38 special 130 grain FMJ reloads
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:11 pm
I don't shoot .38s in my .357 Big Boy or my .357 Uberti Cattleman, but I do have lots of brass, lots of ZERO 130 grain FMJs (which I bought for, but was advised not to shoot in .357 cases in my BBB), and lots of Unique. So, I thought I would dedicate the bullets, brass, and powder to this 1956 Colt Official Police Revolver. It is in pristine condition; 100% bluing, sparkling clean barrel and cylinder, and shoots like a dream.
But, there isn't any published data that I could find for the bullet in this caliber, meaning a bit of extrapolation and experimentation was required. Hornady's Ninth Edition provides data for Unique with .125 and .140 XTPs, so I used them for my calculations. I decided to start with 4.7, 5.0, and 5.2 grains for these reloads.
I loaded six each and took them to the range yesterday, shooting at a distance of 15 feet. I shot at four targets, one each for the reloads and a fourth for Winchester factory 130 FMJs.
For the reloads, I shot single action, two hands, elbows resting on the bench. For the Winchesters, I shot double action, some resting on one elbow, but most sitting, off hand.
I've got several hundred cases cleaned and primed, ready to add powder and bullets. I decided I like the 4.7 grain load best, though the 5.0 load is a very close second. I thought the 5.2 load was a bit too much for this old gun. I don't want to beat it up; I just want to enjoy shooting it when I can. And, yesterday, I had fun with it.
It originally was a policeman's service revolver in my home town, and came into my father-in-law's possession when that officer retired. He eventually gave it to me, and it is the only reason that I obtained a pistol permit and began my shooting hobby, for which I am very grateful.
Here's the gun:
Here are the targets. The photo was taken with my phone from the bench, about 15 feet away.
But, there isn't any published data that I could find for the bullet in this caliber, meaning a bit of extrapolation and experimentation was required. Hornady's Ninth Edition provides data for Unique with .125 and .140 XTPs, so I used them for my calculations. I decided to start with 4.7, 5.0, and 5.2 grains for these reloads.
Code: Select all
Bullet 750 fps 800 fps 850 fps
125.0 5.1 5.3 5.6
140.0 4.2 4.7 5.2
130.0 4.7 5.0 5.2
For the reloads, I shot single action, two hands, elbows resting on the bench. For the Winchesters, I shot double action, some resting on one elbow, but most sitting, off hand.
I've got several hundred cases cleaned and primed, ready to add powder and bullets. I decided I like the 4.7 grain load best, though the 5.0 load is a very close second. I thought the 5.2 load was a bit too much for this old gun. I don't want to beat it up; I just want to enjoy shooting it when I can. And, yesterday, I had fun with it.
It originally was a policeman's service revolver in my home town, and came into my father-in-law's possession when that officer retired. He eventually gave it to me, and it is the only reason that I obtained a pistol permit and began my shooting hobby, for which I am very grateful.
Here's the gun:
- Colt Official Police 38 Special 1956.jpg (159.77 KiB) Viewed 1918 times
Here are the targets. The photo was taken with my phone from the bench, about 15 feet away.
- .38 special 130 grain FMJ.png (617.36 KiB) Viewed 1918 times
