loads for a snubby

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Well I found my pocket gun a have a smith and wesson 637 wyatt deep cover in jail looks like it was never fired I could not pass up this little guy for $300 will bring it home next week in the mean time I have no ammo for a 38 on hand and never loaded for a 2" barrel on hand I have 148gr DEWC and 358477 and J-words in 125gr HP and 158gr JSP what I would like is some suggestions for powder not looking to load +p so if you would pass on your pet load I do have some brass that I'm going to start to prep and some dies to adjust
Thanks LD

[str8wal]

I load 4.8 grains of TG behind a 125 for my LCRx 2". It is halfway between 38 Special max and +P. Gives a decent smack to the hand but not brutal. For my daughter I back down to 4.3 grains as she didn't like the recoil.

Nice buy on the Smif

[stubshaft]

I use 3.5 Red Dot behind a RCBS 158RN. It shoots to point of aim with my 36 and 642.

[Rick Hodges]

I use 6.0 gr. of Power Pistol and Lee 358 125 RF (129 gr. in my alloy) It is a top standard 38 special load and duplicates my 130gr. W/W Hp for practice. (The W/W is +P)
Not in a snub but a 3" Ruger LCRx

[Edward]

Well I found my pocket gun a have a smith and wesson 637 wyatt deep cover in jail looks like it was never fired I could not pass up this little guy for $300 will bring it home next week in the mean time I have no ammo for a 38 on hand and never loaded for a 2" barrel on hand I have 148gr DEWC and 358477 and J-words in 125gr HP and 158gr JSP what I would like is some suggestions for powder not looking to load +p so if you would pass on your pet load I do have some brass that I'm going to start to prep and some dies to adjust
Thanks LD

You did good, got the same gun but gave $550.00 to bring it home for the wife . I load 5.2 grains of unique under a Hornady 158 gr XTP for social work and shoot what ever cast SWC I have handy for fun
the wife lets me have fun with it ! Ed

[LUCKYDAWG13]

You did good, got the same gun but gave $550.00 to bring it home for the wife . I load 5.2 grains of unique under a Hornady 158 gr XTP for social work and shoot what ever cast SWC I have handy for fun
the wife lets me have fun with it ! Ed

I will give that load a try I went looking for a S&W 642 but when I came across the 637 Deep cover it just called out to me
and the trigger is Awesome dont know if I will keep the grips that are on it but I will see how that belt hook works or if it prints
in my pocket or not

[Dan Cash]

Pick a good service load that works well in your other .38s and shoot it. You will be money ahead with more practice than with tinkering. 158 - 160 gain bullet over 4.8 grains of Unique is a place to start.

[Tracy]

I'll second the 3.5 Red Dot under a 158 cast.

[Petrol & Powder]

You really can't go wrong with a standard pressure load and a lead bullet in the 150-160 grain range. My opinion is that short barreled 38 Specials do their best work with bullets in the 150-160gr range. Lighter bullets rarely impact at point of aim with those fixed sights regulated for 158 gr bullets. While you can push a lighter bullet faster, I feel you can't push it fast enough out of a 2" barrel to compensate for the reduced mass.

I've been working with the snubnose platform in 38 Special for decades, including a lot of lightweight alloy frames. My normal load for a 2" lightweight revolver is a RCBS 38-148-WC that weighs about 156grs and 3.1 gr of Bullseye.
I shot a ton or two of Speer and Hornady HBWC's before I was casting and most of those were propelled by a light charge of ww231; also a good LW snubnose load if you're shooting store bought bullets.

My standard SWC load is a SAECO 382 (close in design to your 358477) and 3.5 grains of Bullseye. That load is a little warmer than the above listed full WC load but not by much and still standard pressure.

There's no reason to abuse the shooter and the gun but those alloy J-frames are actually a lot tougher than people give them credit for.

As for powders, there are a lot of choices for 38 Special but Bullseye and 231 are still my favorites. I'm not a huge fan of Unique because it doesn't meter as well as the ball powders and it seems to work better near the upper pressure limits.

