Ahh that's 38 SPL. Can't help, I normally load wadcutters.
New To Me 38 SPC Load
I have never loaded this profile bullet before. Summer's 158 gr lead round nose flat point. LRNFP
I am loading them over 3.2 gr of WST. My competition target load. Good results with that gr SWC lead bullet and powder load in Distinguished Revolver comp.
I am Crimping them to .370
What I mostly had questions about was the overall length. C.O.L.
After "some" research I am loading these LRNFP bullets to 1.470 C.O.L
I load 158 gr LSWC to 1.420 C.O.L (on right)
I am hoping for two things from you. Affirmation that this is EXACTLY how you would load them. (assume they were your only bullets as mine are)
OR.......A "oh hell NO don't shoot em"!! I mean... it's 3.2 of WST... how bad can it go?
OK third thing. What is y'alls current 158 gr bullet recommendation? Coated? Jacketed? Lead ? Personal defense load and bullet? Zombies are on their way??
Do you load any Personal Defense or Plus +P ammo? Or just buy it?
Thanks in advance. NM BUZZ
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
I would NOT load them exactly that way.
Given a proper revolver bullet with a crimp groove, I crimp into the groove and let the OAL fall where it may.
I think these "round nose flat point" bullets came about because of the popularity of .357 lever actions for CAS, etc.
I have gone almost entirely to coated bullets for bulk pistol ammo.
I do not handload defense ammo. I had a project to qualify a handload not available factory loaded but the metal gun fell out of use as I went to subcompact plastic.
Given a proper revolver bullet with a crimp groove, I crimp into the groove and let the OAL fall where it may.
I think these "round nose flat point" bullets came about because of the popularity of .357 lever actions for CAS, etc.
I have gone almost entirely to coated bullets for bulk pistol ammo.
I do not handload defense ammo. I had a project to qualify a handload not available factory loaded but the metal gun fell out of use as I went to subcompact plastic.
Generally for 38 special, you can load long as long as they fit and work in the cylinder. If I once in a while get some oddball bullets I load them to 38 specs and if they are a tad too long for my 38 spl. , I shoot them out of a .357 magnum. I would rather make a bullet a bit long, then c.o.l. too short and over pressure. I usually let the crimp grove be my guide as where the bullet is intended to be loaded as far as length, but it does look like you are loading those long. As far as lead or coated bullets I've been buying(Badman Bullets) great bullet, accurate, and can load from mild to magnum velocity.....and you final question, I load my own .38 special personal defense loads, I load lead for .38 special for some of my older revolvers and Hornady 158gr XTP for +P and +P+ for .357 magnum and newer 38 special revolvers.
I have strong opinions on this subject backed only by my hands-on experience over three decades. Apologies now for the length of my post.
First -- no, I would never load those bullets like that in .38 Special. I say this because .38 Special is a low pressure round with -tons- of internal combustion space. With COAL, each different bullet/caliber/firearm has different demands and I look at each like it's own animal. So with each, I try and do a risk/reward to see what we gain vs what we risk.
The gain (for THIS particular round) to loading long like you show is a better feed geometry for a lever gun... and a potential gain some folks have found is that a shorter jump to the forcing cone CAN possibly improve accuracy slightly, and this varies widely.
What's the risk here? The risk is most definitely lower pressure. To some maybe that doesn't sound like a risk, that sounds "safe!" but lots of experience has taught me -NO- when we are talking about low pressure rounds in revolvers. I'll explain:
Every revolver except the craptastic Nagant oddball has a flash gap where the cylinder must be allowed to rotate freely and not contact the forcing cone. This gap is a pressure bleed valve that you cannot change. It exists and pressure absolutely always bleeds from this gap.
If you are loading stout ammo, no worries. If you are loading low-end, sedate, mild loads (in a revolver!) then you may be losing very much needed pressure at the flash gap.
Your risk is of sticking a bullet. To be clear, a swaged lead or a cast lead bullet like this one is your lowest risk of sticking a bullet, so that's in your favor. A coated bullet is worse, plated and jacketed are FAR worse. And the lighter the bullet, the bigger the risk of sticking it. That these are 158gr is far better than 125's.
I have not looked up this load you're using so I have no idea where it lands with regards to published max or expected velocity. But if it's a light load, it will be even lighter with more combustion space inside this cartridge. And unlike 9mm or .40cal, there is a ton of space inside the .38 Special case.
Loading bullets long in revolvers is just something that I avoid all of the time. That bullet clearly has a crimp groove, it makes good sense to use it. You don't need a heavy crimp, but the bullet is made for a roll crimp, so give it one.
Without looking at the published data, I would not say that these are "dangerous" and if you've already made up a box, I would probably shoot them, paying close attention to how they feel and getting a chrono on them if you have a chrono.
