.38 Special/.357 bullet options

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Vodoun da Vinci

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OK, I'm looking for my bullet options for hand loading .38 Special. My Wife has decided she simply must have/shoot her Ruger LCR and the only way she's gonna do that comfortably is with the right handload.

I'm trying to find bullets in the lighter 90-125 gr. range. I'd prefer jacketed bullets or plated as we shoot indoors a lot. They don't require jacketed or plated but the less exposed lead the better if I can do that.

Berry's has some yummy 125 gr. plated flatpoints that are my go to right now as are Hornady 125 gr XTP's but the XTP's will be a little pricey for range ammo when my free bee/trade bullets run out. We'd love to find some 110 gr. plated/jacketed flat points/hollow points and I have looked around a bit at Missouri Bullets, Rim Rock, Berry's, and othr places.

Can you guys give me some suggestions? Lighter is better - jacketed/plated trumps exposed lead in 90, 110, or 125 gr. .357 bullets and we thank you in advance!

VooDoo
 
Bayou Bullets Epoxy coated cast. No lube, no smoke (from lube) and no exposed lead. I haven't compared the prices myself though. I just picked up an electrostatic powder coating unit from harbor freight for coating my own.
 
Ditto on the Montana Gold. If you are willing to buy bulk, they have a very nice 125 grain JHP for just under $.10 a bullet. I use MG bullets a lot in .38, .357 SIG and .45.
 
Why not plated full wadcutters? A 148 grain wadcutter over a small charge of a fast powder is the softest shooting centerfire round there is, unless you drop down to a .32 or below.
 
Mr Doo -
While it's common to assume that a light weight bullet will have lighter recoil, this is simply not the case. Especially with a pistol with a small grip, or when being used by small female hands. I think you'll find that you'll be much better served by a heavier (~148-158grn) bullet propelled by a faster powder.

Not only will this combination make your sweetheart happier (which any wise husband KNOWS is Rule #1), but the accuracy of the shots will improve too.

The use of plated bullets will reduce the smoke usually associated with target rounds, thus adding an extra layer of enjoyment to her refined sensibilities.

If this sounds good, I would recommend either the Double Ended Wad Cutter or the Hollow Base WC from Berry over minimum loads of Bullseye, Solo1000, Red Dot, PB, or similar speed powders. A powder somewhat faster than Win231.

If you call Berry, I believe they will sell you an "assortment pack" of their bullets in this caliber/weight range. If you already know your bullet, then the best place might be Rocky Mountain Bullet, a well known and trusted Berry discount distributor.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
Xtreme plated bullets are having a 10% sale, see the other thread about it.

I agree with the comments about heavier bullet & fast powder. My fav is 158gr LSWC with Bullseye!

As you're aware, be careful with plated/jacketed & make sure you use enough powder so you don't get a bullet stuck!
 
Unless you have been tested for high lead content I'd shoot lead out of a 38 spl.
Cost is less and it takes less pressure to force a lead bullet out of a barrel, so less muzzle blast for the shooters.
Heavier bullets in my J frames are more pleasant for me to shoot. Or consider the full 148 grain wadcutter for practice. I use 3 grains of WW231. Can't get much lighter or easier to shoot.
 
Salmoneye said:
Listen to the guys suggesting 'normal' bullet weights with low doses of fast powder...
Click to expand...

Yes, I have done this in my past incarnation as a reloader....back in the 1970's I used to shoot/reload .38 Special and .357 Magnum by the bushel load. I didn't personally find this technique to work for me and settled on Unique for most of my loads and use this exclusively again now 35 years later. I found that the perceived recoil of a 158 gr. bullet running XXXfps or a 125 gr. bullet running XXXfps was pretty much the same whether being pushed by fast powder or slower powder out of the same gun. But I'm certain others may have had other experiences in perceived recoil.

That said we have a couple of loads that are acceptable right now using Hornady 125 gr. XTP's and Berry's 125 gr. plated FP bullets with lower/acceptable recoil and no smoke which Mama does like and seem to be pretty accurate as well. I have a "low dose" 158 gr. hard cast RNFP round as well that while being a bit smoky from the bullet lube is still acceptable recoil wise and accurate.

I'd really like to try some 110 gr. and 90 gr. bullets and see if I might not get them running a little harder but with limited recoil but there doesn't seem to be much available in that bullet weight range now. So, we'll play with what we have and keep looking! :)

I do thank everyone for their suggestions and help!

VooDoo
 
Those 125s would be a good way to go for very light .38 Spl loads. If you want to make very light loads with 158s, choose lead, as it is has so much less friction, and is much easier to get out of the bore consistently. But you want less exposed lead, so I recommend 125s.

A light charge of fast powder like WST, 700X, Solo 1000, Bullseye, etc will do what you want.

Test your light load with the powder forward so you know it can get the bullet out no matter what position the powder ends up in. And as always, if you hear an abnormal report, stop, and check the bore. You want piece of mind your light load will always work when you are not there to keep an eye on things.
 
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