357/38 reloading questions

[JohnCrighton]

1 - What size/style primer does a .357 magnum need?

2 - What size/style does a .38 need?

3 - What size/style does a .38 +P need?

4 - Can you load a .38 Special/ .38 +P load using a .357 case?

Finally, what bullet/primer/powder combo would you recommend for use in a SP101 snubnose for my wife for concealed carry and home defense use? She is pertty strong and can handle recoil (loves her GP100 4") but just worried a little about the recoil on the snubbie.

Thanks!

[tom234]

Your questions indicate you need a good reloading manual to learn about cartridges, ballistics, and reloading. I recommend either the Lyman Pistol & Revolver Handbook or the Lyman Reloading Handbook for starters.
Start your wife shooting the SP101 with standard .38 Special loads then if she feels comfortable work up to +P and on to .357. She may find that magnum loads are too much to handle. Although a 2" SP-101 weighs ~28 ounces loaded [4" GP-100 weighs ~42 ounces], recoil with .357 magnum loads can be brutal. There is a BIG difference between a 2" SP-101 and 4" G-100.

[Loader9]

1 small pistol
2 small pistol
3 small pistol
4 you can load down 357 to 38 specs but you can't load 38s to 357 specs

For a defense load using 38 Special ammo, look for factory loaded 125 HPs. If recoil isn't an issue, look for factory 357 Mag ammo using the 125 HPs. Frankly, if you're asking these questions, you don't need to be loading defense ammo yet. Also reread the above post from tom234, I'd second his comments.

[zxcvbob]

You can use small pistol primers in all of them, except if you use W296 or H110 powder (those need magnum primers or small rifle primers.) Don't start out with W296 or H110 because they are only useful in absolute-maximum Magnum loads, and many other powders will give you *almost* the same performance without such a narrow band and without needing special primers.

In .38 Special, I like 158 grain lead hollow points. In .357, everything is good, but 125's have an especially good reputation. But still you should probably *buy* your defense and/or carry ammo, especially if you are just starting out. You can load something just like the carry ammo for practice; that works really well with revolvers -- you only have to match the bullet weight and the approximate power level. Autoloaders are more persnickety.

Buy a good reloading manual or two. Read the whole thing, not just the recipes.

Bullseye, Unique, or Herco will do a nice job with both .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads. I haven't tried AA#5 or HS-6 yet, but they ought to be good too.

[Smaug]

I also recommend the Lyman manual. I haven't seen the pistol one, but before I started reloading, I read the instructional part all the way through, and perused the data of cartridges I was thinking of reloading.

Some of these things you're thinking of doing are dangerous, and although you're at a good honest place, you shouldn't be looking to the internet as your first source.

When you find some load data, you'll see what kind of primers are necessary for each load. Magnum primers increase the pressure, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily "better." They're for powder that is harder to ignite, but then less of it is needed.

What I think you should do is to cook up a couple different basic loads. Do one with light bullets and a light charge of fast powder. This will be the easiest load to shoot. Then, try a heavy bullet with the minimum charge. You'll notice recoil goes up and velocity goes down compared to the light bullets. Then, try a medium load with each bullet. Finally, try a +P load for each bullet.

It is my belief that 38 +P is plenty for defense ammo, and that magnum defense ammo is only needed if you plan on shooting someone through car windows and bodies. I think it only increases your liability.

On that point, I don't think handloads should be used for defense ammo. You have access to good bullets, powder, data, etc. But if you or your wife does have to shoot someone, and the prosecutor finds out that you roll your own, you'll be accused of loading ammo specifically to be more damaging/lethal and will have one hell of a time proving you didn't. I reload all my own practice & hunting ammo, but I buy factory ammo marketed for self defense for that purpose. I figure that might even help my case in court, if it gets scrutinized later.

[SL1]

John,

You may be interested in the Speer Reloading Manual #14. Speer makes special bullets for defense loads in snubbies, and shows data for those in a 2.5" barrel test gun, as well as data for all bullets in a 6" barrel test gun (neither Rugers, though).

As stated above, you can down-load 357 Mag cases to 38 Special and 38 +P power levels quite easily. If you use the load data for the 38 in the 357 case, you will get slightly lower velocities, because the 357 case is bigger and that makes the pressure lower for a given amount of powder. No problem adding a little powder above the 38 data, so long as you don't exceed the 357 max charge data.

As for putting 357 power loads in 38 cases, that is a perpetual argument on this site and many others. The BEST reason not to do it is because those rounds MIGHT get chambered in a 38 gun instead of a 357 magnum and that would be WAY over proof pressure for a 38. Another point is that it takes some careful measurements and data adjustment to keep the pressures from exceeding the 357 limits. Because the 38 Special case is smaller than the 357 magnum case, putting the amount of powder in it that would produce max 357 mag pressure in a 357 Mag case will produce even higher pressure in a 38 Special case. Your questions indicate that you are not yet familiar with the issues that you would need to master in order to safely load 38 Special cases to higher pressures than the SAAMI specs for the 38 Special cartridge. So, I would suggest that you not go there, at least for now. If and when you think you are ready and want to do it some time in the future, search these forums for the topic and start asking questions here to be sure you have the concepts and procedures straight.

SL1