TacticalJanitor
Member
Today I ordered a Dillon Xl-750 with all the trimmings, thanks to a previous thread of mine. Many generous members provided a lot of helpful advice in an effort to get me where I'm trying to go as a new reloader.
I am now beginning to collect information about reloading for .38 Special in bulk and am wading through many Internet sites and minutia. Below is an explanation of where I THINK I am in the process.
Brass:
This is the easy part. I have been buying .38/148g HiTek WC (@800fps) from Choice Ammunition and saving the brass for a couple of months. When the time comes to order new brass, I plan to use Starline...but that should be quite a bit down the road. My local Range Officer has been collecting .38 brass for me at the range too. I'm sitting pretty good in this department (I think).
Primers:
This week I managed to find 400 SPP (CCI) and will start reloading with them. My understanding is that CCI primers are hard. I doubt this will be a problem. All my handguns have factory springs, but time will tell. However, I'd be interested what folks think is the best value when ordering in SPP in bulk.
Powder:
I plan to start with Bullseye because there is a lot of .38 info out there pertaining to it. I haven't found any Bullseye locally though, and suggestions of alternate brands would be welcome. For instance, I noticed that my LGS has Tightgroup in stock.
Projectiles:
My immediate need is to get some bullets ordered. This is really the intent of this post. I practice defensive shooting and MAY start tinkering with a little bullseye shooting in the near future. the HiTek WC I've been shooting do not lead the barrels of my J frames a whole lot...but I am spending more time scrubbing out lead than I'd like to.
Also, my M&P 340s are sensitive to either the HiTek coating or the lead. A lot of junk is being forced past the gas ring and I need to pull the cylinders apart every 200 rounds to clean them. It's bad enough that the cylinder resistance begins to cause a noticeable increase in trigger weight (which is already heavy). I've noticed that plated factory ammo seems to solve this issue. Uncoated lead makes the problem much, much worse (50 rounds will just about lock up any of the three guns).
So, rambling and explanations aside, here are my main questions:
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
I am now beginning to collect information about reloading for .38 Special in bulk and am wading through many Internet sites and minutia. Below is an explanation of where I THINK I am in the process.
Brass:
This is the easy part. I have been buying .38/148g HiTek WC (@800fps) from Choice Ammunition and saving the brass for a couple of months. When the time comes to order new brass, I plan to use Starline...but that should be quite a bit down the road. My local Range Officer has been collecting .38 brass for me at the range too. I'm sitting pretty good in this department (I think).
Primers:
This week I managed to find 400 SPP (CCI) and will start reloading with them. My understanding is that CCI primers are hard. I doubt this will be a problem. All my handguns have factory springs, but time will tell. However, I'd be interested what folks think is the best value when ordering in SPP in bulk.
Powder:
I plan to start with Bullseye because there is a lot of .38 info out there pertaining to it. I haven't found any Bullseye locally though, and suggestions of alternate brands would be welcome. For instance, I noticed that my LGS has Tightgroup in stock.
Projectiles:
My immediate need is to get some bullets ordered. This is really the intent of this post. I practice defensive shooting and MAY start tinkering with a little bullseye shooting in the near future. the HiTek WC I've been shooting do not lead the barrels of my J frames a whole lot...but I am spending more time scrubbing out lead than I'd like to.
Also, my M&P 340s are sensitive to either the HiTek coating or the lead. A lot of junk is being forced past the gas ring and I need to pull the cylinders apart every 200 rounds to clean them. It's bad enough that the cylinder resistance begins to cause a noticeable increase in trigger weight (which is already heavy). I've noticed that plated factory ammo seems to solve this issue. Uncoated lead makes the problem much, much worse (50 rounds will just about lock up any of the three guns).
So, rambling and explanations aside, here are my main questions:
- Wadcutter vs FMJ for practice ammo. Cheap is my goal...but not if it leads to constant barrel scrubbing.
- Hard cast vs "standard" lead. Any reason to choose one over the other for range ammo?
- DEWC vs HBWC. Which is better and why? If there is no practical difference for my application, then cheap wins.
- WC pre-lubed/coated or not? The HiTek has a strange smell when shooting outdoors. HiTek is marketed as being non-toxic. But, it smells strange and this makes me wonder.
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Last edited: