[Mauser lover]

I was looking for some kind of powder that will be a good compromise between .38 Special, and .357 Remington Magnum. I will be shooting hard cast bullets, and want something that will be easy to adapt to both cartridges.
I am aware that a light charge of "bullseye" can be used in both, as can many other powders, but I would like some other, slower burning options, as I would like to make some hotter rounds (not hard cast) while still maintaining the interchangeability. I hope my question makes sense, I am looking for a semi-slow burning powder that can be used for .38 and .357 mag. Well not really looking for one, but looking for advice on which one to use.

[Certaindeaf]

Well, the easy answer would be Unique.

[Taroman]

Check out Hodgdon's Universal (Clays Technology)

I have found it useful in many different powders for mid-range loads.

[ljnowell]

A lot of people will say Unique, and on paper and in practice it will do the trick. I just dont like the stuff. It doesnt meter well in any measure i have used and its still too dirty, even the new "clean" unique.

I really cant say that any powder that I use is perfect for both. I use AA#2 (think fast like bullseye) in both, but its surely not a thumper load in 357. Decent velocity though. It performs well in 38s, though it is a small charge in a big ol' case. I also use power pistol in both 357 and 38. Of the powders that I use I would have to say that its the one that I cross over from 38 to 357 with.

For instance, I load 158gr LSWC and LSWC-HP in 38 cases with it and also am known to use it for 158gr LSWCHP and LSWC in 357 cases also. I find that it gives great top end performance in the 38 special cartridge, albeit with lots of unecessary flash and boom, but i like that. It doesnt make it to my 2400 loads in 357, but then again, I wouldnt expect it to.

Hope some of this helps you buddy!

[7mmb]

Your best bet would be one of the medium burning powders for both cartridges, like Unique. Like ljnowell posted it is dirty and doesn't meter very well. I use Universal for my mid-range 357 loads. It meters well enough and is very clean, cleaner than even the VihtaVuori powders I have been using! Any of the powders in this burning range will work well for what you want. I went with Universal.

[zxcvbob]

That would be Unique. Or if you want to favor the .357, use Herco. If you want to favor the .38, use HP38 or 231 (they are the same powder with 2 different labels now)

[ArchAngelCD]

Since I use a lot of W231/HP-38 that is probably a good place to start. If your .38 special rounds are going to be on the high end of the pressure range I would suggest HS-6 or AA#5. Both will do a good job making middle to middle-high end .357 Magnum rounds.

I mostly use 3 powders for all my handgun ammo, W231 (HP-38), W540 (HS-6) and W296 (H110) and they cover most anything you would want to load.

[Mauser lover]

ljnowell, thanks, that is EXACTLY what I was looking for, good top end .38, good mid level .357. Thanks a lot!

If you want to, keep posting suggestions, I am not killing this thread just yet, so please post your favorite powder for these kind of crossover loads.

[gamestalker]

HS6 and Longshot will both perform very well in both of those cartridges. However, Hogdon doesn't include any data for standard 38 spcl using Longshot, except for +P data. I regularly load 38 spcl. +P using Longshot and it's an amazing powder for this task. HS6 is also very nice for this type of upper velocity load and is still considered a slow burning powder as per the 38 spcl. application. Both work well for .357 mag. but in terms of burn rate for that cartridge they, are a bit fast in comparison to other magnum powders such as 2400, and the big daddy of magnum slow burners is H110 / 296, not a 38 spcl. compatable powder though.
GS

[Salmoneye]

Check out page 42:

http://glarp.atk.com/2004/2004Catalogs/2004AlliantPowderSM.pdf

[kevpie]

I have been using Unique for 30 years with no problem.

[coalman]

Well, the easy answer would be Unique.

Ding, ding, ding, ding...

[The Bushmaster]

W-231

[USSR]

No question - Unique.

Don

[Kernel]

Accurate No.5 works well with both. It won't break any records, but it can get "warm" in the .357. It's a spherical powder that meters well.

[tlen]

Herco

[jfh]

Ramshot's True Blue

1. A go-to powder for .38 Special;

2. Good for mid-upper 357 Magnum rounds, too.

3. Possibly more economical....ck your source.

Jim H.

[BYJO4]

I also suggest Unique. I use Bullseye for target loads but Unique works well on mid range loads.

[Waywatcher]

I wouldn't want to do this. I stopped caring so much about convenience and started caring more about quality and making the best load I could.

Unique, in .357, is horribly inconsistent and slow. (ES of over 100fps in weighed charges) In .38, it's horribly dirty and slow.

