Low noise .38 special load for use with rifle?

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Hello all,

I'll just drop this fact here and now : brand new to reloading and am acquiring reloading equipment slowly.

I would like to know if any of you have a good all around plinking load in .38 Special that is cheap, quiet and puts holes in things at 50-75 yards. I have a Marlin 1894 with 23" barrel and when shooting Winchester 38 target rounds from in, the noise doesn't bother my ears one bit. That's saying something as I have sensitive ears. If I can find a load like the winchester, using ether Remington 125Gr SJHP or Speer 158Gr JHP (what wholesale sports stocks) bullets, I would just stick with that and start pumping out rounds. Any recommendations?

Thanks much.

Ti
 
Once upon a time I had and old English rook rifle and I had it rechambered to shoot 38 Special. This one had a 26 inch barrel.
I used 148 gr hollow base full wadcutters that had the bullet seated flush with the case.
A friend loaded these for me, and I suspect he loaded 2.7-3.0 gr of whatever proper pistol powder as he has many handguns.
This load did in many snowshoehares at closer woods ranges of 5-15 yards.

And the big plus was this handload had a very quiet report.
More like a pop then a bang IMO.
 
The magnitude of a rifle's "report" is a function of its muzzle pressure. The lower the pressure of the round, the quieter it will be.
 
Brutus said:
Once upon a time I had and old English rook rifle and I had it rechambered to shoot 38 Special. This one had a 26 inch barrel.
I used 148 gr hollow base full wadcutters that had the bullet seated flush with the case.
A friend loaded these for me, and I suspect he loaded 2.7-3.0 gr of whatever proper pistol powder as he has many handguns.
This load did in many snowshoehares at closer woods ranges of 5-15 yards.

And the big plus was this handload had a very quiet report.
More like a pop then a bang IMO.
Click to expand...

If the powder weight is correct, I would suggest it was Bullseye. That's a very popular combo, I use Bullseye for 148gr hbwc's only.
 
The magnitude of a rifle's "report" is a function of its bullet's speed. The bang is the air slamming back into place after the bullet goes through it. Louder the farther above the speed of sound it gets. Speed of sound is about 1135 fps.
JHP's require velocity to expand reliably and will never be called quiet. Mind you, out of a 23" rifle barrel they won't be as loud as the same thing out of a revolver but you won't get 'em to be quiet. Even though max .38 Special loads are sub-sonic.
 
Don't bother with hollowpoints. Low velocities with jacketed bullets are asking for trouble too. Just get some lead bullets, whatever weight and shape feed and you have data for, and load near minimum. Anything you are going to kill with a subsonic bullet doesn't need expansion. You will gain 2-400 fps from the longer barrel over pistol load data.
 
Thanks all for the help!

I guess the first order of business thou is to actually locate some powder. Searched 3 shops today, can't even order any in. Who knew finding powder was such a task........
 
Wear ear plugs. All loads will damage your hearing, whether or not you think it is "quiet". That said, I shoot 4 to 4.5 grains of red dot and a 150-160 gr. lead bullet in my .38 carbine and it seems quieter than factory load 38's.
 
I used 3.5 gr of Bullsey and a DEWC cast from wheelweights for a good piece of my .38 rifle shooting and it was both pleasant and accurate. I use the same in the wheelgun stable to good effect also.

On another note I have been loading 3.2gr of 700x with a 1x1 dacron wad on top under a 450 gr cast bullet in the .45-70 Handi and it sounds quiter than a .22 Short at around 650 FPS...
 
3.3 grains of 231 pushing a 158 grain bullet is a light load. I pop them out of my 586 and my 92 Rossi. YOu need to find your own load and be cool with it. Powder is tough. Soon I'll dip into my Unique unless the supply picks up.
 
Pointing out the 45-70 reminds me of another recommended milder handload; 13.0 gr of Red Dot under a PB 405 gr cast lead bullet.
Often referred to as "The Load" on the internet.

About the same report/recoil as the 357 cartridge from a rifle.
 
Brutus said:
Pointing out the 45-70 reminds me of another recommended milder handload; 13.0 gr of Red Dot under a PB 405 gr cast lead bullet.
Often referred to as "The Load" on the internet.

About the same report/recoil as the 357 cartridge from a rifle.
Click to expand...

I see the .45-70 listed in Harris' articles but have never used it myself, but no reason why it couldn't work. See his article on "The Load" and appropriate calibers here:

http://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/articles/The Load.htm


ETA - I have though, used it in .303, .30-06, 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54R to very good effect. I will scrounge some more Red Dot and give the 45-70 a go...
 
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