Trying to get into reloading, want your input.

One of the issues is that i cant find smokeless locally anywhere. I can find black and Pyrodex. I don't mind ordering bullets or shells, but powder and primers come with the Hazmat fee. Cabela's is the only place (that i know of) that carries reloading supplies. I'd love to reload smokeless, but i just can't find it anywhere.

 

load BP and have a smoky good time

 

When you're in Las Cruces stop by the Sportsman's Warehouse there and see if they have any Accurate #2 or #5. If you're going for 148gr WC either of those will have some data.

Edit: In fact, follow this link and check out Page 27 for 38 Spl. data with the 148gr WC. Just remember to take heed and do the reading first before you jump in to the loading!

https://accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WPHandloading-Guide-7.0-Web-REV.pdf

A lot of people love to recommend Unique but, uh, yea, good luck finding any.

 

That’s great.

Yeah an amazing transformation here. When my parents moved here in 1966 my friends from the old neighborhood said I was going to become a redneck (actually used the term greaser in those days). In a 100 yard square there was the loading bench, Dawson’s gun shop, a small indoor pistol range, and an archery range.

All that’s gone today but the new look is fine too and, my property value keeps going up, but crime doesn’t.

 

Pyrodex is hard to ignite and unstable compared to smokeless, 777 is worse. If I had absolutely no way to get any smokeless, I'd pick Blachorn 209 over Pyrodex.

 

That's a problem we are all facing right now. Some areas seem to get it easier than some others but it's still hard to get.
A lot of us keep a rather large stock of consumables so we aren't as affected as our members that keep minimal stock.

As far as presses, I would go with the Lee Classic Cast Turret press for pistol loads. You can set up all your dies and they stay in the turret set up all the time. You can run it as a semi-automatic or a single stage, which ever you want. They are a hefty press that is built to last. If you want to load another caliber you buy another turret and set up the new dies in it, then from that point you just switch turrets.
RCBS, Hornady, Redding, Lyman, Lee, all make good quality single stage presses.
There are a couple brands you need to stay away from but I haven't seen them advertised for quite a while.

Seriously do some reading about the reloading process to learn it and to also help you understand the equipment you will need and why you need it.

Pretty much you will need :
dial calipers to measure seating depth and measure brass.
powder scales- balance beam preferable for you first set.
powder funnel- for dumping powder into empty cases.
press- What ever you decide you want.
dies- 38 special, RCBS, Hornady, Redding, Lee, Forster, who ever, all 7/8x14 thread.
loading manuals. You can download some old ones here.
http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading Manuals/

It can get much more extravagant than that but for one caliber for one pistol, you don't need a lot. That comes later on as you get addicted to reloading.
Any questions just come here, you'll get lots of help.

 

I have never come across a bad press, although some of the Lee progressives can be annoying. (They can be made to work, but I wouldn't buy one as my first press). Just about any bench mounted single stage will be fine, and you'd have to really look to find one that isn't threaded for standard dies. I've had a tiny little RCBS "Partner" press for decades and have abused it with some pretty big cartridges, and it just keeps on doing what it is supposed to.

Just type in ".38 Special shell holder" and you'll find what you need. Brand is unimportant; they all work with everything, with very rare and specific exceptions.

Likewise, I haven't found any really bad manuals. If you are going to stick with cast bullets, Lyman's "Cast Bullet Handbook" is an excellent reference. Otherwise, just buy anything from a major manufacturer and you'll be good.

I'm scratching my head about the negative Pyrodex posts. The .38 was originally a black powder cartridge! It is fine with BP and Pyrodex. Loading is child's play and safer than any smokeless powders - it used to be recommended that the beginner load with BP for a year or so before graduating to smokeless. Simply fill the case with enough powder that the bullet compresses it by a tenth of an inch or so. Magnum primers are best but really not necessary. It's also great to have a cast bullet with an extra large grease groove, but that's not necessary either. As long as you stick with a cast bullet - technically, you can use jacketed, but then you'll need to fiddle with "lube cookies" and such - you'll be fine, though of course Pyrodex - even more than BP - demands rapid and thorough cleaning.

