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Thread: Questions about .38 Long Colt

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy Mr_Flintstone's Avatar
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    Questions about .38 Long Colt

    I don’t have a .38 LC revolver, but I collect things, and I’ve got some .38 LC brass that I’d like to load up and shoot in my Taurus .38 Special +P revolver and S&W Model 19 in .357. Hodgdon has load data for 125 gr and 150 gr lead bullets, and I’ve loaded the 125’s in the past, but I’ve not been able to find .358” 150 gr bullets. I’ve been thinking about the possibility of using 158 gr cast SWC bullets instead.

    Apparently no data exists (or I can’t find any) for 158 gr. In other cartridges I’ve used bullets that were close in the past, but they were usually 2 or 3 grains different; not 8 grains. Here’s the info that I’ve come up with, but I can’t verify any of it.

    1. 38 Long Colt has a max pressure of either 12,000 PSI of 12,000 CUP. There seems to be some debate on this.

    2. According to Lee #1 and some older Vihtavuori manuals, a 10% increase in bullet weight causes an 8% increase in pressure, and 4% reduction in velocity.

    3. Hodgdon has load data for 150 gr bullets of up to 777 FPS.

    If this holds true, and if Hodgdon max load data produces the maximum allowable pressure, 3.3 grains of HP-38 with a 158 gr SWC instead of 150 gr will yield about 12,500 PSI/CUP (depending on which units are correct), and a velocity of about 760 FPS in the same length barrel.

    Has anyone ever shot 158 gr bullets from a .38 LC, and if so, do my numbers seem to “add up”?

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    If you are not shooting these in an antique revolver, but in a modern revolver chambered for .38 Special, the 12,000 psi pressure limit does not apply. Instead look at starting, pressure-tested loads for the .38 Special and match the same overall cartridge length, powder charge and bullet weight as published for the .38 Special, and simply seat the bullet out longer, to that OAL using the .38 Long Colt brass. A 158-grain lead bullet loaded with 3.5 grains of Hp38 OR 231 at 1.55" OAL will give about 700 fps at about 10,000 psi for an old gun, or 3.2 grains of Bullseye with the same bullet and OAL will give about 800 fps and 12,000 psi, this being based on .38 Special data listed in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition (2010) on p.256.
    Last edited by Outpost75; 01-21-2020 at 01:50 PM.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy Mr_Flintstone's Avatar
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    Thanks. These will just be light plinking rounds, so they don’t have to be powerhouses. I just wanted to make sure they would be safe. I’ll play around with the oal some and see what I can do that way too.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    What dies are you using? Revolvers may require a crimp to prevent the bullet from backing out under recoil. If using 38 SPCL dies make sure they can be adjusted down far enough to crimp.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy Mr_Flintstone's Avatar
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    I’ve got Lee .38 LC/SC/SW dies. I’ve used them before on the 125 gr bullets. They just have the seater/crimp die, but it works pretty good.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Just load to same Overall Length as .38 Special, and it will all be the same then as .38 Special loading density wise.

    Since the Cartridge Case is a little shorter than .38 Special you will get ( to what-ever extent, ) the famed 'crud ring' when firing it.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Just pretend you are loading a regular .38 Special with wadcutters and all is well. I load 2.8 grains Bullseye under pretty much any 150-158 grain slug for my .38 LC brass and they shoot great.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    IIRc the 38LC cartridge was developed for converted 36 cal colt percussion revolvers, and used a heel type bullet, with 372? main body diameter, and 352 base diamerer? so any modern factory 38 LC could be same? your handloads as though 38 spcl should be fine in a 38 spcl, but might tumble out of a vintage 38LC gun.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Not only will 38 LC work in a 38 Special, but very well. There was a scandal of sorts some years ago in 38 Special competition shooting because some competitors were using 38 LC brass. Supposedly, since the 38 LC brass is shorter the competitors were able to shave fractions of seconds off their reloading times. They were shooting full 38 special loads with the brass with no difficulty. Just remember-- the pressure limits are not for the brass-- they are for the design of the steel around the brass. The point of this, is that when you put 38 LC brass in a 38 Special, it is the 38 Special pressure limit that applies.
    Hick: Iron sights!

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by justashooter View Post
    IIRc the 38LC cartridge was developed for converted 36 cal colt percussion revolvers, and used a heel type bullet, with 372? main body diameter, and 352 base diamerer? so any modern factory 38 LC could be same? your handloads as though 38 spcl should be fine in a 38 spcl, but might tumble out of a vintage 38LC gun.
    "The .38 Long Colt's predecessor, the .38 Short Colt, used a heeled bullet of 130 grains ... In contrast, the .38 Long Colt uses a .357–.358 in (9.07–9.09 mm) bullet, the bearing surface and lubricant of which are entirely contained within the cartridge case."
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Long_Colt

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    I shoot 38 short and long out of a TC Encore with a 357 barrel. They are fun to plink with.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master


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    I had the opposite problem. I have an original Colt Army, either 1892 or 1896 (I'm not home and I can't remember). When I needed to concoct loads, I used .38 special brass, but loaded swaged .38 HBWC bullets so they would bump up to the larger bore. I used .38 special starting loads. My only goal was to make the gun go "bang", which I did. That was over 20 years ago, had no desire to shoot it since

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check