[berettaprofessor]

My airweight 638 kicks a bit more than I'd like for target practice and I don't reload. Two questions: 1) what is the lightest power commercial 38 special widely available? I've tried wadcutters and don't like them. 2) are there any other loads that can be safely shot from a 38 special? 38 long colt? 38 S&W? others?

Thanks.

[greener]

Try Cowboy loads.

[Jim Watson]

The 130 grain WWB or UMC .38 Special is pretty mild. Anything labeled "Cowboy" will be a light load, particularly if a 125 grain bullet.

A .38 Special will shoot .38 Short or Long Colt, but will NOT shoot .38 S&W.

What was it you didn't like about wadcutters?

[bannockburn]

berettaprofessor

I was going to suggest 148 gr. wadcutters but you say you've tried them and don't like them? What don't you like about them? I have found wadcutters, either factory or my own handloads, to be the lightest, most accurate load I have ever put through any lightweight snubbie. Currently I'm using S&B wadcutters and have been very pleased with the results.

[The Bushmaster]

Or start reloading your own...

[armoredman]

I load my own light loads, fun to do with cheap cast bullets.

[berettaprofessor]

Okay, now a really dumb question....where are loads labeled "Cowboy"? Never saw that on a box of any 38 special I've looked at.

Bannockboy; I couldn't appreciate the kick difference in wadcutters (although I admit I didn't shoot them alternating with FMJ's) and thought they were dirtier.

All this bothers me because I'm usually not particularly recoil sensitive; Mosins, for instance, don't bother me at all.

[jdomin]

reload your own lighter grain bullets

[swampshooter]

i don't know what brand of wadcutter you have been shooting. as a past ppc competition shooter i have shot a 100,000 or so and ww wadcutters or a load of 3 grs. bullseye burns cleaner than any other .38 ammo. i only found it necessary to clean rvery 1,000 rds. or so.

[Iggy]

Have you tried different grips?

[Jim Watson]

The lightest factory load I could Google is the Magtech .38 Special Short round.
This is not an industry standard designation, it pretty much amounts to a .38 Short Colt with inside lubricated bullet for use in modern guns. If a 125 grain bullet at 686 fps has too much recoil, I can only suggest getting a .22.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/34819-5.html

[wnycollector]

38 Spl 100 Gr DEWC from mastercast http://www.mastercast.net/amo.htm are pretty light! They are what my wife started out on with our 638...now she shoots my .357 Ruger Security Six with full bore .357's!

[greyling22]

reloads. try a primer and a wax bullet for zero recoil.

[Shade00]

You don't like wadcutters? Yeesh. That's the lightest commercial stuff I can find.

Old Fuff once told me to look for .38 Short Colt rounds. It's basically just a shorter .38 special - and recoil should go down accordingly.

[1KPerDay]

Wadcutters are much more pleasant to shoot out of my model 37 airweight than the serious stuff. I can actually enjoy shooting it with the wadcutters.

[rcmodel]

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20837&id=0037474216126a&navCount=3&podId=0037474&parentId=cat20837&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20837&hasJS=true

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20837&id=0012663213645a&navCount=3&podId=0012663&parentId=cat20837&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20837&hasJS=true

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20837&id=0037473216117a&navCount=3&podId=0037473&parentId=cat20837&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QX&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20837&hasJS=true

rcmodel

[berettaprofessor]

Thanks for the links to the cowboy loads; I'll try them. And to whoever suggested going to a 22, thanks, but I'm just fine with 45's in a 1911 or 9mm's in any number of guns....I think it's the light weight of the snubby that throws me off with the 38 specials. Maybe, alas, I just need more practice.

[rcmodel]

Or bigger rubber Pachmayr Decelerator grips for range work!

http://www.lymanproducts.com/pachmayr/revolver.htm#Decelerator®

rcmodel

[Pumpkinheaver]

I'll second the cowboy loads.

The 130 FMJ stuff is pretty light as well, winchesters version is a little lighter than the remington.

[foghornl]

A couple of companies make some 130-gr or so FMJ rounds. Federal is one that pops to mind. Pretty easy on the hands.

[Coyote3855]

A clarification on "Cowboy" ammunition. These are loaded to minimum pressure and recoil specifically for Cowboy Action Shooting competition. Scores are based on elapsed time in each shooting stage, minus penalties for misses and procedural errors. It is an advantage to have a low recoil round. This makes recovery and transition to the next target easier and faster. I understand that not everyone is into reloading, but it's not that difficult or expensive to start and it allows you fine tune ammunition to your specific needs. Not to mention saving a bundle of money, or being able to shoot a lot more for the same cost.

[1KPerDay]

Or buy wadcutters for a third of the price. :)

[wjh2657]

Wally World. Winchester White Box 130 gr FMJs. I use them in all of my snubbies for practice. I also have installed Pachmyer COMPAC grips on all of them. I didn't lose that much concealibility versus a whole lot better recoil absorber. I went to WWB 130s because they have same poa/poi as my carry 125 gr loads and are a lot cheaper.

