Please reccomend a first load

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Malice

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I have my Lee Classic Loader (the hammer one) coming in tomorrow, according to UPS. I have my scale some spent brass, and UPS is also bringing me a hand priming tool, shellholder and calipers.

I have read my manuals, and have been scouring THR and other forms for info. I have found a lot of resources for sure.

What I want to ask all the awesome THR reloaders is to reccomend to me a good first .38 special load. Something light and pleasent to shoot in my S&W 642, and simple to load.

This needs to be made up of the most common and widely available components, since I will be limited to what is available at the store I stop by on the way home from work.

So what do you al reccomend?
 
It would depend on what you can get. List your options & I might be able to offer some help. I agree with looking for some 158gr wad cutters.
 
I have reloaded thousands of 38 SPL. There are mirriads of good powder/bullet combinations. One of my standards is 158 semi wad cutter over 3.8 grains of Clays. For a weaker cowboy load use only 3.2 grains of Clays.
 
Yes to the light crimp. They most have a lot of shelf face for that many powders. I really like Bullseye in .38 under a SWC charged at 2.7-3.5gr depending on how deep it's seated.

ETA:That 2.7 is also my max load the difference is it is seated deeper the the other. Pay attention to seating depth. I don't have my data in frount of me to list mine.
 
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Malice said:
I am pretty sure I saw 158g swc bullets for pretty cheap by "houston bullet company" at my local store. I'm sure they have all the most popular powders. You just put a light crimp on these?
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38 SPL must be roll crimped. My suggestion is get a LEE factory crimp die, it not only gives a great crimp, it also does a post resize which simply means it will get rid of any bulges making it chamber flawlessly every time.
 
Wait until you get your kit before making any component purchases. The directions will have a range of suggested loads in different powders that match the included plastic powder dipper and you need to stick with what Lee suggests.

Unless Lee has changed that kit from the one I have, you can't crimp with it. That's okay, it's a light recoiling cartridge and it's hard to make the bullets move before shooting with it.
 
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For a new guy I would strongly recomend starting out with jacketed bullets. It's a very straight forward loading process and the data is also very available. I certain I'm not alone on this as I've seen posts from some of the most trusted, experienced, and respected hand loader's on thsi forum that have attested to this in the past. And I'm not attempting to bash lead loader's, it's fine once you've gotten your feet wet but involves a bit more deffinitive process than does loading jacketed. Help me out here if you will Walkalong?
As follows:
125 gr. XTP
6.5 grs - 7.2 grs. of HS6
Standard small pistol primer
OAL 1.455"

The reason I recomend HS6 is because it is a slow burning powder and thus has a rather broad load range, which is also very user friendly regarding pressure spikes. And for a new guy or gal, slow burning powders are a very good palce to start because they nearly completely eliminate an accidental double charge. If you do have an accidnetal over charge you'll see it all over the loading tray, rather than in pieces at the range, referring to your gun. There is nothing wrong with fast burning powder's, they work just fine. But because a typical apllication with a fast burning powder could slip by a new hand loader, being that it will fit in the case. Some slow burning powders will actually decrease or flatten out in pressure once the charge becomes compressed, so it's more of a safety thing. HS6 is a good performing powder and will offer you the choice of sub sonic loads, to a bit over 1000 fps.. I think at the high end or +P which I didn't include in the above data, HS6 can get you to around 1100 + fps.
Since you'll be loading for a revolver you'll need a light crimp. This is easier to accomplsih if you trim all the cases to the same length, if possible. If for some reason your brass is too short to trim all to same lengths the process will get a little bit hinky for a new guy.
 
I started with jacketed myself but I don't see why a new loader shouldn't use lead. I can see your point on 2x charges not fitting with slow powder but which powder has less pressure when compressed then uncompressed?
 
kingmt said:
I started with jacketed myself but I don't see why a new loader shouldn't use lead. I can see your point on 2x charges not fitting with slow powder but which powder has less pressure when compressed then uncompressed?
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I started reloading with 38PSL and 9mm. One with lead, the other with jacketed bullets. Don't really see how one type of bullet is better 'for beginners' than the other....???
The good thing about reloading 38SPL is that you can load it from very weak to pretty stout. I liked mild cowboy loads a lot and you don't have to worry about cycling as with semi autos. 9mm is a different story. Just about every minimum load I started out with caused a ton of issues because they didn't have enough power to cycle my glock. For a while now my standard 9mm load is 4.2 grains of Bullseye under either a 115 or 124 grain bullet. Lead, plated or jacketed. All work AOK.
 
My first loads were .38 special.
158gr LRN, 3.6gr HP-38, CCI #500 primers, light roll crimp with Lee FCD. Shoot them out of a Ruger .357 Police Service Six.

Nice load for me, anyway.
 
With a Lee "hammer" loader, the lead bullet nose & base diameter may be deformed on seating. Buy a jacketed bullet as it will be acting as an expander. When i started i bough an expander button to use. The brass wall thickness will make a difference between brands of brass so you may not have this problem as i did. Bullseye or Unique work well in the 38 special.
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One of my standards is 158 semi wad cutter over 3.8 grains of Clays.
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That is .7 grains, or almost 25% over the max load as recommended by Hodgdon. If you feel comfortable loading it, by all means go ahead, but I would not recommend that to someone looking for a first load.
 
Thanks for the responses. To clarify, I will not be limited to the lee recommended loads because i have an rcbs 10-10 scale.

Also, it is my understanding that the lee hammer kit includes a crimp "die" on the back of the resizing "die".
 
There are a lot of suitable powders for .38 Special and even more usable ones.
When I started loading .38s, I went through one can of Bullseye and then switched to the 700X I had gotten into shotshell loading with. That did ok for a while loading with handtools and single stage press. But the large flakes proved impossible to meter reliably in the pre-Dillon CH Autochamp progressive I bought next.
I went to Win 231 on the advice of CH and have stayed with it for the past 30 years or so.
 
I don't know how deep they are seated but by charge alone I have to agree. That looks like a max for a +P load or even a start of +P+.
 
alrutzz said:
That is .7 grains, or almost 25% over the max load as recommended by Hodgdon. If you feel comfortable loading it, by all means go ahead, but I would not recommend that to someone looking for a first load.
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You are right, checked my log and I use 3.8 Clays for 125 grain jacketed bullets, not 158ers. Shows that one has to double and tripple check anything posted about reloads.
 
3.5 of Titegroup, 158-gr lead SWC is my default 38 special, right out of Hodgdon's Cowboy load chart and I've made thousands of 'em... The hammer dealie is not the best with lead though as said above, you're better off using Berry's thick plated doublestruck from TJ Conevera or else going jacketed. Zero Bullets from Roze Dist is a good choice for jacketed or Montana Gold.
 
I use a 148 wadcutter with 2.8gn of bullseye. this is a light recoiling load and soots good with my 642. I also use the same charge with my .380acp using mbc round nose bullets so I dont have to readjust the powder measure. If you are worried about double charging a case then get into the habit of turning each case over before you charge it. it is also a good practice even if you are not worried about double charges.
 
I always keep my necks turned down until the powder is ready then seat the bullet immediately.
 
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