Reloading the 38 S&W

[OldTman]

Anybody try reloading this caliber? If so, what size bullet (caliber, not length or weight) did you use (.361???)? Does anybody make cast bullets for the 38 S&W? A few years ago someone told me 9 Mak bullets would do it but they're usually sized .365. Any info would be helpful. I'm considering buying one and priced the ammo.

 

[WestKentucky]

I have used the 9 mak cast lead. When it seats it acts almost like a heeled bullet. I have also used cast .358 bullets for 38spl and they did OK, not great. Slug your bore and see what you have. You may be able to run 38spl bullets. It's kind of a crap shoot, but if your gun was made when 38spl was more popular it could easily have a 38spl diameter bore. Both of mine have had the larger bore size, but I know a bunch were built with smaller bores.

And show us your gun.

 

[25-5]

I load for a Webley Mark III .38 S&W from 1927. Commercial ammo is available. Remington Target is .357 dia, and Privi Partisan is .358 dia. Both ran very well and the brass is good to reload. My barrel slugged at .357 to the lands.
Mattt's Bullets and Missouri Bullet have the .360 and .361 diameter bullets, but they did not work for my revolver. I use .358 158gr SWC from MB and they are good for me. For powder I use W231 and Titegroup. Loaded light for a top break.

 

[OldTman]

Thank you West. I haven't purchased it yet. ALL of my firearms are shooters. I was looking for info here. If it's too expensive to shoot I'm not going to invest in it. I was really surprised at your comment about the barrels. That is something I'll definitely check out. You know, there's not a damn day that goes by that I don't learn something. My thanks again and I will pursue this a little further.

 

[Walkalong]

When I loaded .358 158 Gr lead for the .38 S&W it leaded horribly. I tried wax gas checks and it blew the leading out and kept the barrel squeaky clean. They were a bit of a PIA to do, and in quantity would be real slow. Super Grex also works, but is discontinued. Eventually I found the right diameter lead bullet for it, but have switched to plated.

I now load the X-Treme 158 Gr SWC in .38 S&W and it works real well. It's a fun caliber.

The X-Treme 158 is on the right. The one on the left is a Berrys 148 gr HBWC.

What revolver are you looking at?

 

[Old Fuff]

Colt revolvers, that are chambered in .38 Colt New Police or .38 Police Positive, which are identical to the .38 S&W except for a slight flat on the bullet nose; have tight bores (.356 groove diameter) with chamber throats at (.358) and work fine with regular .38 Special bullets.

Factory loads, and matching hand loading data offer modest performance (I use the term loosely) because of 19th Century relics that folks are determine to shoot. In a S&W or Colt Hand Ejector as well as a 20th Century Webley or Enfield you can safely take up the charge a bit.

World War Two S&W .38-200 Victory Models are supposed to have barrels with .361 groove diameters, but don't bet on it. Most run closer to .358".

 

[Curator]

I have a S&W M&P "pre-Victory" in .38 S&W as well as a S&W Model 3 and a Webley MkIV in .380-200. All of them have .361 groove diameter bores. Shooting .358 diameter cast boolits created considerable leading with just about any alloy from pure lead to linotype. After a lot of frustration I found that I could "bump-size" .358 slugs made from half WW and half pure lead in my Lyman 450 lubrisizer using a .361 diameter sizing die. This works great with a 180 grain LBT LFN slug using a simple flat nose punch and pressing down hard when the boolit bottoms out in the die. They come out .361 and shoot very accurately in all of my revolvers without leading.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

For a while I was loading a lot of 38 S&W ammo for an old Enfield revolver. I even made up some 38/200 ammo.

I would highly suggest using a .360" or .361" bullet but not a bullet designed for a semi-auto like the 9mm Mak, no crimp groove.

The Missouri Bullet Company makes a cast bullet for the 38 S&W, it weighs 145gr and is sized to the correct .361". They recently came out with the same bullet coated.
http://missouribullet.com/results.php?pageNum_rsCWResults=12&category=5