38spl can’t get it right!!

[Jack B.]

Extreme 125gr plated FP's over 4.2grs. of Bullseye , Whichester or CCI primers in Starline brass that's been reloaded over 10 times is probably the most accurate and easiest load that I have. Very accurate in a Ruger GP100 6" barrel , Taurus M66 4" barrel , Ruger LCR 1.87" barrel and a Colt Trooper MKIII 6" barrel. No problems with accuracy in any of those revolvers. Haven't tried them in my Rossi snub gun yet.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

So what’s the secret to not leading a barrel? Can I just order up .358 from MBC?

The .358 bullets from Missouri Bullets should be perfect.
Their BHN will be 12 I believe. You don't want anything harder than that for .38 special plinking loads. Too hard an alloy will lead a barrel quicker than too soft an alloy.

As far as the secret to not leading. In my experience it is 2 things. There are more factors, but 2 main ones.
1. Proper fit. You want the bullet to be .001 - .002 larger than your bore diameter.
2. Proper hardness for your application.

As I said, there are other factors such as lube, cylinder throat diameter etc. But most of the time, you don't have to delve too heavy into those.
Try the bullets from MBC. I bet they will work great. The .38 special is very forgiving with lead bullets.

I have cast for a dozen or so firearms, and have only had to clean significant leading out of one of them.

 

[Axis II]

How are you testing? Off a bench? Offhand?

True accuracy testing should be done off a bench with good support for the gun and your hands, like sandbags or some other solid support.

I need to find sandbags and have someone help me drag a shooting bench to the pistol line to get a feel. Myself and 2 other people have shot these off hand and get similar results.

 

[Walkalong]

S&W M-15-5: 18 shots on each target, 6 powder back, 6 powder forward, 6 powder level, Berrys 148 Gr HBWC & X-Treme 148 gr DEWC. Two hands, 7 yards, chrono at 5 yards.

It can be done with plated. The X-treme 158 Gr SWC also shoots very well and both more likely to hit point of aim in fixed sight .38 Spl wheel guns than the 125 Gr.

Works in short barrels too. Same thing, target at 7 yards with chrono at 5yards getting numbers. .357 brass, but same basic load. (Competition or WST, doesn't matter.)

 

[LiveLife]

have someone help me drag a shooting bench to the pistol line to get a feel.

For decades, I have simply used a small ice chest I take cold drinks in to rest bottom of my hands to steady the pistol.

All the pistol shot groups I posted on THR were shot this way.

 

[Axis II]

S&W M-15-5: 18 shots on each target, 6 powder back, 6 powder forward, 6 powder level, Berrys 148 Gr HBWC & X-Treme 148 gr DEWC. Two hands, 7 yards, chrono at 5 yards.

It can be done with plated. The X-treme 158 Gr SWC also shoots very well and both more likely to hit point of aim in fixed sight .38 Spl wheel guns than the 125 Gr.

Works in short barrels too. Same thing, target at 7 yards with chrono at 5yards getting numbers. .357 brass, but same basic load. (Competition or WST, doesn't matter.)

You know the more you post pictures of those wheel guns the more your tempting me to go buy another one right?

I know the consensus is use something heavier, but when you have about 700 125gr bullet cause you found them on sale you just gotta keep trying.

I'm done fooling with them and going to order sample packs of several weights and makers.

 

[Dudedog]

Most bullets MBC lists for .357 are BHN18 they list most of the same bullets in BHN12 under .38 special.
For anything less than almost full power or full power in .357 I would chose the softer .38 special ones.

Those Speers from RMR do look appealing however, my hand seems to keep heading for my wallet....
Bad hand bad....

 

[Walkalong]

125 Gr Berrys & 125 Gr Powerbond. .357 brass and revolver, but a fast powder (Clays) and .38 Spl velocities.

Again, target at 7 yards and chrono at 5 yards.

 

[cfullgraf]

No matter how much I try by switching bullets and powder I can get my S&W 642 to shoot reloads! All over the place with be86 and HP38. Bullet is extreme 125gr FP. I ran some through another full size 38spl and same crap groups. Any recommendations?

10 to 15 years ago, I went through a period of experimentation with my S&W M642 to try to get more consistent velocities with the hope of getting better grouping.

I ended up with W231 providing the most consistent velocity with about any bullet I tried.

Accuracy wise, at the time, the double action only trigger caused me the most problem. I could hit a the target at a reasonable distance given the gun, but the groups were not very tight.

Over the past few years, I have worked with the double action trigger, mostly so that I would shoot a DA/SA semi-auto well and the skill has transferred to the M642.

In general, I find 38 Special easy to load and get accurate ammunition regardless of bullet construction.

 

[vaalpens]

Thanks for posting this link. I have been looking at buying some 38/357 bullets, and these definitely fits the bill. I missed out on the 10% discount over Memorial day weekend, but it is still a good price for a quality bullet with the 5% discount. I ordered some today, and now I just need to go and inform the wife.

Received the bullets today and it looks like I will have some fun loading/shooting some Speer 38/357 135gr TMJ bullets. Luckily Speer has some online 135gr loads, even though it is only for the GDHP bullet. This is what they look like:

 

[Axis II]

Received the bullets today and it looks like I will have some fun loading/shooting some Speer 38/357 135gr TMJ bullets. Luckily Speer has some online 135gr loads, even though it is only for the GDHP bullet. This is what they look like:

View attachment 845078

Make sure you check your flare before using these. They required more flare than 125 & 158gr. Ruined 2 of them by pealing the copper back. Got 5 loaded gonna go try them now.

 

[vaalpens]

Make sure you check your flare before using these. They required more flare than 125 & 158gr. Ruined 2 of them by pealing the copper back. Got 5 loaded gonna go try them now.

Thanks for the heads-up. I have already loaded one dummy 357mag round just to decide on the col. Flare was good enough, but just need to play with crimp a little. I will need a decent crimp when loading 357mag. For now I have decided on a COL of 1.585" for my 357mag loads.

 

[Axis II]

Thanks for the heads-up. I have already loaded one dummy 357mag round just to decide on the col. Flare was good enough, but just need to play with crimp a little. I will need a decent crimp when loading 357mag. For now I have decided on a COL of 1.585" for my 357mag loads.

I just seated to cannelure but the 158gr didn’t have a cannelure. I seated to hornady xtp oal. I put a light, maybe 2-3k taper crimp on the 158gr and roll crimped the TMJ.

 

[Axis II]

Well I was lucky enough to get a PIF of RMR 158gr RNFP seconds (probably because of no cannelure) 135gr Speer TMJ and 125gr RMR HP and my original 125gr FP. I only received 15 of each and having to try them in the full size gun also I only loaded 5 with mid range FMJ data of HP38. These were all shot in the J frame first at 20yards, but that was a little bit too hard. so I moved to 10yards. All shot off sandbags. It was a little wanky trying to find OAL for the 158gr, so I used Hornady OAL and taper crimped them. I did like the recoil of the 158gr being more of a push and the 125gr and 135gr was more of a flip and kind of harsh at that. Attached are pics of each group. These are slightly better than what I get with the 125gr FP. I think that being a snub nose 10yards maybe a little bit too far. I also had a hard time focusing on something due to the sight taking up most of the dot. Ill try another 5 again this week and report back. Any advice is welcome.

Pic one is the Speer TMJ.
Pic 2 is the 125gr HP.
Pic 3 is the 158gr RNFP.