Light loads in 38 spl.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I am getting the Lee 358 105 gr. six cavity mold and I'm thinking about using a very light load of Bullseye, like 2.0 grs. Can you see any problems with a load like this? I have used 3.0 grs of Bullseye in the 30-30 with a 110 gr boolit and had no problems. I don't know if this is transferable to a pistol case.

[texassako]

I shoot some light loads with light bullets. I don't know if 2gr will be enough powder since I just used the lowest load in the Lyman #4 cast book of 3.6 to be sure I was not going to get a stuck bullet. Now I use a batch of brass I was given that was cut down to .38 Short Colt length for those light loads and 2gr is enough in the shorter case.

[MtGun44]

Just make a few to find out where they will reliably make it out of the bbl. Take a brass
rod and hammer to the range!

Bill

[Ben]

Take a brass
rod and hammer to the range!

Some good advice Bill is offering !

[Larry Gibson]

Cast them really soft. Make sure every bullet has exited the barrel with such light loads. The barrel/cylinder gap can easily vent the gas and leave the bullet stuck in the barrel. Been there, done that with that bullet in my own .38 SPL. The low psi loads leave more primer grit so the more rounds shot the more likely a bullet can stick, especially at 2 gr or under. My best load and a very accurate one with that 105 gr SWC is 4.7 gr Bullseye at 1050 fps from my 5" M15. No stuck bullet worries with that load....great for plinking and deadly on smal game.

Larry Gibson

[mongoosesnipe]

I find that titegroup ignites better at low charge weight than bullseye and it burns cleaner than bullseye

[45-70 Chevroner]

Thanks guys, I will use the info as food for thought and give it a whirl.

[ShooterAZ]

I use Titegroup with that boolit too, 3.5 grains. Very pleasant to shoot, no worries about it sticking in the barrel.

[WilliamDahl]

I think I tried 2.0 gr of Hodgedon Clays with a 158 gr LRN bullet at one time and got around 350-450 fps.

It's been a couple of years since I loaded these, so my memory might be a bit fuzzy on the exact powder charge. I can't find my reloading notes either, so don't take that 2.0 gr figure as *exact*. It is definitely a quiet load though and will punch through the shell of an armadillo at night without waking any neighbors. I don't even bother with hearing protection when I'm using it at night.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

There is a great article in "The NRA handloaders guide" C1969
"Minimum Loads in handguns" by William Dresser.

He worked up a load of 0.75gr of Bullseye for a 146gr. WC specifically for a Smith & Wesson Chief's Special [38 spl] with 2" barrel. MV=195 fps

The article goes into great detail on how to work-down to where the boolit sticks in the barrel and then work-up to a level where it will reliably shoot. Also mentioned was that Wad Cutters are best as they can be seated deep which then reduces powder capacity space, which would be desirable in this instance.

I couldn't find any online free copies, but you can loan it from the local library, no doubt.
Good luck,
Jon

[Patricklaw]

I really like that boollit but I'd lean more toward the three grains of Bullseye side. That said, I've never heard anything about BE creating problems with reduced charges like some magnum pistol powders are known to do.

+1 on the brass rod and hammer.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Well my need to know got the best of me. I went out to my reloading room and loaded up six rounds. Three with a 148 gr. pure lead wadcutter, and three with WW lead semi wad cutters all with 2.0 gr. of bullseye weighed on a digital scale. WW standard small pistol primers and Remington 38 cases. All 6 rounds made a nice report, I was wearing hearing protection and safety glasses. I was shooting them across my Shooting Crony and none of them registered any velocity, I don't think there was enough light in my garage or there's something wrong with my Crony. I shot into a 5"X18"X24" doug fir beam. All six boolits went in about 1" not much penetration and the kick in my 4" S&W Highway Patrol was about like a pellet pistol. My main reason for wanting such a load was to teach my grand daughter how to shoot with very little kick and then work up from there until she gets used to the noise and and kick.

[Jazzcat]

I have used that boolit with 2.8 gr of BE for a powder puff load in a Ruger LCR. Nice for practicing with a light weight snubbie. I use 3.5 gr of BE when loading for my GP100 with the 6 inch barrel. I am casting 50/50 WW and soft lead and tumble lubing with 50/50 JPW and Alox. So far no complaints.

[MarkP]

Cast them really soft. Make sure every bullet has exited the barrel with such light loads. The barrel/cylinder gap can easily vent the gas and leave the bullet stuck in the barrel. Been there, done that with that bullet in my own .38 SPL. The low psi loads leave more primer grit so the more rounds shot the more likely a bullet can stick, especially at 2 gr or under. My best load and a very accurate one with that 105 gr SWC is 4.7 gr Bullseye at 1050 fps from my 5" M15. No stuck bullet worries with that load....great for plinking and deadly on smal game.

