Mold choice for Webley 38 S&W

[Oldeyes]

Feeding a revolver with with commercial ammo can be as expensive as feeding the kids, especially with a less common round like the 38 S&W. My Webley Mk. 4 likes the Remington 146 grain ammo just fine (at twenty some bucks a box) but I am past due to cast my own boolits and sock away the savings for new toys.
So, what mould would be a good choice in the 150 grain range that would cast at .362 or so? (My chamber mouths pass a .361 plug gauge but not a .362. ) I am leaning towards a plain base round nose.....altho anything plain based that shoots well is fine. Use will be plinking and killing paper at 25 yards or less.
Do any of the Lyman moulds drop out at this size or are they actual .358 or there abouts as their numbers suggest?

And thanks for any help!

Joe

[Buckshot]

.............Oldeyes, welcome to the board! Another 38 S&W Shooter, eh? :-) There are a few of'em around the board. Maybe if this had been posted on the 'Pistol and Revolter' forum it might have gotten some quicker action. One way is to get a mould for the Makarov in 9x18. I think Lee still makes one??? They drop around .363" but they're light at 93grs.

Another possibility would be to get the Lyman 358430 which is a mould for a 200gr RN. Cast them of pure lead and tumble lube them at the 'as cast' diameter. They should be about .359" or maybe even .360" if you're lucky. If you load to the higher end of 38 S&W data, it's possible the soft slugs will bump up enough. Both my S&W Victory models shoot it well but way high, as they were sighted for 148gr slugs.

One of the other 38 S&W loonies around here is Deputy Al, and he says NEI has a good boolit design for the cartridge. Howsomeever, in the mean time if you'd like, shoot me a PM with your addy and I'll send you some Lyman 35863's. These are 150gr WC's cast of pure lead and tumble lubed. They run about .363". If you could find that mould, that would be an option too.

................Buckshot

[9.3X62AL]

[QUOTE=Buckshot;153908 One of the other 38 S&W loonies around here is Deputy Al, and he says NEI has a good boolit design for the cartridge.
Buckshot[/QUOTE]

OK--how do I follow an intro like THAT? Whatta DRAIN CLOG that Buckshot can be at times, and well-nigh insufferable since he figured out which end the bullets fly from on handguns. He rides inside the camper shell this year, both to and from NCBS. No carpet kit, either--just a folding chair and 2 bungee cords.

The NEI mold design Buckshot referred to is #169A, a 178 grain RN that duplicates the configuration of the British service bullet used in the Webley/Enfield and S&W M&P Lend-Lease 38's. A board member sent some samples my way, and these boolits shot right to the sights at 700 FPS from both the Webley-Enfield DAO and the S&W M&P.

You have a good oppurtunity with your revolver throats measuring .361". My Lyman 38/357 molds all will produce .361" boolits if the blocks are "Beagled" per directions given elsewhere on the board. My W/E revolver throats run a fat .362", and the S&W is a .363"--so I need an application-specific mold. Lyman shows both .361" and .363" H&I sizer dies as regular-stock items, too.

[dubber123]

I just picked up a 358430 yesterday, thinking it was one of the 200 grainers. I got it cheap, and it was new, so I didn't look too carefully. When I got it home I noticed it says 150 gr. right over the block #'s. This one casts at .362" and should do well in my .38 S&W's. This might be another mold to look for. Good luck.

[Oldeyes]

Hello all, thanks for the welcome and the advice!
I dug out my my old NEI catalog and located the #169A mold; I like the looks but notice that it is listed as a .362-200 grains. I don't know how much difference the extra weight would make but I'm already using Kentucky windage and can adapt. A friend is looking for a 200 grainer for his Enfield Mk II so this mold might do well for both of us....I'll provide the mold if he'll cast the boolits...
I'm glad to hear that some of the Lyman molds will drop boolits in my size even though they are labelled for the smaller 38s. My experience with their rifle molds has been boolits coming out pretty close to nominal size and needing some tweaking for oversized bores. I'm willing to take a fling at a Lyman mold or two, and if it doesn't work for my Webley then I'll just start casting for my S&W Victory in 38 Spl.
Buckshot, thanks for the hint about the pistol and revolver forum. As a rifle shooter with calcified brain paths it never even occured to me to go there!

[dromia]

In days gone bye when we could legally hold an shoot psitols in the UK I used to shoot .38 S&W a lot in my Webleys, Enfields and an old S&W Military and police with a pitted barrel.

They all shot extremely well with the Lee TL358-158-SWC bullet, shot as cast and lubed with LLA over 2.6 gns Red Dot, even picked up the odd gong at Bisley with this load.

[Springfield]

I have a 358311AV that I could sell. Never used it, not even sure why I have it. In excellent shape, and a four cavity job to boot. Suppossed to drop a 160 grain RN bullet.

[Oldeyes]

Dromia, thanks for the tip. I have had mixed luck with Lee products and tend to avoid them unless there is no other choice, such as the Swiss and Snider mold buy going on over on the Brit forum. I realise other folks do well with 'em and maybe I just have bad karma....
Yo Springfield, I sent you a PM!

Joe

[dromia]

Joe,

in general I'm not a big Lee fan either but as you intimate sometimes they are the only way to get a custon mould at reasonable cost.

I'm in on those Snider and MH buys myself.

The mould I used for the .38 S&W was six gang one and they do seem to function and last longer the the two gang ones.

[Buckshot]

..............Oldeyes, your boolit care package is going in todays mail pickup. I sent the pure lead Lyman 35863 wadcutters and some 200 gr Lyman 358430's cast of pure lead also. The 200gr RN's don't have the ideal diameter but with their enertia and a healthy boot they may shoot well.

RE: Group buys on the British and Militaria board. I ordered a slug for the Snider and 2 for my MkIV Martini and a 577-450 Greener sporter.

...............Buckshot

[Oldeyes]

Thanks Buckshot! Feel free to pass on any loading suggestions too (please please)
For powders I only have Bullseye and Unique on hand....I may need to run to the store.
I'll let you know the results :)

[Dale53]

At our local gun club Thursday evening, a friend had a Enfield Mk1* (I believe). It was a dbl action only, .38 caliber.

"Favorable" price was $250.00. I looked it over and while it was in good shape, it appeared to have a rather "rough' wartime finish. It was not easy to open. I think that I would prefer a Webley in good shape that you can shoot single or double action. In the Fifties, these could be bought locally for about $15.00 (of course, few of us actually HAD an extra fifteen dollars:().

FWIW
Dale53

[Oldeyes]

A care package arrived today, thanks Buckshot!! Judging from some fired cases the Remington store bought ammo used boolits in about the same size as the 200 gr. RN. I have to bell the case mouth a tad to insert the larger diam. wadcutters. Both boolits look very promising and I'll get a few trial batches run off for this weekend.

Hey Dale53, by my local standards that Enfield was a good price; I ran into 2 this weekend at the flee market for the bargain price of $325 each.....wartime finish partly hidden by peeling paint. I know a guy with a rather minty MK II Albion, he only wants $350. Hmmmm, I am not that fond of DOA and bobbed hammers so I'll patiently wait. A nice single/double action will turn up someday and I like the fact that the front sight blade is replaceable on the Enfields for changing vertical zero.

ps You do nice work Buckshot! Good looking boolits!

[dromia]

You got to get an Albion, they were made in Scotland. :-D

[Buckshot]

.............Oldeyes, did you have a chance to shoot any of those slugs yet?

..............Buckshot