Printable View
Hi everyone: Does anyone have any load data for the lee 38 special 148 grain tumble lube wadcutters mold number 90294 (stamped on mold). I am currently using 2.8 grains of 700x with hornady 148 grain HBWC. Does that carry over to the solid cast wadcutters? I do believe there is a different load for these. I hear bad reviews on the new lyman cast book and I hate to buy it and find out the info I need is not in there. Thanks everyone for the help
Lee Second Edition lists 2.6 gr of IMR 700X as a start load at 663 fps and 3.5 grains as a max load at 850 fps. Min OAL is 1.295
Hi and welcome to the forum. I do not have a Lee mold for WC's, but I load a solid base double ended WC (H&G) in a S&W M52 and other 38 revolvers. With a deep seated WC I have found that 2.5-2.6 grains of 700X runs the action and shoots accurately. In the revolvers(both K38's) the same loading also does very well. The WC's that I use are deep seated for the 52 to enable functioning; 2.6 grains is not a hot load and 2.8 is not a significant increase that will cause any danger. If you use either as a starting point and work up while watching your group size, you will find the best point that yields the best accuracy. Seating WC's out a bit and crimping in one of the grooves will reduce the air space and the pressure and the velocity. All this will take some tinkering, time and keeping track of what is going on/the best combo, but you will succeed. You don't need the Lyman cast book necessarily...the Lee is much less $$$. HBWC's were designed to have the skirt expand and provide a better seal; the space given up to solid base WC's is not significant in terms of air space and any pressure. LLS
I have a 3rd Edition and a 4th Edition Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. I prefer the 3rd Edition, but there is nothing wrong with the 4th Edition. If you can find a 3rd Edition, get it, but a 4th Edition will provide you with a wealth of info on bullet casting/shooting. I'm not fond of the Lee manual, it seems lacking in load data and just a fair to good "how to" section. Neither has load data for that specific bullet, but both (Lee and Lyman) have data for 148 gr. wadcutters (Which can be used for your Lee wadcutter). I am now using W231 with my 148 -150 gr. plain base wadcutters (3.7 - 4.2). Lighter loads are commonly used for the hollow based wadcutters as higher pressure can separate the skirt from the nose of the soft lead bullet.
TTT bump
...............Well bultobill, I'll have mercy on ya and share a load that I spent years upon years testing and refining. So far I've been able to keep it a secret, but since you're new to the board 'n' all, I figure I can trust ya with it. Don't go blabbing this around but my top secret load is 2.7grs of Bullseye with any 148gr WC :shock:
................Buckshot
I have loaded a lot of .38 Special target loads using 700-x, with either swaged HBWC or cast WC. I use the same load of 700-x, about 2.7 grains. That has proven to be accurate enough for me and I don't notice any difference in POI between the two types of bullets.
Have fun.
I would like to thank everyone who has responded to my post