Cast bullets for .38 practice

[dlbarr]

Have a Taurus 605 and just want to load +P rounds for
practice. What size bullet & any particular mould recommends? Thanks.

[tazman]

I owned a Taurus Tracker 627. It loved Lyman 358311 boolits sized to .357 loaded with a +P charge of WST powder.
It shot well with nearly anything but loved that load.

[rfd]

Lee dc mold 358-158-rf

[Conditor22]

You could go with the Lee 358-125 6X RF.
Why the +P? you want speed or knockdown power
you want it to hit hard go with the Lee .358-158-RF (also comes in a 6X)

[murf205]

Attachment 249616 This is one of Toms molds. It makes a 158gr plain base that is very accurate in everything I have tried it in.

[dlbarr]

You could go with the Lee 358-125 6X RF.
Why the +P? you want speed or knockdown power
you want it to hit hard go with the Lee .358-158-RF (also comes in a 6X)

I will use this for CC and will use factory +P cartridges. Figured I should practice with the same. I am correctable on this line of thought if you think I need to be...

[Petrol & Powder]

I would recommend using the same bullet weight in your practice load and carry ammo but the practice load doesn't need to be +P unless you just want to duplicate the recoil of the two rounds.

Bullet weight has more effect on Point of Impact [P.O.I] than the pressure the cartridge is loaded to. So a standard pressure cartridge with 158 grain bullet should shoot to the same P.O.I as a +P cartridge with the same 158 grain bullet.
And remember that the difference between standard pressure 38 Special (17K psi) and +P 38 Special (20K psi) isn't that great.
When you step up to 357 magnum (35K psi) the difference becomes huge.

[roverboy]

I've got a 605 stainless. Great little gun. It gets your attention though with full power magnum loads.

[gwpercle]

Lyman # 358432 , 160 grain wadcutter , PB , now discontinued .

NOE : 360-160 WC (PB) , 160 grain wadcutter , NOE's recreation of Lyman #358432 , in production .

Either of these boolits , cast 50-50 COWW / lead , sized .358 .
5.0 grains Unique = +P Load .
5.5 grains Accurate No. 5 = +P Load

You may want to start with 4.5 grs. Unique or 5.0 grs Acc. No. 5 for a lighter load to start with .

That same boolit works very well with the following:

3.7 grs. HP-38 = light target load.
2.8 grs. Bullseye = light target load .

This boolit design flys under most shooters radar but it is one of the most accurate boolits I have ever shot out all my 38 Specials and 357 Magnums . It can make 10 shot groups that are one ragged hole and shoots to the fixed sights of every J frame S&W I own .
I shot NRA Bullseye Match for years and have been on a quest for the most accurate grouping cast 38/357 boolit for 40+ years.... this design is the winner.
An accurate 160 gr. Wadcutter makes a pretty good defense round and shooting to the J frames fixed sights helps round out the picture .
Gary

[rfd]

i'm with P&P, be more concerned with the bullet weight than powder weight, for practice.

[Conditor22]

I wouldn't go +P unless you can keep the muzzle on target for multiple shots in rapid succession.

The boolits/bullets can only do the most damage IF you can put them where needed.

A big part of the practice is getting the gun into action (without removing a toe or ?) and hit where you want.

Many prefer the lowly .380 as a CC gun, easier to put them all where you want in a hurry.

[gnostic]

I practise with standard load 158 grain SWC and CC 125 grain JHP loaded flat out. The recoil is about the same with both loads and I don't tear up my revolver...

[35 Whelen]

Have a Taurus 605 and just want to load +P rounds for
practice. What size bullet & any particular mould recommends? Thanks.

This is the mould I bought to cast practice bullets for my .38's/357's



In fact all my practice bullets for revolvers are RN style for one very simple reason; If I see a cartridge I've loaded with a round nose style bullet, regardless of caliber, I know it's loaded to 750-800 fps and is a practice round.

35W

[Kraschenbirn]

+1 on the Lee RN cited in Post #13. I powder coat and load them for both .38/.357 (sized .358) and subsonic 9mm (sized .356).

Bill

[Rick Hodges]

My carry load is the WW 130 gr. Ranger HP. I load the Lee 125 RF (129 gr. with my alloy) to the same velocity. The carry load is +P but my practice load of Powder Coated Lee 125RF is a warm standard load of Power Pistol that gives the same velocity and same point of impact with my Ruger LCRx3. (875fps.)