I am hoping for some reloading info for .38 special with Berry's plated hbwc using unique powder. The Unique data center only gives me a listing for 158 grn. lead bullet. I have only been reloading for a short time. I have the Lymans 49th manual but only lead listings here also. Berry's site says to load midrange with comparable jacketed bullet but what would that be? Any help would be appreciated.
Berry's plated hbwc .38 cal.
- Thread starter MJD23
- Start date
- Status
I load that bullet at 1.240 OAL and use 3.5 or 3.6 Grs of WST or Competition. The recoil is light, it shoots very well, and gives around 700 to 750 FPS in 4 to 6 inch revolvers depending on the gun/barrel.
That should be a safe place to start with Unique, making sure all bullets exit the barrel, then work it up as needed. I would think in the neighborhood of 3.8 to 4.0 would do the trick. If you load it shorter, it would take less powder of course, but it is a long bullet and you start jamming the bottom of the bullet into the thick part of the case if you try to load them flush.
We don't have much to go on from load data using the Berrys 148 Gr HBWC. Alliant shows a Speer 158 Gr LSWC at 1.440 OAL giving 815 FPS using 4.7 Grs of Unique. This is a max, so 10% less would be our starting data. The Berrys is 10 Grs lighter, but loaded deeper.
This is what I base my educated (?) guess on. Be careful, good luck, use my guess for Unique (Or my other load above) at your own risk, and hopefully someone who has used Unique with this bullet will come along and share their experience.
Welcome to THR.
That should be a safe place to start with Unique, making sure all bullets exit the barrel, then work it up as needed. I would think in the neighborhood of 3.8 to 4.0 would do the trick. If you load it shorter, it would take less powder of course, but it is a long bullet and you start jamming the bottom of the bullet into the thick part of the case if you try to load them flush.
We don't have much to go on from load data using the Berrys 148 Gr HBWC. Alliant shows a Speer 158 Gr LSWC at 1.440 OAL giving 815 FPS using 4.7 Grs of Unique. This is a max, so 10% less would be our starting data. The Berrys is 10 Grs lighter, but loaded deeper.
This is what I base my educated (?) guess on. Be careful, good luck, use my guess for Unique (Or my other load above) at your own risk, and hopefully someone who has used Unique with this bullet will come along and share their experience.
Welcome to THR.
I would use the same data for that bullet as for any cast 148g or 150g WC. The deeper a bullet is seated into the case the higher the pressure will be, that leaves out the data for most SWC, RN and RNFP bullets that are seated much shallower than a WC type bullet.
Thanks walkalong for the help. I have found data for the exact bullet but different powder and also data for Unique powder but not the same bullet. Perhaps I will have to buy a different powder. I recently purchased a .357 Blackhawk with a 6.5 inch barrel and have been shooting paper with Hornady ftp 125 and 158 grn HP bullets. The Berry's are less expensive and would make a cleaner hole in paper so thats why i bought them. I should have done more research before buying them seeing as i am having trouble finding load data. I am not going to shoot for a week so I will do more research until then. I will load a few with your recipe and give them a try. Thanks again.
Wouldn't the hollow base and plating throw the data off though? And what about the OAL? I am willing to try different loads but I also want to do it safely. I find reloading to be enjoyable and satisfying but a little frustrating too! Thanks for the reply X-Ring.
All true, but the base is hollow, I loaded them sticking out of the case a bit, and Alliant goes higher than 4.0 with the 158 Gr LSWC. (4.7 for standard pressure .38 Spl)
Bottom line is we don't have any tested/published data for that specific bullet using Unique, at least that I have seen, so we have to interpolate (Educated guess) a little bit.
Speer #13 goes to 5.1 Grs of Unique with a 148 Gr solid WC loaded to 1.295 OAL. They show the same max of 4.7 as Alliant (2017 PDF) for various lead 158 Gr bullets.
1KPerDay
Member
I had a devil of a time with these. They do not behave like soft lead HBWC. I won't post my load but suffice it to say I had to go much hotter than any published lead HBWC load to get them to group at all. Eventually worked out a good accurate load but the plating or the design or the hardness or a combination made them require a stoutish charge in order to expand the base and shoot well for me.
You are right, the plated HBWC is a whole nother animal and takes more to get it out of the barrel due to increased friction, plus it can take much more pressure. It's also rated for 1250 FPS.
Lead HBWC data is kept very low because if you go very hot it can blow the front out and leave the shirt in the gun. It is designed for very light target loads. I am not sure how much you mean by "much hotter", but yes, you have to go hotter.
I just received 1K of them from TJConevera.
1KPerDay
Member
I basically had to treat them like SWC or similar. I worked up slowly of course and saw no typical signs of overpressure.
brewer12345
Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2015
- Messages
- 2,751
I ended up with a load of 4.2 grains of HP38 under the DEWC plated Berrys wadcutters in a 38 special case seated at 1.27". I found that there is basically no data, so you are kind of stuck feeling your way along. Interestingly, the same powder charge worked well for a 158 grain RNFP plated bullet from RMR. I got no pressure signs, but since I only shoot these in a 357 I have a large margin of safety.
From what I have been reading on the internet it is a fairly popular bullet with a nice price. I wish Berry's would publish specific data for their bullets and make it a little easier for the load developers. I know they don't want any lawsuits but they can include a warning to proceed at your own risk.
Hey Walkalong, I put together a round of .38 special with 4 grns of Unique and the 148 grn hbwc. OAL at 1.240 and it fits in my cylinder but I have to push it in past the bulge in the middle of the case where the end of the bullet ends. Is that ok you think?
- Status