I've used most of the faster powders in 38 Special at one time or another. My highest round count is with WW231.
Bullseye is still hard to beat (I've switched to it after many years) and its history & performance is undeniable.
AA#2 will also work but frankly I never saw an improvement over ww231.
I can't speak to Titegroup.
WSF works great in 9mm but I never got it to work well in 38 Special.

If you're using a single stage press, I recommend a Lyman "M" die expander. If you're using a Dillon 550 I HIGHLY recommend a powder funnel (powder through expander) from Lathesmith.

The 38 snubnose is a GREAT tool !

GOOD LUCK !

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Well I loaded up 50 rounds with Unique and yes it meters bad well not as good as W231 and I will load up some with that this weekend
when I get off work as well as with the RedDot I have both on hand

[RED BEAR]

I like 3.1 unique and a 200 rnfp. Mild load and will do the job if you do yours.

[FergusonTO35]

Listen to Petrol and Powder, he knows what he is talking about!

I currently stoke my 637 with 3.1 grains Accurate Nitro 100 under a 150 grain SWC with a CCI primer. Clocks a consistent 690 fps across my chrono, easy to shoot, and is as accurate as anything else I have ever tried. Nitro 100 burns really clean too!

[shooting on a shoestring]

In my opinion, your best boolit for social work is your 148 gr DEWC followed by the 358477. I’d save the jacketed stuff for 357s. Push those 148 WCs with about 3.5 gr Bullseye and you’ll have all meanness you can expect a 2” J-Frame to deliver, and quite frankly, it’s enough.

[rking22]

I also suggest 3.2 to 3.5 of bullseye and the de wadcutters, outstanding load. Accurate and who cares if it expands. 3.5 is my everyday everything load in my M36.

[country gent]

My practice accuracy load is 2.7 grns bullseye ( the old one) and a 148 grn wadcutter, hollow bases really shine here. Loads in a good manual should get you going, even data here shoukd be checked against a current manual for safety.

[GhostHawk]

I'll third the Red Dot load.

I'm filling mine with 3 grains under a 158 gr round nose.
Next batch will play with 125 gr.
I like to keep the recoil and muzzle blast down. Red Dot is great for that IMO.

[RED BEAR]

I am surprised . I must be the only fan of big bullets. For those who don't like unique 2.8 or red dot works well to. I may be out in left field but i have always liked a big hunk of dead soft lead.

[Froogal]

I will give that load a try I went looking for a S&W 642 but when I came across the 637 Deep cover it just called out to me
and the trigger is Awesome dont know if I will keep the grips that are on it but I will see how that belt hook works or if it prints
in my pocket or not

Very similar to what I load for my 642. I've tried some +P loads. They make more noise and develop more recoil, but are not any better in my opinion. If I feel a need for recoil, I'll bring out my Uberti in .45 Colt.

[onelight]

I like 3.7 grains of red dot and a 130 rnfp I was loading those for my wife to practice with in her lcr and 649 but they shoot good in every thing I have shot them in . They will clover leaf in my Rossi 92 at 25 yards.

[curioushooter]

Not sure what you want the load for...and that matters.

My view of snubs is 100% business. They are personal weapons. As such I only load them with the absolute best ammo available, which is currently the Federal 38+P 130 Grain HST. In both my 442 and my wife's 638 this ammo is accurate, hits to point of aim, and has the absolute best overall performance that can be obtained in a 38 with a short barrel.

The HST bullet is not available for retail sale, so I ballistically match it with a cast boolit. My attempts using 140 grain and heavier wadcutters have not been met with success. I think I may try with the LEE 125 grain RF bullet next.

As far as good loads for a snubbie. I have not found anything to be truly a pet load (unlike 357 Magnum where I do have some pet loads). The highest velocities I have obtained have been with PowerPistol and Accurate #5. Both of them are too dense and leave much space in the case, even with heavy bullets. Accuracy is nothing special (unlike the Federal HST which is the most accurate normal handgun ammo I have ever used). My thinking is that Unique is a good powder for 38, many classic loads use Unique. And if you have some I'd start there with the usual bullets and book load data. Tightgroup is another powder that has much accuracy potential, but it is too fast for max velocity with anything besides maybe a 110 grain bullet.