38 spcl powder choice

T

tigger

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Tried my first pistol reloads today. 158 lead wad cutters over unique, 231,4756 and blue dot. Got acceptable accuracy, all were in the low-mid range for data available. During shooting I tried a muzzle up vs muzzle down before firing test and found all varied alot more according to my shooting. Is there a recommended powder that is known for being least sensitive for position? I do know trail boss works great in 357 mag, but thats because there is no space left!!
 
Down loading a slow powder does not work well. if you add a grain or two to your Unique load it will work better.

For mild loads you want a faster powder. 231 and TiteGroup are popular, and meter well.
 
titegroup is supposedly position insensitive. Trail boss would get you a full case, making case position irrelevant
 
Another vote for W231. I use it for 38 SPL, 9mm and 45 ACP. The other thing I like about it, it meters very well. As a note, Hodgdon HP-38 is the same as W231, they make it for Winchester. Also the HP-38 is usually a $1.00 less expensive if you buy it by the pound bottles.
 
For 38special you can use Bullseye, I believe 3.4grains is the best load I made. It shot like a frikkin laser with 158g bbswc cast boolits
 
Thanks for the advise!! Going to try bumping them all up a notch and see what happens. Going to try titegroup and bullseye as soon as I find some. Unique gave the best overall results and was the hottest load according to my wrist feel. It is very hard to get used to so much empty space in a case and the miniscule powder charges compared to rifle and shotgun reloading. Should have asked, does anyone have published loads for 158 gr cast using red dot? My old and new lyman cast manual does not list any and would like to use it as I buy it in bulk for shotgunning, if it works well, clean or dirty shooting is last on my list of factors when it comes to powder selection. I should note that the pistol I am reloading for is chambered for .357 so max or +P really does not make the hair on my neck stand up!!
 
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I used 2.8 or 2.9 gr of Red Dot in .38 Spl cases and got good results. However, like you, I was firing from a .357 Mag and got the classic cylinder rings, so I switched to firing the wadcutters from .357 cases. Some of the loads that worked for me were:

3.4 gr Red Dot - best accuracy
3.1 gr Bullseye
3.1 gr Titegroup - also very accurate

Come to think of it, I've still got a bunch of .38 Spl brass. Anybody want it, PM me.
 
ATOM said:
I used 2.8 or 2.9 gr of Red Dot in .38 Spl cases and got good results. However, like you, I was firing from a .357 Mag and got the classic cylinder rings, so I switched to firing the wadcutters from .357 cases. Some of the loads that worked for me were:

3.4 gr Red Dot - best accuracy
3.1 gr Bullseye
3.1 gr Titegroup - also very accurate

Come to think of it, I've still got a bunch of .38 Spl brass. Anybody want it, PM me.
Click to expand...

Like you I'm also shooting my 38 SPL loads in a 357 magnum case to avoid the dreaded 38 SPL cylinder rings.

So far it's been working just fine and no rings. I'll carefully document all 38 SPL/357 magnum loads (sharpie colours on the primers and labels on all storage bins) to ensure I know what I'm shooting. If I ever get in a situation that I'm not sure what load is in the cartridge, I'll just assume that they are 357 magnum loads. Right now it's simple to keep track of because all of my wad cutters loaded for 38 SPL, and all of my round nose bullets are 357 magnum. The downside is that this does make my 38 SPL cases redundant.
 
I have had good results with Titegroup, which is advertised as being position insensitive.

Bullseye should also work well; it has been used for a long time by lots of people to make accurate .38 Special loads.
 
W231 for me. "Chamber rings" can be removed easily by polishing the chambers of your cylinder with a .357 flexhone readily available from Brownells. It aids case extraction also.
 
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