Larry Gibson

Fully agree, I use a similar load with same 105 SWC in every 38 I own from 1-7/8" J frames to 8-3/8" K- frames. My fixed sights on my 637 are spot on with this load, which makes a nice practice round. Like others I have stuck this boolit with light loads in a 2" M-64 (2.0 to 2.3 gr RedDot) It just exited the muzzle and there was enough to grab to pull out with a pair of side cutters I had in my truck.

[Shiloh]

Just make a few to find out where they will reliably make it out of the bbl. Take a brass
rod and hammer to the range!

Bill

Sage advice.

I've taken 148 WC down to 2.5 gr of Bullseye with no issues. 2 gr. might be a tad weak. Try it and report back.

Shiloh

[45-70 Chevroner]

Sage advice.

I've taken 148 WC down to 2.5 gr of Bullseye with no issues. 2 gr. might be a tad weak. Try it and report back.

Shiloh
Check my post #12.

[geargnasher]

The particular cylinder gap and cylinder throat fit will have a lot to do with what minimum load works in one gun or another.

Gear

[jonp]

Bill is right. Always have a wooden dowel and hammer ready when going that light and check the barrel after every shot. Another gun in the truck to keep shooting when you jam a,bullet isnt a bad idea either

[cephas53]

Have experimented with this a bit. Recommend good labeling as what works in a 4" barrel may stick in a 6". Settled on a load that works reliably in all my revolvers of that caliber.

[koehlerrk]

Good, glad to hear you made it work Cephas, and that's a good caveat about the sticking in longer barrels. BTW, where abouts in NWPA are you? I'm near the south end of Keuka Lake, aka, SWNY... about 30 miles from the PA border.

My own "super light" loading that I worked up for a friend of mine is so:

3.0 grains of Hodgdon Clays behind a 75gr baby wadcutter - the mold is an old Ideal 358101.

The story is that a good friend of me and the wife got her first handgun this spring, a Smith 38 special, and she loves it. The problem being that she was in a nasty car wreck about 5 years ago, took lots of nerve damage to her arms, so any recoil above a 22 mag it painful for her to shoot more than a few times. So, I worked up this load for her, then cast her hubby about 500 of them so he can load them. She's tickled pink that she can go shoot more than 5 rounds without any pain.

That said, at these levels, bullet weight has more bearing on recoil than the amount of powder. Your 105s will be pretty easy going. Have fun and keep shooting!

[prsman23]

Since it's to start your granddaughter off have you thought about wax boolits??? No powder charge and still goes bang. You can make them cheaply or order them. $10 for 500. Then you can work her up with powder.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Since it's to start your granddaughter off have you thought about wax boolits??? No powder charge and still goes bang. You can make them cheaply or order them. $10 for 500. Then you can work her up with powder.
Good thought, I have made them my self. I had not thought of that as it has been about 30+ years sense I did it. Thanks for the reminder.

[Shiloh]

Check my post #12.

I think he is referring to using a LEE 105 gr. SWC. Doesn't fit in the case near as far. Lower pressure and a reduced charge may not give it the oomph to clear the barrel.

Shiloh

[cephas53]

Good, glad to hear you made it work Cephas, and that's a good caveat about the sticking in longer barrels. BTW, where abouts in NWPA are you? I'm near the south end of Keuka Lake, aka, SWNY... about 30 miles from the PA border.

Just below I-80 half way between Erie and Pittsburgh. For these light loads am using range lead to cast 148 gr HBWC's. Have tried under 2.0 grs Bullseye but final loads are a bit over that. Have been adjusting the load up a bit at a time as wife gets comfortable with it.
Checked my notes and have noted a warning to check the backstop shooting close with light loads as ricochets may happen. Dug out the article JonB mentions and it's a good one. Liked the part where the author states progress is being made when a bullet sticks in the barrel.

[jsizemore]

Chrony won't work under florescent lights.

[35remington]

Even though fast powders aren't particularly position sensitive you will find said position sensitivity here. With the shallowly seated light SWC and the small powder charge there's a lot of room for it to move, and velocity variation powder front to powder back will be noticeable and potentially problematic. Yes, even with Titegroup.

Tip the barrel up before firing to orient the powder near the primer. Should you doubt me, chrono with powder forward and back with the lightweight Lee bullet to see for yourself.

[koehlerrk]

Just below I-80 half way between Erie and Pittsburgh.

Ahh, that puts you about 3 hours from me. Close enough to remember if we get a good buy on lead but need help because it's a big lot.

Cast Boolit guys... we're EVERYWHERE!

[220]

I load the same bullet with 2.0gr AP-50, deep seated so the nose of the projectile is about 2mm below the case mouth.
Velocity is a little over 600fps from my 6" 686 and 10 shot groups off bench at 25m are under 2"

[WilliamDahl]

Chrony won't work under florescent lights.

Last I heard, they still sell incandescent bulbs. Some might even argue that even if a chrony would work with fluorescent lights, it might be better to use incandescent since a shattered fluorescent bulb would release mercury. Now, having said that, I will admit that I've never been all that concerned with breaking fluorescent bulbs when I tossed them in the trash.