I like 2400 for Magnums and Power Pistol for Specials. Much better consistency (2400 gives ES in the 30s, and PP in the 20s), much better metering, much cleaner burning. The theoretical benefit of one powder for both perplexes me, frankly.

[Walkalong]

Unique, W-231, AA #5, & True Blue are all excellent suggestions if you want one powder for both.

Naturally you will not be able to take full advantage of the .357, or load really light .38 Spl.

I do not load full blown .357, so I can get by with two powders for both. Why only one?

[Cherokee]

231 (HP38) will do the job for both. Herco will also but doesn't meter as well as 231.

[gacajun]

I use Clays in both 38 and 357...it meters well and has given me consistent performance. I shoot SASS almost every weekend and have not had powder related problems when I do my part.

[PO2Hammer]

Universal, SR 7625, HP-38 (W231) are all good for the .38 S&W Special and the .357 S&W Magnum. (thought you would want to use the correct name)

[Walkalong]

Nah, plain old .357 Mag suits me. :)

[USSR]

...and the .357 S&W Magnum. (thought you would want to use the correct name)

Yeah, you're probably right. Wouldn't want anybody sticking a .357 Colt Magnum cartridge into their .357 S&W Magnum revolver.:rolleyes:

Don

[PO2Hammer]

Well, since the OP called it the .357 Remington magnum, I felt the need to defend my favorite cartridge's honor.
.357 mag is just fine too.

[Maj Dad]

Unique is called that for a reason. I use it for 20 ga skeet loads, and every pistol caliber I load for: 9mm, 38 spl, 357 mag, 44 spl, 44 Mag, 44-40, and 45 colt (and lead bullets in my trapdoor 45-70). And contrary to this:
It doesnt meter well in any measure i have used and its still too dirty, even the new "clean" unique.
in my experience it meters exceedingly well, both in my Lyman 55 & my Dillon 550 measure, to about .1-.2 gr at most (and usually .05 gr by my RCBS 1010 scale), and shoots as clean as any powder I use (much cleaner than some).

Just my 2 cents.

[Sport45]

Unique or Universal.

But my real advice is to go ahead and give up on the idea of "one powder for them all". You'll wind up with lots of powders anyway so ga ahead and get a good powder for each application. W231/HP38 is good for the .38 special (as are many others) and 2400 is a good choice for cast bullet magnum loads (although I've never tried it).

[ljnowell]

in my experience it meters exceedingly well, both in my Lyman 55 & my Dillon 550 measure, to about .1-.2 gr at most (and usually .05 gr by my RCBS 1010 scale), and shoots as clean as any powder I use (much cleaner than some).


Thats great for you Dad, but the majority of people that I talk to feel the same way I do about it. And if its much cleaner than some powders you use, I hate to ask what they are.

[coalman]

Thats great for you Dad, but the majority of people that I talk to feel the same way I do about it. And if its much cleaner than some powders you use, I hate to ask what they are.

Though I'm not your father, count me as in your minority of people I guess. "Group think" goes a long way in reloading/guns and I think many ideas just get regurgitated on and on in some circles. It doesn't help Unique is an "old" powder because for many, especially relative to age/experience, "old" means outdated. Regardless, I just never get the idea of a "clean" powder, or the idea that fired guns won't get dirty, or that soot is something cleaning can't solve. I've run more than 1k though a gun (many times) with Unique and the gun still ran and cleaning took no longer than usual. With a medium burn powder like Unique, you can't run bunny fart loads like some gamers like to run without making more a mess of things. Keep those loads warm and Unique is about the same as any other powder in my experience. But, again, the quick easy solution to a dirty gun is cleaning it.

[Salmoneye]

Unique is for people that can't handle Red Dot for all their needs...

http://users.gmavt.net/ubavt/gifs/couch.gif

[USSR]

I just never get the idea of a "clean" powder, or the idea that fired guns won't get dirty, or that soot is something cleaning can't solve. I've run more than 1k though a gun (many times) with Unique and the gun still ran and cleaning took no longer than usual. With a medium burn powder like Unique, you can't run bunny fart loads like some gamers like to run without making more a mess of things. Keep those loads warm and Unique is about the same as any other powder in my experience.

+1. Zero problems running Unique through my Redding #3 powder measure, and accuracy trumps cleanliness in my book.

