Henry Rifle Forums

Nice lazy day today, so, wondering, who here loads for the .38 spl? I do, and it's usually 5.0gr Unique under a 158gr Missouri coated bullet. These are shot thru my Ruger BH and occasinally my Henry. How about you folks?

Hey Tom,

My go to load for 38 Special is 5.1 grains of Unique also pushing a Hornady JHP XTP round at 800 FPS. I get great performance out of this load.

I have also ran loads with Bullseye and HS6 and do not get the same level of performance from either.

I am shooting either a Smith 686 or Python and have also preformed well in my Blackhawk.

I dont shoot much 38 special but I carry one everyday. I dont leave home without it. But my loads are usually 231 about 4.5 grains if I recall right.

runnin n gunnin wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 22, 2021 6:13 pm

Hey Tom,

My go to load for 38 Special is 5.1 grains of Unique also pushing a Hornady JHP XTP round at 800 FPS. I get great performance out of this load.

I have also ran loads with Bullseye and HS6 and do not get the same level of performance from either.

I am shooting either a Smith 686 or Python and have also preformed well in my Blackhawk.

RnG you ever use HS-6 in 357?

I have not. I have been using Bullseye and Alliant 2400 for .357 for both pistol and rifle. As you can see by the data, I have not played with loads for over a year as I was out of small pistol magnum primers. However, I just scored 2 bricks of Federal SPM and 2 bricks of CCI SPM, so I will be gearing back up soon.

Here is what I shot and how they preformed:

Well that sucked, sorry for the distorted pictures.

Interesting. Ive never used mag primers with 2400. Looks like you are using those exclusively though

I have these 38’s loaded using Tite Group and a plated bullet. I didn’t run much of an accuracy test as I recall as I loaded these for casual shooting in a Poly Ruger LCR and my K frame Smith 19 that I don’t run many full power 357’s thru. But, seeing the load date of 2015 I guess I had better get out and shoot some!

38 Spl. has always been a favorite of mine. I like to load them down for plinking. I use the Missouri 158 gr. RNFP bullet with 3,5 gr. of Universal pushing it. This is real kitty cat sneeze load, very pleasant to shoot out of my S&W model 19 with round butt. It also works well in my Cimarron 357 mag revolver. I've fired this same rounds from my Henry BBS in 357 mag. and no issue of a carbon ring in the chamber.

I also load the same bullet with 5.8 gr. of Alliant Power Pistol. That is a +P load and is very accurate out of the Henry and Cimarron. It also has just a little more recoil.

Besides I have a lot of 38 Spl. brass sitting around and might as well put it to use.

Paul

I was using 5.6 gr. of Power Pistol with a 158 gr. cast bullet but am down to my last pound of it. Have plenty of Unique to fall back on and Red Dot too if it works well for .38 Special. I also load a Special load in Magnum brass with 6 gr. of Power Pistol but Unique could work there also. Use what you have now days!
For primers seems Small Magnum Pistol primers works fine even with 2400 powder. Have used them and not much difference in speeds.

All my 38's are reloaded with my cast bullets. Wadcutters and semi wadcutters. I never load the .38 hot. I use 231/Unique and Shooter's World powders.

Here are a few of my recent favorites.
Pay no attention to the dates shown. I initially put together many different recipes, and didn’t get to test them for a while.
Also, I say recent because I recently found them to be excellent in my fairly new rifles. Previously, they were made for handguns.

With LSWC bullets for .38 special, I use 4.7 grains of Unique or 4.2 grains of HP-38. I use the coated MBC LSWC bullets that are 12BHN.

148 wadcutters I've been using 2.5gr imr target, it's a pleasant range load in the S&W 10-5. imr target doesn't meter for I use a 0.30cc dipper because I'm not in a hurry

Hey Tom I use it also in my 25-20 cast loads.
Don't take much though 2.8-3.0, with an 85 gr fn.

RP

I would like to reload 38 spl but have not found a good price on cases, any help would be appreciated. Not much luck with primers also. I would like to get out and do some target practice with my Ruger sp101 really like shooting it great gun, I’m going to save the loading info for a later time when components become some what available.

your SP101 should be able to handle 357 ammo .... if/when you wish reload, I suggest you consider using 357 cases and fill them with 38 Spl level components .... by doing so you will eliminate the need for 2 different cases and not have to deal with the carbon ring that can be formed from firing shorter 38's in a 357 length cylinder

Agree with Jim. To each there own. I just load special loads in 357 cases. I do have a 38 special carry gun and a bunch of brass loaded for it. I loaded them when primers were still available. I may now pull those bullets in my spare time and get those primers. Might have some 38 special brass in the future for sale

Carver,what Jim and Al said is good advice. Do you have .357 cases? And for that matter, primers? If you still use .38 spl cases to load, be sure to clean those cylinder chambers after each outing to eliminate that carbon ring Jim mentioned.

Good advice from all, I’m still looking for cases. I like the idea of using 357 cases as the 38 spl do leave a bunch of crud in the cylinder. Mostly I have been shooting mostly 9mm and 45 which keeps me busy reloading, i will keep looking around and see what I can find.
Thanks for the input Bill