Power Pistol for .38 sp

[Rodentman]

I am starting reloading. I plan to reload 9mm, 40 S&W and .38 sp. I bought Power Pistol which I know is good for the autos, maybe not ideal for the .38.

I have Speer 4211 jacketed 158g bullets. Would 5.0g of PP be a good avg load for those .38's? I have +P rated as well as .357 revolvers to use.

Thanks!

 

[Randy1911]

5.0 grs is an overload. My Lyman manual list a starting load at 4.3 grs. and a MAX load of 4.8 grs. If you don't have a manual, get one. You can go to the powder makers websites and look it up.

 

[Rodentman]

To clarify...

I guess I didn't phrase the question well. I have the Speer #14 manual and it lists a start charge of 4.8 and a max charge of 5.4 for PP with a 158g lead bullet. Speer says that jacketed bullets take more energy to clear the bbl and overcome the loss of pressure due to the cylinder/bbl gap.

My question really is: Is that an issue? Can't I use the charge as shown for lead bullets with jacketed bullets?

With a min of 4.8 and a max of 5.4 I figured 5g would be ok.

Alliant website lists 5.4g of PP for 158g LSWC bullets.

 

[Randy1911]

I have Speer 4211 jacketed 158g bullets. Would 5.0g of PP be a good avg load for those .38's? I have +P rated as well as .357 revolvers to use.

I though you where wanting data for a jacketed bullet.

 

[dakotasin]

don't use cast data for jacketed. not likely to blow you up (but it could), but you won't get ideal performance. start w/ the low jacketed data and work your way up until you find your level of comfort w/ the load/gun combination.

i run power pistol in my 38's, 9mm's, and 40's (45's, too).

 

[bluetopper]

You can load Power Pistol down quite a bit without having a bunch of unburnt powder left. It's pretty forgiving. Really a great powder from my experiences.

Also, it takes more uuumph to force a jacketed bullet down the barrel to achieve the same velocity as a cast lead bullet.
Load accordingly.

 

[Steve C]

IMO using a 15 cent 158gr jacketed bullet in the .38 spl is just a waste of a good jacketed bullet and money as you can't develop enough velocity at .38 spl pressures to get any kind of expansion from the JHP's and SP's. I save 158gr jacketed for the .357 mag and use swagged or soft cast lead for the .38 spl. If you want to shoot jacketed in the .38 spl I'd suggest 125gr.

Power pistol is a great powder for the 9mm and other high pressure cartridges. I use it in 9mm quite often.

I've tried 6.3gr PP in the .38 spl with 125gr JHP's thats pushing them at 1,080 fps out the muzzle of a 4-5/8" Ruger BH revolver but it leaves carbon deposits on the outside of the top 1/4 of the case.

Generally I prefer Unique for full power and W231 for target velocity in low pressure cartridges like the .38 spl and .45 acp.

 

[Rodentman]

Thank you for the responses. I am using 4.8g of PP with the 158g JHP bullets. I plan to get some lead bullets if I can find them.

 

[lgbloader]

Rodent,

I would keep on trucking with the PP in the semi-auto's and try Unique, Bullseye, or W231 for the 38spcl.

Food for thought.

LGB