.38 Special load data needed

[res308]

I'm gonna crank up the ole one-armed bandit again tomorrow. I have a slew of .38 cases to clean and de-prime and load. What I have on hand is some old 158 grain jacketed hollow point. I think they're some old Thunderbird brand I got at a yard sale.

 

I don't necessarily like most of the watered down, anemic loads offered in the manuals nowadays. What I'm after is to drive the 158 grain jacketed hollow point I have to a velocity of somewhere over 900 fps out of a 4" barrel.

  

I'm able to find all the load data I could ever want for a hard cast lead 158, which is what I'd rather have in the first place, but I ain't got none. I have these JHPs, and I can't seem to find what I'm after in the data.

 

I've read that a jacketed bullet will be approximately 11% slower than a comparable lead bullet. But, if I load a jacketed bullet to a similar velocity, I don't have any way of measuring how it will affect pressure.

 

Like I said, what I'm after is to drive a 158 grain jacketed hollow point at over 900 fps. I'm after a good hunting and defensive load. (Before anyone becomes concerned about the liability of reloads for defensive use, I carry the department issued Speer Gold Dot for everyday use. Thought I'd just cover that here.) I'm just after a good capable round.

 

Unfortunately I might be out of luck on powder for the time being though. I do have H110, but that'll be used strictly for loading .357. I somehow wound up with a couple of OLD canisters of Unique. I think it was marked "Property of the Children of Israel, President Moses, Vice-President Joshua." Well, maybe it ain't THAT old. But I'm not sure how to tell if it's any good or not. 

 

I buddy of mine just handed me about half a pound or less of HS-6 and Red Dot, so I'll try to find something on them. But right now I just don't know where to go with this. 

 

I may just drop back and punt tomorrow and load up the .357s instead, but I could really use some advice on a good .38 load. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

This will be used some in my Smith Model 15-3 4" but primarily in my 686. I'm going to trade the 15 off eventually for another .357, but there will be no problem with the 686 handling the heavier stuff.

 

ETA: I have seen a lot of data for the Hornady XTP bullet, but I'm not sure if that relates well to data for a standard JHP.

Edited February 12, 2016 by res308

[Jonnin]

can't help on red-line data but the powder will smell really weird if it went bad.  You can also pour a little out on a brick and hit it with a match, it should flash near instantly if its still working.  If it burns slowly, makes a horrible "not gunpowder" stink,  or seems off, its bad.  

 

I would start with the HS-6 or red dot, and try a 90% of their max load as a starting point. 

You can get the manuals online:

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/Powder.aspx?powderid=4

^^^ has 38sp and 38sp +P data from the official site of the powder maker.

 

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/pistol

has the hs-6, also straight up and +P

 

one of those might help?   I'd share but I put a 90 grain in mine and punch paper with a flat shooting high velocity approach.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Jonnin

[res308]

Thank you sir.

[leroy]

res...

RE: This...

 

 

 I somehow wound up with a couple of OLD canisters of Unique. I think it was marked "Property of the Children of Israel, President Moses, Vice-President Joshua." Well, maybe it ain't THAT old. But I'm not sure how to tell if it's any good or not. 

I've got powder that's older than some of the 30 somethin year old posters here; and that aint meant to be demeaning... It's simply true... It's pretty easy to tell if the powder is bad... I always smell for the acetone type smell (..smells like a solvent... and is...) and look ta see if the powder is still gray colored... If it is, its ok... If it smells funny (...acrid or bitter...) or has a red or brownish tinge, i wouldn't use it... I've got canisters of DuPont IMR type stick powder that is at least 30 years old... 

 

RE:  The 38 special reloads thing... My "go to" reload with 158 grain hard cast bullets is 5.3 grains of Unique...I also like the old 38 44"High Speed"  load of 12.0 grains of 2400, but ya need a big pistol to shoot these in (...the "44" referred to the 44 frame revolvers the loads were designed for...)... That's most all we use... I think a jacketed bullet is a waste in a 38 special; but that's just me... Right here is a great 38 special reloading treatise from a guy i like alot...   http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt38spcl.htm

 

Hope this helps a bit...

leroy

[musicman]

Great article! Thanks for posting. :-)

[res308]

John Taffin's site is one of my favorites. Thanks for posting that article.

 

By way of update, I stand corrected. I dug out some of the stuff last night. Turns out one of the cannisters of Unique was still sealed. Gonna use it. I found a box with a few Hornady XTP bullets, 125 grain. Might use those in the .357. I also found a box of Hornady's #1042 bullet, a 158 grain lead semi wadcutter hollow point. So, I'll be using these for the .38 loads.

 

Thing is, these are definitely a hard bullet, so I'm wondering how they'll perform.

Edited February 13, 2016 by res308

[roverboy]

I've loaded a lot of .38 ammo over the years but, haven't used a lot of different powders. I used to load a lot of 2400 with a 158 gr. cast. 8 gr. worked pretty good. And I've also loaded Herco a lot too.