 

From what I've done with BP in revolvers - mostly .38S&W, .32S&W, and .32H&R (the original, pre-.32Long, NOT the "magnum") - it's not so much the groove size but the lube. Smokeless lubes tend to be more wax than grease and the powder residue gets chunky, locking up the cylinder spindle, instead of staying soft and flowing. I have found the Hunter's Supply green goo lube works fine for three or five cylinders of BP and all day for smokeless.

Maybe the OP ought to be checking in with the folks over on Cast Boolits?

 

There are dozens of powders that will work for 38 Special. Titegroup, Silhouette, HS-6, HP-38, Winchester 231, etc. Keep checking Cabelas. Also, hazmat isn’t horrible. If you plan carefully you can get bullets, primers, powder, maybe some brass, dies, press, and all in one shipment. You won’t even notice the hazmat fee.

Also, I know you don’t want to do volume loading so this may be helpful. I have a supply of 50 cases dedicated to the 38 Special power level loads. Whenever I want to shoot some I just load up those. I’m on the 4th loading now. I’d like maybe 100 to 150, but that satisfies my needs for now. I never find 357 Magnum brass at the range and rarely 38 Special either.

It’s rare I shoot all 50 in one sitting. It usually takes a couple trips. Maybe 3 depending on how it’s going. They’re stupid accurate so it’s usually a cylinder or 2 and I’ve hit all I want to hit.

 

I can share some brass with you. I don't have much, but I can give you 50 more if you want.

 

There are a bunch of nice folks on THR

 

Thanks for the offer but I couldn’t take brass from an aspiring reloader in such times. I’ll keep an eye out and find some 38 Special brass somewhere. I’ll likely have to empty those pesky bullets and powder they often come with, but that’s a chore I will accept.

 

So people are telling me not to use BP or sub because of Black Powder Fouling:

I have more than enough experience with black powder. A lot more than smokeless, I know my way around it. I know how to clean black powder

For lube, I was planning on using a mix of Lamb Tallo and Paraffin Wax, or maybe buying some Alox or SPG. For the bullets, I'm not quite sure, but I can dip lube most, or I can make a mess of the cylinder with crisco.

 

I have some 38 spl that I inherited from a close friend of mine that passed away 4-5 yrs ago. I use 357 mag brass for my 38 spl target loads, so I don't use them. PM you info and I will send you PIF package. I have well more then enough for my use, 3 gal pale full.

 

I didn't realize you were experienced with blackpowder, thought you were a newbie. As 38 Special said the .38 was originally a blackpowder cartridge. I'd go with what you got, make sure there's no space in the cartridge and have fun.

 

I'm a total newbie when it comes to reloading. So for that, I'm always ready to learn. Thing is that reloading ain't really popular here, so I have to reach out to THR if I want to talk to someone about it.

 

youtube is great once you got your press + gear! I’m a visual person!

 

Sounds like you’re fully dialed in. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

If you’re experienced in black powder like muzzle loaders, you reload every shot.

 

Do you need .38Spl, .357Mag, or both?

 

Need is a strong word. I have 100 357 cases and I found 8 38 Special cases a little bit ago at the range. I also have 100 once fired Magtech 38 cases but I’ve not started on them. I promised my buddy across town I’d split them with him. I’d like to have about 100 more of each to load as a reserve. These are purely recreational loads though.

 

PM sent.

 

Dude if you want some 38 brass, I'll share with you. I can always buy more factory ammo.

 

Call the local gunstores and ask if they carry powder or primers. If they say no, ask them who sells them locally. Call around to anywhere that might have supplies. If they don't have anything in stock ask them if they know when more might arrive. Back in 2013 when I started reloading I had the delivery days of the various local shop memorized and would call weekly in order to find stuff. Much easier than spending time driving around.