The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old June 20, 2011, 08:37 PM   #1
chewie146
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2010
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 853
Super Heavy .38 Special?

I did some searching on this today, and didn't come up with much. I would like some very heavy .38 special reload recipes for my Ruger Blackhawk. From what I gather, I can't really buy a stronger .357, especially for the money. For those of you who would ask "why," it's because I have tons of .38 special brass, with very little .357 brass. I was given a bunch of it. I'd like something with a little more pop than a .38 +P. If any of you have recipes, I'd like to see them. Particularly, I'd like to see recipes for 158 grn bullets. Anything lighter, I feel is a waste in a .357. I can shoot the little bullets plenty fast in a 9mm without the blast.
chewie146 is offline  
Old June 20, 2011, 09:14 PM   #2
Slamfire
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 27, 2007
Posts: 5,261
I think it is a bad idea to hot load 38 Specials in anticipation of using them in a 357.

Maybe you can find someone who would trade 38 Special cases for 357 cases.
__________________
If I'm not shooting, I'm reloading.
Slamfire is offline  
Old June 20, 2011, 09:30 PM   #3
Locoweed
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 8, 2008
Location: Alabama
Posts: 661
If your hot handloads ever got away from you and were fired in a standard .38 Spl revolver there could be catastrophic results. Use the correct case for your loadings. If it's going to be like .38 Spl +++P then use .357 Mag cases.
Locoweed is offline  
Old June 20, 2011, 09:39 PM   #4
zxcvbob
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Location: S.E. Minnesota
Posts: 4,720
I've been shooting these lately: 148 grain DEWC, 38 Special brass, 7.0 grains of WSF powder, and whatever small primer is handy. Here's the important part: OAL = 1.36" They will not chamber in a .38 Special because the wide meplats (noses) are too long.

This is not a max load for a .357, but it's a lot hotter than a .38 +P.

If you don't have WSF but you do have Herco, you can substitute that.
__________________
"Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth
zxcvbob is offline  
Old June 20, 2011, 10:29 PM   #5
chewie146
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2010
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 853
The idea of the double-ended wadcutter interests me. I may have to check that out, working up of course.
chewie146 is offline  
Old June 20, 2011, 10:55 PM   #6
Jim Watson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 18,486
I'm not much for "recipes" but if you search on .38-44 loads or Skeeter Skelton Loads or Elmer Keith Loads you will learn a lot about overloading .38 Specials for strong guns. But you MUST keep them away from lesser revolvers.
Jim Watson is offline  
Old June 21, 2011, 09:06 AM   #7
overkill0084
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 7, 2010
Location: Northern, UT
Posts: 1,162
Anything I wouldn't fire in a alloy frame snubbie is built on .357 brass.
That said, the Lee reloading book has a fair selection of +p loads worth looking into.

My general purpose load is 6.6 gr of AA#5 with a 158 gr cast (or plated). It's above +p .38 but falls short of true .357 pressure. It's quite accurate in all my .357s with plenty of power for day to day range use.
Caution: Sanity check all load data from the internet against reputable published sources.
__________________
Cheers,
Greg
“At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child – miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.” — P.J. O’Rourke
overkill0084 is offline  
Old June 21, 2011, 11:49 PM   #8
chewie146
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2010
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 853
No worries. I'm either going to scratch something in the headstamp or mark the rounds with a sharpie in addition to labeling the containers. I have plated 125s for my only other .38 capable gun, and those duplicate my defense loads in recoil, if not ballistics. The loads I'm looking at involve hard cast bullets. I don't shoot the SWCs out of the snubbie, as they don't feed well for speedloader practice. The SWCs go only in the Blackhawk. It's a new model...not a flat-top.
chewie146 is offline  
Old June 22, 2011, 11:13 AM   #9
44cal
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 6, 2008
Posts: 4
Im with Jim Your looking for a 38-44 load.
44cal is offline  
Old June 22, 2011, 12:19 PM   #10
mikld
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 7, 2009
Location: Southern Oregon!
Posts: 2,891
I gather you want to shoot LSWC bullets in 38 Special cases that surpass or duplicate 357 Magnum velocities? About the easiest way I can think of is start with hot 38 +P and work up. Limited case capacity and resulting pressures comes to mind when trying to put 357 loads in 38 special brass. But, I wouldn't try because if I want 357 ballistics, I'll shoot 357 Magnums, brass and all (and if I want more power, I'll go with my .44 Mag.), and I can get 357 Mag. once fired brass fairly easily for around $15 per 100.
__________________
My Anchor is holding fast!
I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...
mikld is offline  
Old June 23, 2011, 09:40 AM   #11
chewie146
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2010
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 853
I'm not necessarily looking to surpass the .357, just get as close as I can. If I want to really blow my hair back, I'll use the magnum cases. I just want something with more pop than your standard +P. That's a big area between +P and .357.
chewie146 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:02 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05201 seconds with 10 queries