38 Special

[youngmman]

Love the 38 special loaded with the H&G # 43 Keith at 173 grains, 5.5 grns blue dot. It's a one hole shooter from a 6" Barrel and safe for any handgun like the Mo 36 Chief's special. Am currently developing a load for the LBT 160 WFN.

[FergusonTO35]

I think the biggest problem is the ammo that was, and is, commonly peddled for the defensive .38 Special. The past few decades have seen the proliferation of lightweight hollowpoint bullets which tend to be very flimsy and lack sectional density or are too hard to expand consistently at .38 velocities. Rather, the traditional strengths of the cartridge should be utilized which include the ability to use heavy for caliber bullets, mild recoil, and superb accuracy. I have read that towards the end of the .38's tenure as the standard LE round ammo companies were peddling aberrations such as +P+ 105 grain bucket mouth JHP's. Anecdotes suggest that stretched revolver frames and failure to stop suspects became commonplace. By comparison just about anything was preferable, whether a .357 wheelgun or hi-cap auto.

[rking22]

My wife was using 125 federals in her M85 carry gun. Several years ago ,I used it to shoot an injured deer. 1 shot to the neck just below his ears (only shot available). THen 2 more !!! I took the deer home and when cleaning it discovered that not a single one of those bullets had broken the neck bones, one had slid thru and cut the jugular. She is now carrying full charge wadcutters! We live in the country and I want penetration, whatever the taskat hand.

[FergusonTO35]

Not very reassuring to think you might have had to face a real threat with that ammo!!

[Petrol & Powder]

I think that during the quest for speed, the trend was for lighter bullets; maybe a little too much. I think the 38 Special does it's best work with bullets in the 150-160gr range. While it is true that velocity increases energy (KE= mass x velocity squared) an increase in kinetic energy doesn't necessarily translate into useful penetration.
There's a reason that 158gr bullets became the standard bullet weight for the 38 Special. There are pros & cons for bullets heavier and lighter than 158gr but overall that 150-160 gr range has a lot going for it.

The old "FBI Load" of a 158gr LSWC HP +P captures all of the desirable self defense traits available in the 38 Special. A soft enough lead hollow point to aid in expansion (even at lower velocities from a short barrel) coupled with enough speed and weight to drive the bullet deep enough to reach something important. If it weren't for the need for speed loaders, I might say that a 160 grain soft lead full wadcutter driven as fast as pressures allow would be a close second.

There are a lot of excellent cartridges for the 38 Special and the 158 grain isn't the only one that works, but it seems to work over the greatest range of variables (barrel length, distance to target, etc.)

If jacketed bullet factory ammo is desired, the Speer 125gr Gold Dot HP had a good track record in short barrels and a very good record in 4" barrels.

The 38 Special has been with us for well over a hundred years. Despite all of the cartridges that have been introduced since the late 1800's, the 38 Special still fills a valuable niche.

[TenTea]

Youse guys speak Fryxell?

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellPraise38-SW.htm

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellSummerOf38.htm

http://www.lasc.us/ArticlesFryxell.htm

[Animal]

My first gun was a Ruger Super Redhawk. My dad gave it to me after his hands couldn't stand the recoil of a big bullet anymore. I mostly fired magnum due to a lack of 44 specials. I then purchased a .357 magnum. I played with both .357/.38, but mostly magnums.

After I started handloading, I began to really appreciate the simplicity of a heavy boolit in a low pressure cartridge. I picked up a .45 acp not too long after, and then a Charter Arms Target Bulldog in a .44 special.

Now I'm finding myself trimming magnum brass to special lengths and loading good ammo that doesn't ring my ears or slap my hands. I don't see myself loading magnums much anymore. I'd like to develop W296 44 mag round with a heavy cast boolit just so that I can have that type of round available if I ever NEED it. I can't imagine I'll ever need it though.

Specials are like dogs. They are low maintenance. Will take care of your family and don't ask for a lot in return.
Magnums are like cats. High maintenance and will drive you crazy if anything is out of place in their perfect little worlds.

[spiritwalker]

slide

I had a Lee , 2 cav. 105 SWC mold on hand and cast about 200 bullets that I tried in the rifle. The rifle shot the Lee 105 SWC so well that I decided that I needed to get the Lee 6 cavity mold in the 105 SWC.

This is about my 8th or 9th Lee 6 cav.mold. Every one of them are a joy to use.

I cast these bullets today ( in about 35 - 40 minutes ) after the mold was 101% clean and up to temp and HOT !



