reloading 38specials

[larry7293]

What would you recommend for my first attempt at loading 38specials for my henry big boy classic? Which bullet, thinking maybe RNFP but not sure. Also what bullet, may 158gr and bullseye powder. Would appreciate any suggestions about what works and what does not. Also good places for buying bullets?

thanks

[JEBar]

for our family's Henry 357 as our first choice in practice bullets we really like Missouri Bullet Company's 158 gr. Coated Bullets ====> http://missouribullet.com/details.php?p ... &keywords= will a 38 spl level of Bullseye Powder .... when we can't get them we find the same load with 158 gr. Oregon Trail's Laser Cut RN FP ====> http://www.cabelas.com/product/Oregon-T ... 6CQ_st%3Db .... for hunting bullets we like Nosler's 158 gr JHP's ====> http://www.cabelas.com/product/Nosler-J ... 6CQ_st%3Db pushed by Nosler's max load of W296 or H110 ... while ours handles 38 casings with no problem, we only use 357's

[clovishound]

If you are going to load for your Henry, why not just go ahead and load .357 mag cases? While mine feeds .38s fine, the .357 is a better fit, and I don't have to worry about a ring forming at the end of the .38 in the chamber, causing problems chambering .357s down the road. I get more of a kick out of them and feel like I am firing a "real" rifle instead of a rimfire. Even at full house top end magnum loads, the .357 in a rifle has minimal recoil. I just plain enjoy .357s more than .38s from the rifle. Clovispup agrees, and she shoots the Henry lots more than I do.

The only up side to .38s that I see is the availability of cases. As a minor consideration, the barrel will heat up slower with .38s.

Given your supposition, though I would definitely stick with 158 grain. For target loads, I would stick with either coated or plated bullets. For plated you can either use standard plate, and be careful about the powder and load range to keep your MV under 1200 fps, or go for heavy plate which will take you up to 1500. FWIW, I use Xtreme's heavy plate HPs. They feed well and will handle anything up to full magnum loads with magnum powders like 110. Most good coated will handle any target loads as far as speed goes.

For my Big Boy I use the above mentioned Xtreme heavy plate HPs in .357 cases using mid level loads and Universal powder. I get good accuracy, and decent economy. For full on accuracy I use jacketed 158 grain bullets and 4227. They pack a bigger punch and higher MV and are a little more accurate than the plated/Universal loads. I used the faster powders, like HP38 and TItegroup, but did not get nearly as good accuracy as I did with a medium speed powder like Universal. This was with plated. I didn't go through the process with coated, as haven't found a coated that gives me the characteristics I want and is significantly cheaper than the Xtremes.

As to bullet profile, I prefer HPs or RNFP, but truncated cones work well also. Even SWCs work, but these would not be my preferred profile. Some folks run cast lead through theirs successfully. I had leading issues and decided not to go though the hassle of getting the bugs worked out. Also the cast requires you to be diligent keeping your dies clean of lube. Cast is definitely cheaper.

I have tried a number of bullets and powders, but not exhaustively. I found something I really liked and stuck with it.

Good luck.

[ditto1958]

OP, unless you already have a boatload of 38 special brass, I second the suggestion to load 357. I'd start with 158 grain roundnose bullets. For your rifle, you can load anything from light cowboy loads up to 1700 fps screamers.

It doesn't cost any more to load 357 brass than for loading 38 special brass. The 357 brass will tend to cycle more smoothly in your Henry.

[CT_Shooter]

As suggested by both clovishound and ditto1958, you would be best served if you just reloaded .357s for your Henry.

However, if you also have a .38 for which you also want to reload, a few years ago I did reload a few hundred .38 specials using Hornady 158 LSWCs with HP-38 using data from Hornady's 9th Edition. I restrained from using the highest and the lowest suggested charges and used middle range amounts of powder. They were good and accurate, but I haven't continued to use them -- just cuz. I've long since settled on only shooting jacketed bullets in .357 cases in my Henry rifle and Uberti revolver and, for them I use several different powders to reload depending on the bullet weights, which are 125, 130, and 158 grains. The powders I use are Unique, Universal, HP-38, and H110 and I use data from published sources like Lyman, Lee, Hornady, and Hodgdon. These sources vary quite a bit, so it's been a bit experimental, but I've been careful and cautious and always start low and work up.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide to do and how it works out for you. My recommendation is to use carefully considered, published data, regardless of the bullet or bullet type.

[rhill]

I can't add much more, all the above is great advise, I agree with what has already been said.
Do not overlook lead boolits coated with HI Tek coating, I know you can get them from Mo. Bullet Co. and Gateway Bullets. I cast and coat my own and do not have any issues with leading or accuracy, without the stickyness of boolit lube or handling bare lead.

[BigAl52]

I shoot 38 and 357 in mine. I dont mind cleaning the chamber gotta clean the gun anyway. I use a Berrys 158gr round nose and 4.5 grains of 231 they shoot great. I use a round nose flat point in 357 and 5.6 grains of 231. Both loads work and shoot great. Just my 2 cents worth. For full house 357 loads I have always had good luck with 2400. Al

[JEBar]

as an addition to my comment above .... once our current stock of several hundred practice 38 level loads in 357 casings is expended we plan to reload them with 357 level powder charges .... doing so will simplify our handling of 357 reloading .... full power loads fired from our Henry 357 create next to no recoil, they shoot flatter, further .... to us those are positive features when practicing at 50+ yards .... the only difference between practice and hunting loads will be bullet (jacketed hollow points for hunting), powder type and charge

[Steve51]

I really enjoy shooting .38 spl from a handgun but as others have mentioned, I only load magnum cases for my Henry BBS 357.

I refitted mine with a Skinner barrel mount sight and changed my front sight to a Marbles 1/16" gold bead with a .500 height. I zeroed mine at 50yds with Hornady 158 grain XTP JHP bullets over 14.5 grains of Alliant 2400 powder. Velocity is somewhere around 1680 fps. Dead on at 25 & 50 yds. About 1" low at 75 yds and 3" low at 100 yds. For now I have settled on this load for my rifle. Although I seldom would take a 125 yd shot, I checked the drop at 125 yds and it seems to be about 6" - 7" (maybe 8").

I loaded some rounds with X-treme plated RNFP and plated SWC. They were all over the place - too fast for plated bullets.
I also loaded some Missouri Bullet 158 hard cast swc. They shot about 1 to 1.5" higher than the Hornady's at 50yds.

The Hornady XTP's are not cheap but they are the most accurate I have tried to date.

When loading rifle ammo, I try to find a load that works good and stay with it. Small powder changes and bullet changes can make a big change in POI. Not so critical with handguns at short ranges.

Whatever you try it will be a learning experience & that is part of the fun and facination.

[larry7293]

Could I use the Missouri Bullet "358158RNFP .358 Diameter158 Grain RNFPBrinell 12For Tubular Magazines" to reload in a .357 case? Missouri Bullet has these listed under 38specials not in the 357 magnum section? If I could use these what powder would you say to use{maybe Bullseye} and how many grains? Wouldn't the powder load be different for the 358mag than using the 38sp case or could I load the same powder amount in either case?

thanks