38 s&w

[cheapbill]

Hello!
My first post on this fascinating forum! I just purchased a lovely little Colt Bankers Special in 38 S&W. :) At $38/box for ammo (the store where I bought the revolver had a VERY dusty box of Remingtons there!), I feel duty bound to work at reloading this caliber. I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it yet, but the action is just as tight as can be and all the parts look to be in good shape. It's probably a 75% NRA revolver. The grips are the origianl checkered wood.

I have read that this caliber is a .560 bore, but was wondering if cast .38 special wadcutters wouldn't work just as well. After all, I doubt that I will be invited to Camp Perry to shoot this revolver for points anytine soon! :)

Any thoughts by the good folks here will be duly considered!

All my best
cheapbill

[Guesser]

I cast, load and shoot a S&W Regulation Police from the middle '20s. I cast 358246 and 360271. RN & SWC, both drop 147 grains from my alloy, both drop at .361, I size to .360 and load over 2.15 gr. of A#2 for a factory duplication load in W-W and Starline cases. Great guns and great fun, very accurate even by todays standards.

[MtGun44]

Try .359 or .360 diameter cast, keep the loads mild if you want the gun to retain timing and
headspace for a long time. Great little guns but very small frame and not up to hotrodding.
It won't blow up, but the time before needing the attention of a gunsmith will be dramatically
shortened by hot loads. With mild loads they'll last a long time.

Bill

[cheapbill]

thanks for the information! I will be asking many more beginner type questions in the near future! :)

[9.3X62AL]

Welcome to the board, CheapBill!

I have a 1920-made Colt Police Positive x 4" in 38 S&W, which is a very similar example to the little jewel you just brought home. My revolver's throats run .359", and grooves a tight .358". I size Lyman #359477 (150 grain SWC) to .359" and seat them over 2.0-2.5 grains of WW-231. The heaviest load listed shoots right to the sights at 25 yards, and gets about 700 FPS. My powder weight sourcing is the "RCBS Cast Bullet Manual, Number 1" (1986, pp. 143).

Just so you know, there is another load series for the 38 S&W intended ONLY for heavier-framed Webley, S&W, and Ruger revolvers. These are often referred to as the "38/200" or similar, owing to the 178-200 grain bullets they are loaded with. This was the British-issue service caliber of WWII, and DO NOT allow any such loads anywhere near that Banker's Special or the small-framed S&W Regulation Police or Terrier examples.

[EOD3]

I have one of the little top-break revolvers I used for CAS long ago. I load it with Hornady 140 grain lead boolits. :Fire:

[Molly]

Thanks for a very nice thread and information. I have my 357's & 44's, but I have a lot of fun plinking with older breaktops and solid frame guns in 38 S&W. Naturally, I use fairly light loads (they won't often be used for self defense, and it doesn't take a lot of energy to stop a charging tin can). I have been using a 155g 360271 bullet sized 0.360" over 2.0g HP38, and crimping in the top lube groove. This seems just slightly below factory power levels, so it's probably just about right for these old clunkers. This is a reasonably accurate load, but the darn thing shoots really high in all of the old guns.

For example, I recently picked up a really nice older solid frame H&R with "The American Double Action" stamped across the topstrap. The cylinder is bored straight through, and if I were crazy, I could shoot it with 38 Special wadcutters. At about 15 yards, the darn thing shoots about three feet high with this load! The kentucky windage necessary is a REAL problem, but I really don't want to remove / replace the original front sight. (The rear sight is just a groove across the topstrap.) I'm thinking of trying some 125g bullets for the 9mm to lower the point of impact, but I 'spect the .355" bullets would just about flip-flop through the .360" bore. Does anyone have any loads that shoot anywhere near the point of aim in these old fixed sight revolvers?

[shooting on a shoestring]

You might look into a Lee mould in 140 grain SWC or lighter. They're inexpensive, and even one that had some issues might still work out well for the light load plinking.

[longranger]

I get outstanding accuracy out of my 3 Colt P.P's in .38 S&W with the 148gr Remington HBWC(.360)(cheap) and 2.2 gr Bullseye seat bullets out to 1.25"O.A.L. med. roll crimp.Very accurate @ 730fps.Filthy after shooting I don't care I clean my guns after each shooting session any way,the accuracy is worth it.The Missouri Bullet Co.'s .38 S&W bullets are to big @.361 to fit in my Colt chambers,I resize them down to .360 and they shoot real well.Mag Tech sells 145gr.LRN that are good bullets for the Colt's.Starline has brass available right now for cheap.($84.00/500)
I have had problems with dies for the .38 S&W from RCBS. I bought a set of .38 S&W "Cowbow" dies that were nothing more than remarked .38 Specilal.RCBS made me custom set of dies for my Colt after sending fired cases and the dies back to them.RCBS warranties ROCK.There are many of these .38 S&W revolvers out there that are little works of art especially the Colts,just amazing craftsmanship that has been lost.The only safe queen I have is an unfired 1921 Colt P.P. in .38 S&W beautiful little guns that when loaded with good ammo are excellant shooters.