Ok, it's a silly bullet, but we're going to make it - .38 S&W 145 Grain RN

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At gunpoint, Graf's is forcing us to make a 145 grain .38 S&W .361 bullet. We've sent samples off to get a set of custom moulds made.

We won't have them for probably another 2 months, but I thought I'd let folks know about the new one in the pipeline.

(who shoots .38 S&W anyhow and why??)

Brad
 
I own two Smith revolvers in that caliber. Maybe, just maybe, the availability of these bullets will make me load for and shoot them. But probably not, they are from the 1880's and I'm a pansy.
 
I have two revolvers in .38 S&W as well. Cool beans. Glad to see someone else making the proper size bullet for it. A 200 Gr would be most excellent as well (hint-hint), although I have no idea if it would sell.

My Victory Model is a very fun and cool gun to shoot.
 
I think you could damn near make up a caliber and someone will have something from some era to shoot it in. LOL

Incidentally, I got the rest of my order from Missouri Bullets. Very happy an shipping was pretty darn quick.
 
I have one 38 S&W revolver that I reload for. Factory ammo (Win) with 146 grain lead bullet is $37.99 per box of 50. I can reload a box for 12 cents per piece, or $6.00 per box of 50. That is why I reload for it.
 
Very cool.
I shoot 38 S&W for the nostalgic fun. We have a Victory model in the family and I have to stuff it with 358's and they hardly touch the forcing cone. The leading is heavy.
 
I tried .358 lead early on in .38 S&W and it resulted in severe leading. Wax gas checks or Super Grex eliminated all leading, but slowed the load process.

The correct diameter lead bullet is by far the best way to go.
 
heheh :)
I have a Webley in .38 S&W that I reload for.
A small order, but I'll take 500 off your hands when you are up and running.
Extremely satisfied with your 9mm "small ball" and your .45 stuff, too.
Let us know when they become available.
 
Hand loading is the salvation for those who like to shoot oddball cartridges and guns.

During the middle 1950’s Great Britain and Commonwealth countries dropped thousands of Smith & Wesson, Enfield, and Webley revolvers chambered in .38 S&W on the American surplus market. They were intended to use the cartridge with either 200 or 178 grain bullets. In addition they’re more thousands of top-break or hand ejector revolvers floating around made by S&W, Colt, H&R and Iver Johnson – as well as others, that require 146 (give or take) bullets. There is no reason many of them can’t be shot with either smokeless or black powder (hand loaded of course). Want another market? Well the cowboy action shooters have been running side events with top-break pocket pistols.

Silly bullet indeed! :neener:
 
I got a Lee group buy 358430 last fall, which was dimensioned to drop .360-.361 bullets at 193g in my WW or 197-98g in my 50-50 WW-Pb alloy. The bullet is a very blunt LRN. I've got a rig coming in from "Buckshot" on Cast Boolits that will let me bump a flat on the nose & see whether that eliminates its tendency to veer through water-filled jugs.

I'm loading & shooting them in 8 Mod 32-1 and 33/33-1 S&W's. I've also shot some .35 Remington bullets--the RCBS 35-200 mold--which drop at about .359-60. In 50-50 WW-Pb alloy, these monsters weigh about 215g and zip thru 6 water-filled milk jugs with arrow-straight penetration, then bury themselves completely into a 2x12 stop board.

I'm also about to load up some 150g Lyman Ideal 360271 bullets, which dropped at about .363 or so, and weigh about 155g in the aforementioned alloy. I got a .361 sizer from Buckshot and am fully in business!

Anyone who wants a dynamite 200g LSWC should check out the group buy on Cast Boolits--ordering is still open, and delivery is scheduled for August. Can't wait to load 'em and shoot 'em. I've bought 200g in .358 from Mt. Baldy & they pack a wallop! If my incoming mold casts that "skinny", I'll just "beagle" it with a few little strips of aluminum tape and cast 'em fatter for my .38 S&Ws, while using the original diameter for my .38 SPLs.

Brassfetcher.com is willing to help out with a gelatin test for free, but I will have to see if others are interested in helping me pay for his material expenses. More on that later. In any event, I intend to do a thorough write-up on whatever home tests I perform with these different bullets.

If anyone has easy access to Ken Waters' 1979 Pet Loads tests for .38 S&W, I would certainly appreciate a copy. Likewise, anyone with access to original British army reports on their adoption of & experience with their ".380/200" aka the .38 S&W Super Police.
 
38 s&w

I'll give them a try for sure, but would also be interested in the correct bullet for the 38-200 load.
Pat
 
I have to wonder if some of you don't understand what it takes to bring out a new bullet, especially one for which moulds made to fit our automated factory casting equipment don't exist.

It costs about $1400.00, starting with a sample bullet for which custom moulds are made. And it involves, maybe, a new transfer bar bushing to fit it, maybe a new drop tube to fit it, maybe a new sizing die to fit it, and maybe a new collator plate with maybe new auxiliary pieces to make the bullet work with the collator.

It isn't trivial. We're doing the .38 S&W 145 grain RN because Graf's requested that bullet and backed their request with an opening order of 20k of them.

That 20k bullets will earn us about a third of what it is costing us to tool up for the bullet. So we will still be out nearly a grand, hoping that other people want it.

So, bringing out a new bullet which requires moulds that nobody makes (we won't use Lee moulds) isn't a trivial matter.

Just FYI.

Brad
 
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