all shot horrible at 25 yards. Power Pistols works well in short auto cartridges and higher pressure cartridges but no so well with a 158 grain bullets in 38 Special. The key to those rounds, in spite of their paltry muzzle velocity of something like 825 feet per second out of a snubbie, is their diameter and mass: they will make significant diameter holes and penetrate respectably in attackers. Just an FYI. Bullseye or Titegroup cover 90% or more of my .38 Special loadings. 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. Bullseye is primarily associated with .38 and .45after all, it says right on the bottle: Great for .38 Special and .45 Auto target loads. But it is equally at home in high-velocity auto loads. Powder Bul Weight C.O.L. Discussion: Bullseye is a faster burning powder and some people feel better suited for the .38 special. The Pistol a Smith and Wesson model 27-2 The goal is two fold. Thats a pretty clear explanation and comparison of the NEEDS of the strength of the chamber for each caliber. )Lastly, the .38 SPL has a very large following and materials can be had readily. As a result, Ive been able to spend far more time practicing with it rather than fussing with it. The mention of a Lee Loader somewhere above took me back to the good-old days. I checked out Alliant's website-no data for flat point with the powders I have, but data for Gold Dot HPs for Bullseye and Unique. Thats not quite how that works. 44 Rem Mag 36,000. 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. I can shoot this load at speeds I cant normally reach with .45. The cases are large enough that they can be easily manipulated by inexperienced hands and yet small enough to not require much force in the sizing stage. 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. Despite being well over one hundred years old, it still has perfect relevance for todays shooters, both novice and advanced. Nice thing about reloading is that loads can be tailored for the gun that you are shooting. Your previous content has been restored. 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. 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. defensive ammo. 9 mm, .40 sw, 45 acp, .44 mag. I wish Id had a commercial version of this load in my ammo allocation when we were tasked with getting classes of students up to special operations standards with the issue custom 1911s. Not as easy to find brass these days as it is not the most popular round anymore. I don't completely understand the physics behind it. I was hoping I could use this combo to make use of available components. have been factored in, but Looks like starting with roughly 4.2 of W231. WST for .38 special 125 gr plated bullets, Re: WST for .38 special 125 gr plated bullets. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.