Need advice for loading .38 special

Status
Not open for further replies.
It's been 20 years since I saw those bullets. That was the premier 357 mag round for police in the 70s. Replaced by the Winchester Silver Tip.
 
I think you are crimping before the bullet is at proper seating depth.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what's happening. The crimp is coming too early in the cycle, clamping down on the bullet, and the seating die is trying to seat the bullet against the tension of the crimp.

The advice to seat first and crimp last is good advice.
 
Readjusted my seating/crimping die last night and all is well. I'm now getting consistant seating with brass and nickel cases, repeatable COL, no more lead crushing, and juuust enough crimp.

Thanks for the advice, gents.
 
Being that these rounds will be fired from a revolver, not an autoloader, does the amount of crimp really matter much? I'm thinking a light crimp should be just fine and I don't need to bother with a heavy crimp as a separate function.
 
As long as it prevents bullet creep, and is accurate, your good to go. Adjust as appropriate, but tiny tweaks won't make much difference.
 
Being that these rounds will be fired from a revolver, not an autoloader, does the amount of crimp really matter much? I'm thinking a light crimp should be just fine and I don't need to bother with a heavy crimp as a separate function.
Click to expand...

For rifles, no crimp is needed (tubular magazines are an exception.) For Automatic pistols, enough crimp is needed to iron out the flare -- unless you unload and re-chamber the same round over and over. Then you need more crimp to keep the bullet from being driven back in the case.

For revolvers, you need crimp for two reasons. The first is to get full combustion of the powder. If there isn't enough resistance when the bullet starts moving, you'll get unburned grains of powder blown out of the case.

The second reason is to prevent bullet creep. Your bullets are "objects at rest" and as Newton taught us, objects at rest tend to stay at rest. That means as the revolver recoils, the bullets want to stay at rest and the case is literally jerked backwards. After several shots, the unfired rounds may have their bullets sticking out so far they tie up the revolver.

So check for unburned powder and bullet creep. If you find either one, increase your crimp.
 
Yep, left out complete/better burn, which also results in lower ES & SD numbers.
 
Roll crimps give me better accuracy, but only if the brass is trimmed. Otherwise, I taper-crimp my .38 loads.
 
One good test is to mark the head of one case with a magic marker and load it so its the last round in the cylinder. Fire five rounds, then reload and repeat. Then check for creep in the marked round.
 
Be careful loading semi-jacket bullets in .38 special. I have read that minimum velocity is a concern due to jacket separation lodging in the bore. I can't remember off-hand what the lowest fps is but I want to guess 750 fps.

The bullet deformation could be from incorrect crimp setting. I seat and crimp in separate steps. If that doesn't help, try putting some aluminum foil into the seating die where the stem contacts the bullet nose. It should lessen the impact on the soft lead. I have a bunch of those bullets and have had a few do that. I would try a wad of foil first before sending me all of those bullets. :)


P.S. It is possible the amount of bell is affecting the seating pressure which could be caused by different case lengths. You should try to measure and trim cases to the same length and that should alleviate any inconsistencies with bell amount which seems to really matter with soft lead nose bullets.
 
I got these semi-jacketed bullets to load properly and they shot great.

But I've now moved onto plated bullets. Specifically Xtreme Bullets 158gr.
http://www.xtremebullets.com/38-158-RNFP-p/xc38-158rnfp-b0500.htm

The cannelure rides high, so to get the taper crimp on the cannelure, the COL comes out to be a bit on the short side (1.410"). That seems a little shorter than the specs in any of my manuals. Should I be worried about that, or is it no big deal? If it makes a difference, these will only be fired from a 2" barrel.

Do cast bullets typically use less powder than jacketed/plated bullets of the same weight? I have some Unique powder that I want to use up. Anyone got a recommendation on how many grains to use on a lighter load?
 
I use the X-Treme 158 Gr SWC loaded to the cannelure and they shoot really well in everything I have tried them in, including .38 S&W.
 
As Fallout Mike pointed out


Both of those cases have depth cannelures pressed into the case. The object of that cannelure is to stop bullet set back. Some times even firing that type of case it won't remove the cannelure completely. Try some cases without the cannelure or load a shorter bullet .
 
1.440 in .38 Spl with brass trimmed to 1.140, +/- 001. I use a flat seater plug and OAL is very consistent. I also use it in .357 Mag light loads. Lots of fun. I can hit a 12" plate at 100 yards pretty regularly with my 586 with a red dot on it. A better shooter wouldn't miss much, if at all.
 
I've been seating jacketed and semi without any bell for a very long time and have never had any problems, so I seriously doubt it has anything to do with the bell. And for a bullet to deform to that extent, I would feel 100% confident that the brass would buckle long before changing the profile of a bullet. Not only that, but if it was starting with that much resistance, I would think it would be shaving the jacket.

I would take a resized case and run it up fully into the press, full ram extension. Then thread the seating die in until you feel it contact the case mouth, it will stop when it makes contact. Then back the seating stem out all the way, place a bullet on the case mouth, run the ram to full extension and then thread the seating stem in until you feel it make contact with the bullet. Back the ram down, thread the seating stem in some, run the ram back to full extension, check your oal, and repeat until you have the case mouth in the middle of the canelure. Once all of your bullets are seated, then back out the seating stem one full turn, then thread your seating die down in small increments until you have the amount of crimp you want, done.

I also load with a lot of nickel brass, and it has not been any different to work with.

Even if you were using a powder that fills the case up, I would still think the brass would buckle before that bullet would mash to that degree.

GS
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
  • Locked
Seating Depth - 38 S&W
Replies
4
Views
1K
Jim Watson
J
P
  • Locked
First 38 Special Loads = Crushed Cases
2
Replies
38
Views
3K
Walkalong
Walkalong
jamz
  • Locked
COL question with different bullet shapes
Replies
3
Views
377
jamz
jamz
1
  • Locked
Revolver lead bullets and COL
Replies
1
Views
437
Jim Watson
J
B
  • Locked
Changing BBWC and load 38 Special
Replies
13
Views
2K
1KPerDay
1KPerDay
Back
Top