[onebigelf]

I forget who make them but there is a plastic practice round. You hand press a primer into the plastic case and hand press the plastic bullet into the case. The bullets are reuseable and the load is suitable for indoor practice.

John

[jaydubya]

wny said: 38 Spl 100 Gr DEWC from mastercast http://www.mastercast.net/amo.htm are pretty light!

+1 I tried 500 of them, and found them almost in the .22 category, both in sound and recoil. Mastercast is an excellent reloading service. I've now fired more than 5,000 of their reloads with no problems. Prompt, reliable and inexpensive. They are particularly inexpensive if you send them your spent brass in exchange. If you choose to do that, send it USPS Priority Mail. I send a thousand cases that way for nine bucks and change. Any other way I know of costs more than twenty.

One point on the 100 gr DEWCs. They lope along at about 600 fps. I have found that if I shoot them from a snubby (which probably knocks off up to 100 fps) they tend to tear inch-long strips from some targets. This did not happen with my 4" revolver. Nonetheless, I'm shooting Mastercast's 148gr DEWCs now. I'm also shooting their 9x19 lead truncated cone reloads in my Browning High Power, and am very satisfied with this load.

Cordially, Jack

[357wheelgunner]

The Winchester white box stuff is extremely mild. You should probably get a bigger gun if you have trouble with the recoil.

What you could also consider is a .32 mag revolver. The J-frames can fit 6 of them.

[cookekdjr]

I have not tried Remington's 110gr jhp non +p round, but i have heard it is mild.

[GJD]

Hello -

I am a long time lurker (years) and hardly ever post but I have a couple of questions for the people that shot Mastercast's 100gr DEWC reloaded ammunition.

1) How acurate were they from a 4" revolver?

2) Were there any signs of excessive leading?

I am looking to place an order for 1,000 cartridges in the nex week.

Thanks.

[krs]

I forget who make them but there is a plastic practice round. You hand press a primer into the plastic case and hand press the plastic bullet into the case. The bullets are reuseable and the load is suitable for indoor practice.

John

I don't know if they still do, but Speer used to market such a thing. You bought the cases and bullets and supplied a primer.

I tried them once when I was bullseye shooting. I had a 10 meter international air pistol range built in my basement complete with target returner. So I thought to try to practice with a firearm using those things. As I recall the bullet was so light that it would corkscrew or tumble and go every which-a-way except toward the ten ring. Gave that up pretty quick. Porbably still have the silly things here someplace.

[Gideon]

Buy a ruger SP101 either 2" or 3", add Pachmyr Compaq grips, and start over with the .38 wadcutters and you'll have a grin from one ear to the other.

The airweights are great to carry but can be punishing to shoot. Are you using this for CCW? Could you handle a heavier gun like the Ruger? The weight really does tame the recoil.

I have an airweight 642 and a Ruger sp101 in 3" with the grips I mentioned. One can actually hurt with a stout +p .38, the other is like shooting something more than a .22 mag. Now I can shoot +p's in the Ruger and they're great and can even shoot mild .357's without any real problem. Full power or hot .357's still are a handful thought :o

Is this for range, home, car? Get the Ruger 3". If it's for carry and you carry OWB or IWB, get the 2" Ruger DAO.

God Bless
Gideon

[S&Wfan]

Hi,

Just a couple of suggestions.

1. If you have original wood stocks on your Airweight, I STRONGLY recommend the addition of a Tyler T-grip . . . just like those in the know used in the '70s and '80s. They are still in production and truly tame an Airweight's kick well. Frankly, I prefer this set up much better than the Uncle Mike's "rubbers" that are sold to reduce recoil.

Here's a Tyler on my 1971 Model 37 Airweight. Any load I've shot with this set up is comfortable.

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/363/363373/folders/282194/2328567IMG0121e.jpg


2. GRIP THE REVOLVER AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE . . . and grip it FIRMLY! The web of your shooting hand needs to be as high on the horn as possible. This places the gun's boreline as close to your hand-arm-shoulder line as possible. This reduces muzzle flip a lot, and the energy is pushed right down the hand and arm and absorbed by the body.

I see so many shooters gripping their handguns low. It makes their guns kick like heck . . . and also greatly slows down their followup shots. Go to some handgun competitions and you'll see that the ones who shoot well and fast grip the handguns very high . . . reducing muzzle flip and allowing one to shoot fast enough to WIN.

Yep, an Airweight can be comfortable to shoot with the proper grip.

Hope this helps!

T.

[jimmyraythomason]

I have to agree with S&W Fan here. Instead of reducing your .38 loads learn to control what you have. The Tyler grip is an excellent addition to small grips and aids greatly in controlling even +p loads. FWIW,recoil isn't something that I associate with the .38sp.(I shoot a S&W Model 36 and a Taurus Model 85 airweight).

[TEDDY]

I have an airweight and shoot it but I never was into heavy loads.I load my own.HBWC 2.8 gr 700X.thats the standard target load.I load HBWC are hornady.mine is 38 stock.:rolleyes: :D