Good loads for .38 Special 140 grain SWC?

[FergusonTO35]

Hey guys. Any pet loads for the Lee .358 SWC in .38 Special out there? I'm looking for a consistent 800-850 fps out of my Charter Police Bulldog with 2.2 inch barrel. Consistency is the key, the short tube tends to create a wider spread than a longer barrel. I'm thinking Titegroup or Bullseye might be the way to go.

[waco]

I'm a big fan of tite group in the .38

[Shooter6br]

I have Mod 10 4in HB Love it.I use Universal or Unique with 146 g Wc and Lee 158 G.

[fecmech]

Hard to go wrong with Bullseye in the .38 spl. BE and .38 spl is like bread and butter, I buy it in 4 lb kegs.

[sparky45]

I've been loading with Trailboss 2.8gr under a 157gr RNFP Lead boolit @ 1.422" OR 2.7gr Trailboss under a 158gr LSWC @ 1.475". Both have little bark and are a pleasure to shoot out of my Ruger SP101 with a 3" pipe.

[FergusonTO35]

So, any suggested charges with Titegroup or Bullseye? The 140 grain doesn't seem to get a lot of play in load manuals.

[coloraydo]

Lately I have been loading my 158 gr. SWC's in 38 Special with 3.8 grs. of Titegroup. No idea on fps, but a very good load for my GP-100. Your 140 grainers are right in the ballpark, so I would say 3.8 to 4.0 gr. Titegroup should do you fine.

[fecmech]

So, any suggested charges with Titegroup or Bullseye? The 140 grain doesn't seem to get a lot of play in load manuals.

I would think it's more a question of how fast or slow do you want to run it. My standard .38 spl 158 RN load is 4.2 bullseye and that runs 900 fps out of a 6" K38. The same load with a 120TC runs 990 FPS out of the same gun. A 146gr wadcutter with 3.4/BE runs 750 fps. You will run a little faster(maybe 50 fps) than a 158 load( with your 140) and a little slower than a 125 gr load.

[FergusonTO35]

Sounds good. I loaded up some rounds with 3.9 of Titegroup, hope to give 'em a try soon. As far as speed goes I am looking for a consistent 850 fps or so out of the short tube. This is going to be my snubnose defensive load. In my full size revolvers I use 5.7 grains of Accurate #5 under a 158 grain flat point boolit, it gets 885 fps across my chrono and is very accurate. Accurate #5 is not very clean burning in the snubby, I think a faster powder would serve it better.

[EMC45]

BE or Titegroup will be winner.

[thegreatdane]

BE or Titegroup will be winner.

My thoughts exactly. I can't recall the exact numbers, but i really enjoyed both of these powders behind that boolit.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[dale2242]

3 gr Bulls Eye with a 140-148 boolit is my go to 38 Spec target load.....dale

[ebner glocken]

I've been using 3.7 BE with a 158 SWC lee. It works well through any of my .38s.

Ebner

[GH1]

I use 3 gr of Bullseye with my 158 bullets. BE and the .38 go together like beer & pretzels.
GH1

[MasS&W]

Take a serious look at herco for this weight boolit. Better burns than bullseye.

[FergusonTO35]

I keep hearing Herco over and over again for many different cartridges. Any suggested loads for it in the .38 Special?

[brghp]

4.0 gr Bullseye with a 140 swc would be a nice all around accurate load.

[fecmech]

I keep hearing Herco over and over again for many different cartridges. Any suggested loads for it in the .38 Special?
Really anything works well in the .38 spl. If all I had was Herco or had some to use up,( which I did) sure, burn it in a .38. Will it do anything better than Unique or BE, not IMO, would I go buy it to try in the .38, no. Herco merely mirrors Unique by adding a couple tenths of a grain. I used up a pound a couple years back and saw no magic in it.

[rintinglen]

4.0 gr Bullseye with a 140 swc would be a nice all around accurate load.


+1 I shot a fair few of these boolits with exactly this load in the late 70's early 80's. Worked fine.

