1) I don't shoot with children.
2) I use full eye and ear protection, shatterproof polycarbonate lenses. Do you honestly think I'd shoot without eye protection?
3)
6 grains of Unique is a listed +P load for 38 spl, as DMZ stated.
4) I'm not an idiot, so quit inferring that.
I fired 25 of these rounds yesterday and.....*gasp*, nothing happened! They were laser accurate, recoil wasn't bad, no bulged brass, primers looked fine, easy extraction, ect. These weren't showing any signs of being in the "danger zone". This was just a small experiment, so quit getting your panties in a wad.
I'll back these off to 5.6 grains, which is the listed max in my Lee 2nd edition manual.
If it makes you guys feel any better, I'm going back to my 357 magnum load, which is 9 grains of Unique behind a 125 grain SJHP, gives 1330-1360 fps on the chrono. In case your wondering, the minimum charge for this load is 8.7 grains, the max is 9.6, so I'm loading on the minimum side here. Don't want you accusing me of "hot rodding" the 357.
Like I said, I'm not an idiot.
So far I've reloaded 3000 40 S&W rounds, 155 grain Ranier with 6.5 grains of Unique, and 1000 357 rounds with the above mentioned load. I've fired off several hundred of my 357's, no problems, and I've fired off close to 1000 of my 40 S&W reloads, again, no problems. I'm confident in these loads and they perform well. I've also had ZERO squib's or mis-fires, I'm a good "reloader".