Don

[ljnowell]

Though I'm not your father, count me as in your minority of people I guess. "Group think" goes a long way in reloading/guns and I think many ideas just get regurgitated on and on in some circles. It doesn't help Unique is an "old" powder because for many, especially relative to age/experience, "old" means outdated. Regardless, I just never get the idea of a "clean" powder, or the idea that fired guns won't get dirty, or that soot is something cleaning can't solve. I've run more than 1k though a gun (many times) with Unique and the gun still ran and cleaning took no longer than usual. With a medium burn powder like Unique, you can't run bunny fart loads like some gamers like to run without making more a mess of things. Keep those loads warm and Unique is about the same as any other powder in my experience. But, again, the quick easy solution to a dirty gun is cleaning it. I didnt call him Dad out of disprespect, its his username. Being an old powder has nothing to do with it, I load 2400 almost exclusively as a magnum handgun powder, and I think we can all agree thats a pretty old powder too. It has to do with not metering well in the dillon measure, and the two lee powder measures I have tried it in. +/- .2gr is not good enough for me, sorry. As far as being clean or dirty, you are right, you can surely clean it every time, but right now I am in a bullseye league and I dont want to overfoul or completely clean the barrel and cylinder on my gun, as it can be adverse ( and yes, I have tested that, POI changes for the first xx number of rounds after being cleaned).

[Certaindeaf]

Unique is for people that can't handle Red Dot for all their needs...

http://users.gmavt.net/ubavt/gifs/couch.gif
lolz. I use and have used way more RD than Unique for mid-range etc. RD has the haters too though.

[Jim Watson]

Agree with Sport. R. Buckminster Fuller said "Simplify as much as possible, BUT NO MORE."
Limiting yourself to one powder for both Specials and Magnums is false economy and ballistically ineffective.

I like W231/HP38 for non-magnums.
If I ever shoot enough magnums to burn up my present stock of 2400 and 4227, I will go to N110.

[zxcvbob]

I've not found any smokeless powders that were excessively dirty as long as you loaded them towards the top end of the load data. If you want to load them down, switch to a faster powder (like Red Dot or Clays) That include Bullseye, which is not as fast as you think it is.

[MEHavey]

Vitavhouri N110.

It permits true whomp`em/stomp`em without:

- The need for max case volumes (like H110/W296 require)
- The need for magnum primers
- The need for absolute max velocity every time (can run intermediate)

and is superbly accurate in both pistol and rifle

[James2]

Unique!

I keep hearing things like this: "A lot of people will say Unique, and on paper and in practice it will do the trick. I just dont like the stuff. It doesnt meter well in any measure i have used and its still too dirty, even the new "clean" unique. "

Sorry, I don't agree. I have used more Unique than any other handgun powder and like it. My Lyman 55 measure will throw consistent loads with it. Dirty? Not sure what that means. I don't see much diff than with any other powder. To each his own........

[kludge]

Limiting yourself to one powder for both Specials and Magnums is false economy and ballistically ineffective.

^this^

HP38, HS-6, or Universal for .38 SPL and 2400 for .357 Mag.

[bubbacrabb]

Unique, works great in my Dillon powder measure. So do other powders, but I use Unique the most. I also use a lot of 231, I'm just a big fan of Unique though. I always seam to shoot the best with it. Regardless of this muscle flex this powder is better than that, wont work in this measure, dirty blah blah. Just buy some 1 pounders and see what you like. Powder aint that expensive. Find stuff you like and then make a monster purchase of it from one of the online vendors.

[ljnowell]

Sorry, I don't agree. I have used more Unique than any other handgun powder and like it. My Lyman 55 measure will throw consistent loads with it. Dirty? Not sure what that means. I don't see much diff than with any other powder. To each his own........


And thats the beauty of opinion, you dont have to agree with me and I dont have to agree with you. My opinion is worth no more than yours, thats all they are. I appreciate you sharing yours as much as the OP does I am sure.

It still wont stop me from saying that I dont like they way it meters and I do not like the way it burns. I have found other powders that do what I want them to do much better.

I would also point out that you quoted me as saying that, but read the quote again, I was recommending unique to him if thats what he really wants. The part about "on paper AND IN PRACTICE." I just dont like the characteristics of it and will point out alternatives.

[ljnowell]

Regardless of this muscle flex this powder is better than that, wont work in this measure, dirty blah blah.

When did it become cool to come to THR and be a weiner? Muscle flex, really? Makes me wonder why I bother to come around here anymore at all to be honest.

[tom357mag]

Unique Unique Unique !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PO2Hammer]

When did it become acceptable to call someone a wiener?
Not exactly taking the high road, is it?

[Walkalong]

Question asked and answered. The OP can always come back and ask more questions in a new thread, but it seems he got the answers he needed.