Going forward, no, I would never build them this way.
No, I don't load my own defense ammo. That is a "can of worms" subject that's too much energy for too little payoff.
First -- no, I would never load those bullets like that in .38 Special. I say this because .38 Special is a low pressure round with -tons- of internal combustion space. With COAL, each different bullet/caliber/firearm has different demands and I look at each like it's own animal. So with each, I try and do a risk/reward to see what we gain vs what we risk.
The gain (for THIS particular round) to loading long like you show is a better feed geometry for a lever gun... and a potential gain some folks have found is that a shorter jump to the forcing cone CAN possibly improve accuracy slightly, and this varies widely.
What's the risk here? The risk is most definitely lower pressure. To some maybe that doesn't sound like a risk, that sounds "safe!" but lots of experience has taught me -NO- when we are talking about low pressure rounds in revolvers. I'll explain:
Every revolver except the craptastic Nagant oddball has a flash gap where the cylinder must be allowed to rotate freely and not contact the forcing cone. This gap is a pressure bleed valve that you cannot change. It exists and pressure absolutely always bleeds from this gap.
If you are loading stout ammo, no worries. If you are loading low-end, sedate, mild loads (in a revolver!) then you may be losing very much needed pressure at the flash gap.
Your risk is of sticking a bullet. To be clear, a swaged lead or a cast lead bullet like this one is your lowest risk of sticking a bullet, so that's in your favor. A coated bullet is worse, plated and jacketed are FAR worse. And the lighter the bullet, the bigger the risk of sticking it. That these are 158gr is far better than 125's.
I have not looked up this load you're using so I have no idea where it lands with regards to published max or expected velocity. But if it's a light load, it will be even lighter with more combustion space inside this cartridge. And unlike 9mm or .40cal, there is a ton of space inside the .38 Special case.
Loading bullets long in revolvers is just something that I avoid all of the time. That bullet clearly has a crimp groove, it makes good sense to use it. You don't need a heavy crimp, but the bullet is made for a roll crimp, so give it one.
Without looking at the published data, I would not say that these are "dangerous" and if you've already made up a box, I would probably shoot them, paying close attention to how they feel and getting a chrono on them if you have a chrono.
Going forward, no, I would never build them this way.
No, I don't load my own defense ammo. That is a "can of worms" subject that's too much energy for too little payoff.
I have strong opinions on this subject backed only by my hands-on experience over three decades. Apologies now for the length of my post.
First -- no, I would never load those bullets like that in .38 Special. I say this because .38 Special is a low pressure round with -tons- of internal combustion space. With COAL, each different bullet/caliber/firearm has different demands and I look at each like it's own animal. So with each, I try and do a risk/reward to see what we gain vs what we risk.
The gain (for THIS particular round) to loading long like you show is a better feed geometry for a lever gun... and a potential gain some folks have found is that a shorter jump to the forcing cone CAN possibly improve accuracy slightly, and this varies widely.
What's the risk here? The risk is most definitely lower pressure. To some maybe that doesn't sound like a risk, that sounds "safe!" but lots of experience has taught me -NO- when we are talking about low pressure rounds in revolvers. I'll explain:
Every revolver except the craptastic Nagant oddball has a flash gap where the cylinder must be allowed to rotate freely and not contact the forcing cone. This gap is a pressure bleed valve that you cannot change. It exists and pressure absolutely always bleeds from this gap.
If you are loading stout ammo, no worries. If you are loading low-end, sedate, mild loads (in a revolver!) then you may be losing very much needed pressure at the flash gap.
Your risk is of sticking a bullet. To be clear, a swaged lead or a cast lead bullet like this one is your lowest risk of sticking a bullet, so that's in your favor. A coated bullet is worse, plated and jacketed are FAR worse. And the lighter the bullet, the bigger the risk of sticking it. That these are 158gr is far better than 125's.
I have not looked up this load you're using so I have no idea where it lands with regards to published max or expected velocity. But if it's a light load, it will be even lighter with more combustion space inside this cartridge. And unlike 9mm or .40cal, there is a ton of space inside the .38 Special case.
Loading bullets long in revolvers is just something that I avoid all of the time. That bullet clearly has a crimp groove, it makes good sense to use it. You don't need a heavy crimp, but the bullet is made for a roll crimp, so give it one.
Without looking at the published data, I would not say that these are "dangerous" and if you've already made up a box, I would probably shoot them, paying close attention to how they feel and getting a chrono on them if you have a chrono.
Going forward, no, I would never build them this way.
No, I don't load my own defense ammo. That is a "can of worms" subject that's too much energy for too little payoff.
An experienced reply that I very much appreciate.
I took my loaded rounds and reset and recrimped them in my
I have strong opinions on this subject backed only by my hands-on experience over three decades. Apologies now for the length of my post.