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

I haven't used the 140, but I shoot a lot (approx. 1000 a month) of the Lee TL 158 SWC over 3.5 grs of bullseye. I would try 4.0 or 4.2 for the 140s. I know others will disagree but in my opinion bullseye is the best there is for target loads in 38 spl, yes it's a bit dirty, but what is important is that it works very well and you should clean your guns after each session anyway so dirty isn't a big deal.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. I'm looking for an accurate load with enough punch for self defense in an S&W 37, maybe 800-850 fps.

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

for self defense I would go with Unique and work up a range of loads to find out where you recoil comfort level is, you want it to pop but be manageable so you can stay on target, and a load like that varies person to person and gun to gun, so I encourage you to tinker with your defensive loads a bit.

[FergusonTO35]

Yes, thats the plan. I've almost got the .32 H&R Magnum sorted out so a .38 Special snub load is next on the agenda. Then, finish the .32 Auto, work up some 115 and 150 grain loads for the .30 WCF, then hunting loads for the Marlin 1894 .357, then 300 grainers in the .45-70.... it never ends.:roll:

[ShooterAZ]

I use 3.5 grains of Titegroup with the RCBS 38 Cal 140CM (Cowboy Boolit) with fantastic results. This is my favorite cast load in my S&W 686 so far.

[FergusonTO35]

Titegroup is outstanding in my .32's, I'll certainly be trying it in the .38.

[Shiloh]

3.9 gr of Unique gave 785 fps. 4.3 gr. gave 892.

Shiloh

[kdiver58]

the 140 grain boolits don't get a lot of press so . I'm going help a bit. I loaded and my wife and I shot. 200 rounds of 38's with 3.0 grains of Trailboss , very accurate with low enough muzzle flip that my 128 pound wife was able to practice with them doing one handed quick fire drill with no trouble. Out of my sub nose it's at 625 +/- fps. BUT for self defence I would highly recommend Speer's short barrel ammo for the 38. Do a search and read the data for yourself. Sorry for digging up an old thread ( well not that sorry ) Data's Data .

[FergusonTO35]

That's ok. Actually I've found that my S&W's have a strong preference for the 158's while my Ruger Service Six likes the 140's.

[Outpost75]

In my 2" Ruger SP101, 3.5 grains of Bullseye with 146-grain Saeco #348 double-end wadcutter, seated to 1.20" overall cartridge length is 759 fps. 4 grains will get you close to 850 from a 2" barrel, but is a +P load.

[histed]

Like Nocturnal, I'm shooting about 3.5 BE with a Lee 158 TL SWC. Good accuracy and no lead at that speed. Never shot a 140, but the one time I did shoot commercial 148 I used 3 grns. Stumblebutt (I don't want to know :kidding:) likely has it right. I'm just finding out that proper fit is king, but that aside, work up to 4 grains if you want more push

[ShooterAZ]

I'm using 3.5 gr of Titegroup with the RCBS 140 CM mold. This is great load in my 686.

[Love Life]

I use 5 gr of unique for everything from the Lee 358-125-RF to the Lyman 358429.

[bedbugbilly]

I also use 3.0 gr of BE with most of my lead 38s for the SWC and RN that I cast - they make a good target load. On my WC - out of a Lyman mold and about 160 gr - I use the old standard2.7 gr of BE. To me, BE works very well in all of my 38 barrel lengths - 2" up to 6". If you do try BE, work it up like any load - start low and go up until you find what works best out of your handgun. Good luck!

[FergusonTO35]

Since I first posted this thread I've tried a number of different powders with boolits of 125,140, 158, and 162 grains. I keep coming back to Accurate #5. No other powder works as well for the .38 Special for me. It produces +P velocity with standard pressure charges, is insensitive to position, and meters perfectly. I think it just works better with all the empty space than most others do. Green dot shows promise, however it requires a magnum primer for any kind of consistency.

[MtGun44]

I agree with Love Life on his .38 load - works great on a 357429 HP at 158 gr, a +P load, accurate
and expands well.

Bill