Reloading .38 S&W vs .38 Special on a progressive

Scotty454

Scotty454

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My buddy has a .38 S&W revolver, and he's having trouble finding factory ammo for it. He heard that I was getting into reloading, and asked about reloading .38.

I've looked into it a bit, and learned that the bullet diameter is a bit bigger on the .38 S&W (.362" vs .357"), so using the same dies is out. But what about the case? Based on Wikipedia, the rim diameter is the same (.440"), but the base diameter is obviously a little bigger on the .38 (.3865" vs .379"). Would the same shell holder/base plate work? I'd be running them on a Dillon 650, so dedicated parts would likely be hard to find... Would I be able to get away with finding dies, and then running the rest of the .38 special/.357 mag setup on the press?

Thanks!
 
According to the manuals I have if the revolver is a Smith & Wesson with deep cut rifling .357 jacketed and .358 cast will work OK.

If the revolver is a Webley or Enfield then .359 cast bullets will work better.

My Speer #14 manual list reloading data for the .38 S&W using a S&W model 33 revolver with .357 jacketed and .358 lead bullets.

It also tells you to "NOT" cut down 38 Special cases because the 38 S&W are a larger diameter and the cut down 38 Special cases will bulge when fired.

Starline is the only manufacture who offers unprimed brass according to the #14 Speer manual.
 
Cut down 38 special brass will fire in some 38 S*W chambered revolvers - but it's not a good practise and I wouldn't do it - expect some of the cases to split on firing and to get very short life from the ones that don't split on the first firing. Much better plan to use good starline brass (order from CGN sponsor Doubletap) and use .362" diameter bullets.

Jacketed .357" bullets will work in some revolvers, not others, dependant on the actual bore dimensions. The depth of the groove (aka "groove diameter") has no bearing whatsoever, it is the actual height of the lands (aka "bore diameter") that matters.

You won't be able to use 38special loading dies or shell holders.
 
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Dom. 38S&W rims will not fit in my 650 shellplate, but do fit in C-press shellholders. Not all brass is made the same, some have thicker necks(Dom.) and .360-.362 bullets won't fit or are dangerous in some chambers(including mil. enfield). I have used .358 158 gn. SWC or RN with no problems except that bullet will hit about 6" low with mil. fixed sights. I use .360 200 gn. to solve that problem. Load very conservatively with break-action revolver from early 1900's(or BP).
You may be able to use 9X19 or 9 Mak dies, depending on neck and bullet dimension.
 
i've been using my 45acp shellplate and lee dies (full length die nutted from the bottom). I've only done a couple of hundred so still working my way thru the rest of the adapted setup
 
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