First -- no, I would never load those bullets like that in .38 Special. I say this because .38 Special is a low pressure round with -tons- of internal combustion space. With COAL, each different bullet/caliber/firearm has different demands and I look at each like it's own animal. So with each, I try and do a risk/reward to see what we gain vs what we risk.
The gain (for THIS particular round) to loading long like you show is a better feed geometry for a lever gun... and a potential gain some folks have found is that a shorter jump to the forcing cone CAN possibly improve accuracy slightly, and this varies widely.
What's the risk here? The risk is most definitely lower pressure. To some maybe that doesn't sound like a risk, that sounds "safe!" but lots of experience has taught me -NO- when we are talking about low pressure rounds in revolvers. I'll explain:
Every revolver except the craptastic Nagant oddball has a flash gap where the cylinder must be allowed to rotate freely and not contact the forcing cone. This gap is a pressure bleed valve that you cannot change. It exists and pressure absolutely always bleeds from this gap.
If you are loading stout ammo, no worries. If you are loading low-end, sedate, mild loads (in a revolver!) then you may be losing very much needed pressure at the flash gap.
Your risk is of sticking a bullet. To be clear, a swaged lead or a cast lead bullet like this one is your lowest risk of sticking a bullet, so that's in your favor. A coated bullet is worse, plated and jacketed are FAR worse. And the lighter the bullet, the bigger the risk of sticking it. That these are 158gr is far better than 125's.
I have not looked up this load you're using so I have no idea where it lands with regards to published max or expected velocity. But if it's a light load, it will be even lighter with more combustion space inside this cartridge. And unlike 9mm or .40cal, there is a ton of space inside the .38 Special case.
Loading bullets long in revolvers is just something that I avoid all of the time. That bullet clearly has a crimp groove, it makes good sense to use it. You don't need a heavy crimp, but the bullet is made for a roll crimp, so give it one.
Without looking at the published data, I would not say that these are "dangerous" and if you've already made up a box, I would probably shoot them, paying close attention to how they feel and getting a chrono on them if you have a chrono.
Going forward, no, I would never build them this way.
No, I don't load my own defense ammo. That is a "can of worms" subject that's too much energy for too little payoff.
I very much appreciate the experienced feedback.I have strong opinions on this subject backed only by my hands-on experience over three decades. Apologies now for the length of my post.
First -- no, I would never load those bullets like that in .38 Special. I say this because .38 Special is a low pressure round with -tons- of internal combustion space. With COAL, each different bullet/caliber/firearm has different demands and I look at each like it's own animal. So with each, I try and do a risk/reward to see what we gain vs what we risk.
The gain (for THIS particular round) to loading long like you show is a better feed geometry for a lever gun... and a potential gain some folks have found is that a shorter jump to the forcing cone CAN possibly improve accuracy slightly, and this varies widely.
What's the risk here? The risk is most definitely lower pressure. To some maybe that doesn't sound like a risk, that sounds "safe!" but lots of experience has taught me -NO- when we are talking about low pressure rounds in revolvers. I'll explain:
Every revolver except the craptastic Nagant oddball has a flash gap where the cylinder must be allowed to rotate freely and not contact the forcing cone. This gap is a pressure bleed valve that you cannot change. It exists and pressure absolutely always bleeds from this gap.
If you are loading stout ammo, no worries. If you are loading low-end, sedate, mild loads (in a revolver!) then you may be losing very much needed pressure at the flash gap.
Your risk is of sticking a bullet. To be clear, a swaged lead or a cast lead bullet like this one is your lowest risk of sticking a bullet, so that's in your favor. A coated bullet is worse, plated and jacketed are FAR worse. And the lighter the bullet, the bigger the risk of sticking it. That these are 158gr is far better than 125's.
I have not looked up this load you're using so I have no idea where it lands with regards to published max or expected velocity. But if it's a light load, it will be even lighter with more combustion space inside this cartridge. And unlike 9mm or .40cal, there is a ton of space inside the .38 Special case.
Loading bullets long in revolvers is just something that I avoid all of the time. That bullet clearly has a crimp groove, it makes good sense to use it. You don't need a heavy crimp, but the bullet is made for a roll crimp, so give it one.
Without looking at the published data, I would not say that these are "dangerous" and if you've already made up a box, I would probably shoot them, paying close attention to how they feel and getting a chrono on them if you have a chrono.
Going forward, no, I would never build them this way.
No, I don't load my own defense ammo. That is a "can of worms" subject that's too much energy for too little payoff.
I took my loaded rounds and re seated and re crimped them in my Dillon XL 650. They are now seated at an OAL of 1.420 and a crimp of .369. This seating puts the crimp in the
groove and the cartridge looks much more .... conventional.
I thank you all for your feedback. NMBUZZ
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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