You can see that my rifle really likes the 105 SWC, sized to .3585 ". This is a group fired with Russian Unique at 50 yards with my Marlin 1894 CBC , my particular rifle has Ballard style rifling, not micro- groove rifling :



A very nice mold :

What loads are you using for the 105 gr SWC? I have about 400 cast but no real data. The powders I have on hand are Red Dot, Titegroup, and 110. Thanks.

[JWFilips]

Ben,
What type of front sight you got on that 1894?
Jim

[cbriggs57]

WOW that is a pretty carbine. Love the Marlins. looking for a good load for the 105 grain swc for my Ruger GP 100 38 special. If I can do as well at 50 feet, I'll be thrilled. That is a darn nice setup.

[UnderDawgAl]

"Anybody like Green Dot in their .38's? 4 grains under a Lee 358-140-SWC launched out of my Ruger Service Six is super accurate."<br/>

Green Dot has become my go-to powder in plinking loads. It is bulkier than most, inexpensive, and accurate for me in .38 Spl, 9mm, .32 Mag, and .44 Spl.

[tazman]

"Anybody like Green Dot in their .38's? 4 grains under a Lee 358-140-SWC launched out of my Ruger Service Six is super accurate."<br/>

Green Dot has become my go-to powder in plinking loads. It is bulkier than most, inexpensive, and accurate for me in .38 Spl, 9mm, .32 Mag, and .44 Spl.

I used a pound of green dot a few months ago when that was all I could find. It worked really well. The only problem is, I haven't seen any since.

[UnderDawgAl]

I happened to buy an 8-lb jug around 2010 or so, and I'm glad I did. You can load a LOT of handgun rounds with eight pounds of powder.

[harley45]

Well darn it now I gotta look for model 10 or 15 thanks guys!

[9.3X62AL]

Youse guys speak Fryxell?

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellPraise38-SW.htm

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellSummerOf38.htm

http://www.lasc.us/ArticlesFryxell.htm

YOU BET we "speak" Glen Fryxell......we read, write, and recite it verbatim too. He is among my most trusted mentors in this hobby field, bar none.

[Dale53]

All of this talk about the ol' .38 Special kind of has my "juices running". My affair with the .38 Special goes back to when I was just a youngster (about 14 years of age). My dad was a certified "Gunny" and had a very nice S&W .38 Special M&P. I used it for quite a spell and cut my bullet casting and reloading teeth on that cartridge and gun.

My brother ended up with that piece and still has it. It is the old long action and is slick as butter.

My most shot guns today are my S&W 625's but a close second is my S&W Model 520 - adjustable sight, titanium cylinder,and composite barrel and all. It sure does shoot:


It now wears a Red Dot due to loss of vision that aging often gives:



I mostly shoot the H&G #51 with 3.2 grs of Bullseye or equivalent:



Standing at 25 yards:


If you want to go REALLY "Old School" here is my S&W Model 14 that I call my "Poor man's PPC revolver" - I couldn't afford a full fledged heavy barrel conversion so I used my machining skills and installed to Bomar Rib to increase the barrel weight and give the best possible sight picture. It was quite competitive with my fellow competitors using their PPC guns:



No discussion would be complete without bringing up my personal choice as the "best backup" to my Beretta Over/Under when bird hunting. This would be my S&W Model 60-4 - using a good full wadcutter home cast bullet as pictured above, it will, in MY hands shoot above 95% on the timed fire target at 25 yards, standing. I have taken many sitting rabbits including the large snow shoe rabbits in Michigan's U.P. and a good number of wounded and sitting grouse. On occasion, when just trail walking or hiking in remote areas with the revolver, only, I have felt adequately armed against feral dog packs and those of the two legged variety.:



My daily carry (sorry, no pictures) is my S&W 642 with the FBI load.

So, yeah, I DO have great confidence in the venerable old .38 Special. Old School? Yeah, but it WORKS, my friends, as we all know it does...

Dale53

[Scharfschuetze]

That PPC revolver brings back memories.

Here's mine. Not the one I should have kept, but the one I replaced it with. Still a good shooter though and just scary accurate through the PPC course of fire. It'll bounce pop cans at 50 yards with boring regularity or hold the 10 ring on the B-27 target as long as you're a good double action shooter.

My day to day carry gun? A S&W Model 60 (no dash) in 38 Special of course.

[Ben]

Ben,
What type of front sight you got on that 1894?
Jim

[onceabull]

GunAuctions #12900570 is still a few days away from my hands....BUT, as others have mentioned, it's HARD to pass up a good 5" model 10....this one will be ready if/when I wear out the one I'm using these days.... onceabull

[Hammerhead]

Used to own an beautiful model 10, sold it to 3leggedturtle.
Now I'm in the market for a model 67-1.