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Old April 25, 2012, 04:26 PM   #1
Roland Thunder
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.38 Special 158gr SWC

Can anyone suggest a place I can find 158 grain semi .38 spl wadcutters for sale. the need to be .358 diameter.
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Old April 25, 2012, 04:41 PM   #2
beat-tu
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Missouri Bullet.

Tom
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Old April 25, 2012, 05:00 PM   #3
Hammerhead
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Make sure you get the softer alloy for .38 spl. I use Speer and Hornady swaged lead SWC's in .38 because they're very soft, which is what you need to prevent leading in low pressure loads.
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Old April 25, 2012, 05:09 PM   #4
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http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14...158gr_SWC.aspx

http://www.bulletsdirect.com/

http://www.mastercast.net/mastercast...t_Bullets.html

Among others these will work, shop around and find what works best for you.
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Old April 25, 2012, 05:25 PM   #5
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I use Rimrock .38/.357 bullets Work good in my .357 (.38 power levels) .

Just got home and checked my tables.... Have loaded this bullet from 713fps to 1191fps ... No leading .
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Old April 25, 2012, 08:01 PM   #6
Salmoneye
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http://www.pennbullets.com/38/38-caliber.html
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Old April 25, 2012, 08:13 PM   #7
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mastercastbullets.com

I buy the regular hard cast bullets for .357 Magnum, but for .38 Special you'll probably want the softer alloy -- and those are cheaper. (I cast my own bullets for .38 Special; I mix hard lead and soft lead about 50:50)
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Old April 25, 2012, 08:51 PM   #8
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+2 for Rim Rock bullets great service. I tried their 158gr WNSWC .358" BHN 12 the weight averages 162gr. Good bullet the metplate is about .280"
http://www.rimrockbullets.net/reload...roducts_id=148
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Old April 25, 2012, 09:05 PM   #9
Axelwik
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Pretty easy to cast them yourself (and a hell of a lot cheaper).
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Old April 25, 2012, 09:28 PM   #10
joneb
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Quote:
Pretty easy to cast them yourself (and a hell of a lot cheaper).
I do plan on it. How long does it take to cast 500 bullets ? and at what cost for the lead ?
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Old April 25, 2012, 09:43 PM   #11
zxcvbob
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Quote:
I do plan on it. How long does it take to cast 500 bullets ? and at what cost for the lead ?
It takes me a couple of hours to do that many, but usually I stop at maybe 200 or so.

Ballpark figures, lead costs about $1 per pound for good lead of undetermined alloy shipped to your door, or $2 for certified alloy from a foundry with a decent amount of tin, or free if you're willing to put a lot of work into it. Or somewhere in between (like whatever the local scrap yard will sell lead pipe and roof flashing for)

Each pound of lead will get you about 40 bullets, but you probably knew that part.
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Old April 25, 2012, 09:54 PM   #12
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So if I want to cast 158gr lswc, 500 would require 12lbs of lead alloy which could cost $24 I buy cast bullets for $36 lubed and sized. I'm not sure if it is worth my time, but I'm still interested.
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Old April 25, 2012, 10:56 PM   #13
Axelwik
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I buy most of my lead on ebay which is about a buck a pound (about $13 for 500 bullets). Saves me having to scrounge for lead locally. If you're willing to do a little scrounging the price ranges from free to very little.

Just another aspect of the hobby... satisfying for me.
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Old April 25, 2012, 11:47 PM   #14
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The last time I bought them was from Georgia Arms.
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Old April 26, 2012, 01:02 AM   #15
kxkid
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Billybullets.com they are molly-koted and can be pushed to jacked speeds

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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Old April 26, 2012, 09:40 PM   #16
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My lead comes from the tire shops. $10 and a bucket of iced down beer will get me a 5 gal bucket of wheel weights. About 80% of that will be usable for bullet casting. So my cost goes to about maybe 5 cents per pound. The mold cost me less than $20 from Midway.com I tumble lube with liquid allox.
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Old April 27, 2012, 09:58 PM   #17
Newton24b
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this is strange, doesnt anyone have an issue with bullets from the same mold, using different lead coming out at different sizes. and bullets coming out at varying sizes traditionally need to be sized by the bullet caster and the 2012 master catalog from cabelas will put you back about 300 dollars for a sizer/luber.
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