.38 Super question

[Bottom Gun]

I'm an experienced reloader but new to the .38 Super cartridge.

What diameter bullet should I be using for this cartridge?

Dillon lists .38 super cast bullets as .357 dia, same as a .38/.357.
I thought I was supposed to use .355-.356 dia bullets.

My question is: Can I use .357 dia cast and jacketed in my .38 Super or should I be using the 9MM .355-.356 bullets?

Also, I have a large quantity of .357 plated bullets which I use in my revolver. Are they safe to load hot in my .38 Super?

Thanks for the help,

Ken

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've got several .38 Super's, and I've used bullets of .355", .356" and .357" diameter. They all work well, but like anything else, you have to work up your loads and watch for pressure signs. In my hotter loads, I use small rifle primers and they work great, but again, work up your loads with those primers.

Plated bullets are pretty soft, so they will swage down, if needed. I shoot a lot of plated bullets, thousands a year, and love them. I shoot so many, I've got a wholesale account with Berry's Manufacturing, in St. George, Utah. Great products and really nice people to deal with.

There is some variance in bore diameters in .38 Super barrels. You may want to slug your barrel and see what it actually measures and that might answer your question for you. The original bore diameter was .356", but again, that's just the spec, not what the barrels actually come out of the factory at.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Bottom Gun]

Thanks for the reply, Fred. I have also been using small rifle primers for all my handgun loads. I really haven't seen any difference in pressures using them.

I am also a fan of Berry bullets. I have been using a lot of their 125 gr HP in my .357's.

Have you found that you get higher pressure with .357 jacketed than with the .357 cast or plated bullets?

Do you have any favorite .38 super loads you would like to share? I have been using Unique and 231 for all of my handgun loading. I had planned to experiment with them but if you have had good luck with a different powder, it might save me some time and trouble.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[mc223]

My favorite load for the 38 Super is 6g Unique WSR primer topped with a 158g hard cast round nose bullet.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've had real good luck with Blue Dot in .38 super, but I've got a keg of Lil'Gun and I'm going to do some experimenting with it when I get caught up on some other projects around here. It gives great velocities and accuracy in my .357 Magnum Carbine with 180 grain cast gas check bullets. The data looks promising and I just have to do some loading for it to find out if it's better than Blue Dot.

Fred

 

[grendelbane]

Oh what a difference one or two thousandths of an inch makes!

Not much, really. My Hornady manual lists loads for both .355 and .357 bullets. Always start out with the conservative charges and work your way up. Years ago I had a pretty decent .38 Super load that used swaged lead bullets for a .38 Spl. They measured .358!

I have stumbled across sizing die, brass, and bullet situations which would not work. I have a die that, with some brands of brass, is not tight enough to securely hold a .355 bullet.

Works well with the larger diameter bullets, however. So a thousandths of an inch can make a difference. The bullets will all be the same size after they come out of the muzzle. My caveat would be that the bullet must be free to move when it is chambered. If it is so large that it is unable to get a running start at the throat you might have problems. Otherwise, start conservatively, move up, and have fun.

 

[Thebees]

Super

I believe .356 is the traditional 38 Super diameter for jacketed bullets. I always used .357 for cast in a super Gold Cup. .358 might make too much pressure and .355 too much leadding. In fact the Super is so intense anyway that I never found a cast load that didn't lead very badly. I have had pretty good luck with the plated bullets in .355/ The 124 grain truncated cone works well.
thebees