.38 spcl cast bullets and loads

[gundoc1]

Hello gang am looking to put together a good cast load for my Colt revolver in .38 SPCL am looking at Missouri bullet co 158 grooveless match bullets in front of 3.5 gr bullseye or IMR 700x whatch yall think? also I heard there is a discount code for THR members if ya could pm it to me that would be great.

 

[George P]

I just loaded a ton of MBC's 158 LSWC behind 3.5 of Bullseye; it works great in my 19 snub and my 4" 66

 

[ray15]

I just loaded a ton of MBC's 158 LSWC behind 3.5 of Bullseye; it works great in my 19 snub and my 4" 66

If I do the math correctly, that's over 88,000 bullets. Must have a Dillon.

 

[George P]

Hornady LNL.............works great...........

Now to change it over to 9mm..........

 

[dickydalton]

I just loaded a ton of MBC's 158 LSWC behind 3.5 of Bullseye; it works great in my 19 snub and my 4" 66

Don't put them behind the Bullseye or the powder will fall out!

 

[gundoc1]

I just loaded a ton of MBC's 158 LSWC behind 3.5 of Bullseye; it works great in my 19 snub and my 4" 66

thats reassuring hope I get the same results thanks!!!!

 

[Dudedog]

Welcome to THR lots of great people here.

 

[Galil5.56]

The 3.5 grain Bullseye/158 grain lead bullet load for .38 Special is absolutely classic, time tested, and should regulate well for a lot of fixed sighed guns - Will get about 750 fps or so FPS from a 4" revolver, right in the standard velocity spec. Great load!

 

[brewer12345]

Or 4 grains of hp38. Under a rnfp 158 grainer, that is a very accurate load in carbine or revolver.

 

[gundoc1]

Thank you guys all for your replies I know its beeen a bit since I was here but life got in the way of having fun. Now that thats been remedied back to fun. so my experiment will be with Missouri bullet co 158 grain no lube groove match hi tek coated bullets vs Acme 148 gr button nose wad cutters no lube groove Hi tex coated as well. both these will be in front of #3.5 grains of bullseye vs 3.5 grains of IMR 700x. Im having a shoot out between the two loads to see wich is best. these will be loaded on my star progressive and shot from my Colt offficial police revolver . Any other input is welcome as to what to try only problem is powder grain variations are limited to 3.5 gr till I can track down some other charge bars or have mine reamed for bushings . who thinks what load will win out???

 

[Glockula]

I have loaded at least 1500 .38s with that exact projectile. I have used 3.2 gr Bullseye with great results in a Rossi lever action, a Taurus .357 and a Smith j frame.

 

[Galil5.56]

my experiment will be with Missouri bullet co 158 grain no lube groove match hi tek coated bullets vs Acme 148 gr button nose wad cutters no lube groove Hi tex coated as well. both these will be in front of #3.5 grains of bullseye

I had a 3" M60 that shot 148 gr wadcutters well, even when driven to velocities a bit stouter than typical "midrange" target loads... FWIW, here is some 148 grain lead, .38 Special data I have used with the following results. Worked well for me, please use and consider at your own discretion... Probably my favorite round to reload.

3 grains Bullseye CCI 500 148 MC WC
713 704 718 717 724 AV 715 SD 7 ES 20

3.8 grains Bullseye 148 Hornady BBWC seated 1.292” CCI 500 SPP
788 803 793 811 779 AV 794 ES 32 SD 12

3.2 grains 700x WW SPP Hornady 148 BBWC
758 746 733 735 AV 743 ES 25 SD11

2.8 gr Clays 148 Horn BBWC WW SPP
747 768 732 729 738 av 742 es 39 sd 15

4.8 grains HS-5 WW SPP Master Cast WC
777 736 755 779 799 AV 769 ES 63 SD 24

3 grains Solo 1000 WW SPP 148 Master Cast WC
752 749 755 745 753 AV 750 ES 10 SD3

3.2 grains Unique CCI SPP 148 Master Cast WC
649 649 645 622 603 AV 633 ES 46 SD 20

5 grains Unique 148 Hornady BBWC seated 1.292” CCI 500 SPP
856 878 870 905 870 AV 875 ES 49 SD 18

5 grains AA#5 148 Hornady BBWC seated 1.292” CCI 500 SPP
708 677 695 679 678 AV 687 ES 31 SD 13

5.5 grains Power Pistol 148 Hornady BBWC seated 1.292” CCI 500 SPP *one nickle case cracked Vel drop?
913 920 907 *870 912 AV 904 ES 50 SD 19

3 gr International Clays 148 Horn BBWC WW SPP
654 683 716 669 691 av 682 es 62 sd 23

 

[gundoc1]

Thanks guys info very helpful!

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Nothing wrong with Bullseye or your load but I prefer W231/HP-38.

As suggested above I also charge 4.0gr under a 158gr cast bullet and 3.4gr under a 148gr DEWC. Those are my two favorite .38 Special loads, I hardly shoot anything else.

 

[CrankyCraig]

3.8 Grains of W231 under a 158gr SWC fired from GP100 is very accurate & Pleasant to shoot for me

 

[Bfh_auto]

I found 700x to be very accurate in 38 SPL. It didn't seem to be very sensitive to charge weight variance. I moved on to tite group because it was cheaper and shot the same.

 

[hdbiker]

my forever .38 cast bullet load is around a 158 grain 50% pure range lead, 50% wheel weights, and a foot or so of 95x5 wire solder for good mold fill out, tumbled lubed over 3.5 grains of Bullseye. very accurate with almost no leading. hdbiker