what is your favorite 38 special wadcutter load?

[horsemen61]

what is your favorite 38 special wadcutter load? The reason I ask is because I was just gifted several and I would like a good load for them.

 

[gunlaw]

2.8 g of Bullseye. It's a classic load for a reason, very accurate.

 

[rehorne]

The "standard" for many many years on the Bullseye circuit was 2.7 gr of bullseye, standard small pistol primer and a 148 gr wadcutter.
I've proally loaded and shot a half million since I started loading and shooting in the 60's.

Matter of fact, My Star Model B is still setup and cranks out several thousand rounds a year.

 

[ljnowell]

2.9gr of AA#2. Meters better than bullseye, leaves my gun cleaner, and shoots better.

 

[Miata Mike]

Red Dot works well for me, but doesn't meter as well as I would like.

I am set up for HP38 on my Lee Pro 1000. Need some more testing before I decide on the final load.

 

[mbopp]

My M-19 never shot light loads well. 4.3 gr of Unique worked good though.

 

[Joatmon]

As stated, 2.7-3 grains of BE is hard to beat for accuracy in .38 spl. Rehorn, always good to hear that reloaders are still cranking them out on a Star progressive. I have one with a 2.7 charge bar and one with a 2.8 charge bar. I have not tried AA#2, probably works well also.

 

[zxcvbob]

2.5 grains of International is a good load, and it meters easily. Right now my press is set up for 2.6 grains of Promo (same as Red Dot)

I also like 4.5 grains of Promo (Red Dot) with DEWC's in .357 Magnum. Don't try this one in .38 Special.

 

[Hondo 60]

3.0 gr of Tite Group, 148gr LWC, 1.160 OAL.
That tucks the entire bullet in the case & crimps over the edge

 

[beatledog7]

I like a 2.8-gr charge of Bullseye, and I use Rem 1-1/2 or 6-1/2 primers for most of mine, whether HBWC or DEWC. OAL is set to 1.18" and I add just enough taper crimp to let them chamber.

These shoot very well from my 642 and my Security Six.

 

[Starter52]

4.0 grains of 231 when I load plated lead DEWC bullets. 3.2 grains when I load plain lead. The plated load is necessary to keep the bullet safely above 800 fps, as recommended for plated bullets.

 

[kostner]

3 grains of Unique or Bullseye seem to work very well with my cast bullets. No leading problems in my SW442 or SW M-10.

 

[robowo]

As mentioned by others 2.7 grains of Bullseye is my favorite load. Another nice load is 2.4 grains of Clays, also excellent accuracy.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

2.7 gr of 7625.

 

[hAkron]

I use 4.0gr of HP-38 with 158gr lead SWC.

 

[joneb]

what is your favorite 38 special wadcutter load?

There are a lot of different 38 cal WCs out there, which is yours ?

 

[kgpcr]

2.8 grns of Bullseye is a great load for them!

 

[joneb]

We have no idea about the 38 cal WCs gifted, this is important.

 

[anothernewb]

148 HBWC over 2.3gr of Trail Boss. just as easy on the wrist as the tried and true bullseye load, but alot cleaner barrel!

 

[ljnowell]

I forgot to mention in my above post about using AA#2 about crimp. When I first started using cast lead DEWC's instead of HBWC's I just couldnt get the accuracy that I was used to with the hollow base bullets. I was seating to the crimp groove and putting a roll crimp into the groove, just like you would with any other bullet with a crimp groove. This isnt to say that they were shotgun patterns, they just werent great groups.

On a whim one day I seated them deeper, covering about 75% of the band above the crimp groove. Then I used my crimp die to just straighten out the case. No crimp at all, just straighten it out till it was against the bullet, no air gap.

When I tested those, it was a night and day difference, WITH THE SAME POWDER CHARGE. I haven't crimped a DEWC since and never will again.

 

[horsemen61]

148 dewc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

3.2gr W231 under a 148gr HBWC and 3.5gr W231 under a 148gr DEWC. (W231=HP-38)

 

[chriske]

3.1 Gr of W-231
3.4 Gr of VihtaVuori N-320

 

[beatledog7]

jibjab,

It seems we all assumed the WC was of the 148-gr variety, which is overwhelmingly the most popular, and we turned out to be correct.

 

[ATLDave]

2.9-3.0 of AA#2.