Need Load for 38spl 356-112r

[Will]

I've got a discontinued lee 356-112r that I use for my 380 and would like a light load for plinking in my 38 ColtPP. It drops boolits at .358+ and that's what I size for my colt. This would save me 40-50gr of lead per pop and would make a good plinker for my grandkids. I've got RD,BE,Uniq and 2400. Any advice appreciated.

Will

[TAWILDCATT]

700X,bullseye,try 2.8 of them.any thing slower with light bullet might not work well.:coffeecom

[jdgabbard]

Well the general rule is if you cannot find data for the boolit you're using, use the one for the immediately heavier boolit.

In my lyman manual I have data for the 120g 358242 with a starting load of 2.8g BE and 4.0g Unique.

In my Reloaders Reference I have a couple of loads...all seem high for .38spl pressure limits. But their source is from cast loads. You might consider these to be max loads and reduce by 10%.

Lyman 358425 112g

3.8g BE for 954 fps
6.9g Unique for 1252 fps
12.5g 2400 for 1185 fps

As stated before this seems high, so consider these max charges. Probably the best bang for your buck, and light loads would be to go with the 2.8g of Bullseye and work your way up to whatever shoots best below 3.8g I think you'll be pleased.

Off subject I just purchased a 358242 (90g) from a member here. So now that I have both weights for that boolit I'm going to be working up a load for them with bullseye and unique. I'd like to have a light boolit such as this in my SP101 38spl. It would make for a great snake gun while I'm out walking around in the woods.

[Will]

I started at 2.4gr BE and it popped about like a 22 and gave a group like a 12ga shotgun about 10" low. I then tried 2.8gr and it shot like a 32 but still a shotgun pattern about 8" low. I moved up to 3.2gr and it shot like a mild 38 load but still got a wide pattern about 6" wide and 8" low. Should I continue to increase the powder and try to tighten the group? I've had problems with light boolits giving poor groups that I could never fix. Max loads with heavy boolits will hit the X ring consistently but I would like a light load for youngsters to practice with. Anyone have a suggestion?

[jdgabbard]

Instead of trying to keep upping the charge, try a different powder. Maybe unique will give you better results...

My lyman shows data for the 120g 358242 at 4.0g min and 5.7g max. Now this is a heavier boolit. So its not quite the same. However, like my previous post above says, that data might be closer. But just seems quite a bit high to me. You might try starting out over about 4.0g unique and see where you sit.

Just remember a lot of handloading is finding what your gun likes with each load. You might change powders and get better groups. Then you might change your lube and get better groups. You might lower or raise your charge and get better groups. My guess, is your boolit is liking it a little bit faster. But just see what your other options give you as far as groups first...