Found some 38 Speer shot shells

74man said:

Today I was cleaning out some loading drawers and found 2 boxes of Speer 38 special shot shells. Went online and watched the video, looks pretty easy. I will load about 20 or so with some 38special +P casings that I have extra. When I watched the video, the guy put the plug or wad cap into the case first which didn't look right, is that how you load the shot capsule into the casing? I have loaded a lot of 12 Ga. shells when I used to shoot skeet and trap, just didn't look right. Don't have to load a lot cause I would only use them for varmints like rats, mice or snakes. Any information on if the wad or cap goes into the casing against the primer or does the wad or cap face out of the case?

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I was gifted a few boxes of .44 ones. Loading data is on the box, thought that was cool. Not being able to leave well enough alone I made mine Duplex. 6,8 and 9 shot mixed. Forget the weight but 120 grains seems right for the loaded capsule. They work great. Pattern is not bad at all at 7 yards.


Oh and the reason for duplex is I didn’t want to cut open perfectly good shells. I used a bunch that were abused and past their useful life.

Yes the cap goes in first. It acts as the wad and seals without shattering like the capsule would if put in first.

If you can find some #9 shot for 38spl that would best IMO, #8 works ok for 44 spl. I prefer a fast powder for these at a low charge of powder. Pushing the shot to fast has opens up the pattern.

Don’t try and load them “hot”. The patterns are already not great, you can get a snake from 3 steps away. The faster you push the column the worse the pattern gets, even if the bore were smooth and the one you are likely to fire them from will add centrifugal force, from the rifling, to sling the shot away from the center even faster.

You assemble the capsule with shot first. The little wad will click in with some friction. Do not overfill, it will try to push back out. Then seat it like a bullet. Use a significant flare, do not crimp hard. The upper plastic is rather brittle and may crack with a hard crimp or overfill.

I absolutely love them filled with #8 shot for lawn mowing day. No field mouse, vole or striped gopher is safe while I'm riding about on the mower!

I also made some snake shot using 38 SPL cases. Used a charge of 3.7 gr. 700-X, placed a pre-cut wad in the case and tamped down with the head of a nail. Then, filled the case with # 9 birdshot almost to the top. Tamped the shot down tightly and placed another pre-cut wad over the shot. Then, topped the case off with a thin layer of wood glue. Once the glue sets, the case is waterproof and secure.

Pic:



Bayou52

74man said:

Any information on if the wad or cap goes into the casing against the primer or does the wad or cap face out of the case?

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Sorry, I guess I'm a little late to the party.
Anyway, yes - the cap goes into the case first. As others have said though, use light loads. And I like to use the smallest shot I can find. You're talking about very close range as far as effectiveness goes anyway.
One thing about those Speer shotshell capsules I've never seen anyone else mention though is one of my 357/38 Special sizing dies (a Pacific carbide die) sizes the cases down just a bit too much. It works fine for regular bullets - plenty of "neck" tension so the cases "grip" the bullets well.
On the other hand, it can be a real pain in the you know what when I'm trying to push those plastic shot-shell capsules into the cases I've resized with that die because the air is trapped in the cases. And unless I go really slow, allowing time for the air to escape, the darned shot-shell capsule breaks, shot goes all over my loading bench and the floor, and I cuss Speer and all of his ancestors.

I load like bayou52. Except I use 12 shot and hot melt glue.

I grew up riding a tractor with a bush-hog behind it mowing gardens and fields in our rural area. I started carrying a 6" Ruger SS pistol loaded with Speer shot shells that I loaded myself shooting rats and mice from the tractor seat. Those were the days I miss the most, you can kill a rat at least 8 yards away with practice and plenty of ammo. Some may think this was a reckless thing to do, but I did it every summer and fall until I was in my 50's. I used up 2 25# bags of #9 shot over a couple of good years and later on carried a Ruger Super Red Hawk 44 mag doing the same thing. I started this adventure when I was a teenager in the 1960's.