weekender823
Member
So, I have been loading both 38 S&W and 38 Spl for a while now, using Suter's Choice lead bullets from Graf & Sons. I have tried a few different bullets in 38 Spl, and have the 145 Gr .361 dia. LRNs for 38 S&W. My powder for both is Bullseye.
I have loaded a few starting load rounds of 38 Spl bullets in 38 S&W using Lee and Lyman 47th data, and the .358 dia bullets are shooting pretty well for me. However, since the Lyman data has specific bullet numbers and the Lee manual just references XXX Grain Lead Bullet, I do have a concern about how to determine proper seating depth for the 38 Spl bullets. I used my caliper and a little basic math to find how deep the LRNs are seated in the case.
For Suter's 125 Gr RNFP seated to the cannelure the seated length of the bullet almost matches the depth of the LRN (which has no cannelure). No worries.
A 148 Gr DEWC or a 158 Gr SWC will significantly reduce the case capacity if I seat them to the cannelure. There are loads listed similar to these bullets, but what should I use for a seating depth? I'm not sure if a published COL should be used for a different design lead bullet of same weight. Should I calculate a COL based on seating the bullet into the case the same depth as the original bullet?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
I have loaded a few starting load rounds of 38 Spl bullets in 38 S&W using Lee and Lyman 47th data, and the .358 dia bullets are shooting pretty well for me. However, since the Lyman data has specific bullet numbers and the Lee manual just references XXX Grain Lead Bullet, I do have a concern about how to determine proper seating depth for the 38 Spl bullets. I used my caliper and a little basic math to find how deep the LRNs are seated in the case.
For Suter's 125 Gr RNFP seated to the cannelure the seated length of the bullet almost matches the depth of the LRN (which has no cannelure). No worries.
A 148 Gr DEWC or a 158 Gr SWC will significantly reduce the case capacity if I seat them to the cannelure. There are loads listed similar to these bullets, but what should I use for a seating depth? I'm not sure if a published COL should be used for a different design lead bullet of same weight. Should I calculate a COL based on seating the bullet into the case the same depth as the original bullet?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.