Red Dot 38 Special

[Battis]

I have a 1949 Colt Official Police .38 Special (6" barrel) that I plan on reloading for, with cast bullets. The only powder available locally is Red Dot. Alliant Powder lists it as "Secondary Uses: Handgun loads", and they do list .38 Special loads. An online search for Red Dot brings up differing opinions - some love it, some hate it for handgun loads.
Any opinions here on using it in a 60+ year old Colt that's in great shape?

[btroj]

I don't know diddly about your revolver but Red Dot is a great handgun powder. Generally similar in charge weight to bullseye and useful in a similar number of cartridges.

[ShooterAZ]

Battis, if you go to the very bottom of this page you will see Castpics. Click there and go to the load data lookup section . Enter 38 Special. You will find plenty of Red Dot loads there. Red Dot work fine for most 38 Special loads.

[dverna]

It will work fine in the .38 spl. I get better accuracy with either Bullseye, HP38 or Clays but if it means shooting or not shooting - get the RD.

Promo (same as RD) is my "stash" powder because it will work in so many applications. At $10/lb you cannot beat the price either.

Don Verna

[Battis]

Alliant does list it - I was just wondering how it would be in an older revolver. I also have a Ruger Speed Six 38-357 but I think that gun can handle anything.
http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/powderlist.aspx?page=/reloaders/powderlist.aspx&type=1&powderid=4&cartridge=26

I just went to the Castpic guide - great info.

[Certaindeaf]

Red Dot is a classic powder.. especially suited for .38 Special (and many, many more).
It's not as old as the .38 Special cartridge but its been around for a good while (1932). The only smokeless powder that I know of that's been around longer is Unique which is over 100 years (I think!).

[bhn22]

Red Dot is outstanding in pretty much any application where you might normally use either Bullseye or Unique. Red Dot is right between the two in burning rate. For actual 38 Spl guns, particularly the Colts & S&Ws from the pre-+P days like yours, stick to the normal pressure loads.

[35remington]

In metallic cartridges, Red Dot gets somewhat higher velocity with the same charge weights as Bullseye. Which means it's a bit faster than Bullseye. Many who use both Bullseye and Red Dot in quantity are coming to this correct conclusion. It's just not well known yet......again, unless you use both.

Bullseye is not faster than Red Dot when used in metallic cartridges.

[warf73]

I've never loaded Red Dot in a 38 special case, but have in 357mag. I would think RD would make a nice 38special powder that would work in an older handgun. It works good in 380acp, 357mag, 44mag, 45lc and 480 Ruger all with cast boolits, and is no dirtier than any other powder I've ran threw those guns.

[Battis]

From reading different posts on powders, Bullseye or W231 would be better choices but there's a shortage in this area of each. Loaded rounds are kinda pricey and scarce around here, and no one will ship ammo to MA. Cabelas, Midway, etc won't even ship plain empty brass. But I found a store in NH with plenty of Red Dot, and there's several cast bullet sellers on Gunbroker. I bought some used Lyman TC dies in great shape.

[polara426sh]

I have a 1948 Official Police, but I've never run Red Dot through it. I've only used Bullseye and Unique. The sights on these are regulated for a 158 grain boolit, so lighter ones will print lower. They are fine guns, but if you start shooting hotter than standard pressure loads it will wear out the hand prematurely. Replacements are hard to find as Colt hasn't made a DA revolver with this action since they discontinued the Python(around 1995, I think).

[Chihuahua Floyd]

Use it. Use common sense and verified load data and you will be fine. Its about all I have left right now for pistol powder.
CF

[Certaindeaf]

When all the panic hit, RD was about the last powder to be bought up/disappeared (followed by Promo).. probably because many/most feel the need to use the newest thing on the block and or never heard/knew of it.

[cobbmtmac]

ELMER KIETH'S load for 150(ish) gr. swc bullet is; 4 grs. of Red-Dot for the 38 special. It work well in my wife 4" Colt, Police Positive Special and my 6" S&W Model 10.

[danr]

red dot 3 grains for cast, and 4 for jackets on my taurus 38 spl. works great.

[rintinglen]

I shot up 32 pounds of Red Dot in two years back in my PPC days, cause it was much cheaper than Bullseye in those days. 2.8 grains under a 148 grain Wadcutter Boolit was just dandy. For more punch, I used 4.0 grains under a 150 grain 358-432 loaded to the crimp groove. The only fly in the ointment is that RED Dot doesn't meter all that well.
But keep the loads light, and you'll have no worries. Unless you are a Master Class shooter, you'll never notice the difference between it and Bullseye. Even then, the difference is small.

[danski26]

I have had red dot throw light charges in my powder measure. I believe in my Redding powder measure red dot "bridges" and a 3.7 gr load ends up being a lot less. I stuck a bullet in my blackhawk because of this. Bottom line is I cannot trust red dot to meter correctly in my powder measurer. That is all I'm saying. I know a lot of people use it and love it. Be careful.

[Battis]

I use a scale and powder scoops. Other than the 7.5x55, I've only reloaded with black powder. I'm going carefully with the smokeless.
I actually got a roundball stuck in an antique cap and ball revolver barrel (Savage & North .36). Due to its age, I use undersized balls and light BP charges (I shoot it once a year). Most of the time it works, one time it didn't. The ball almost made it out of the barrel. Only happened once.

[Larry Gibson]

I've burned up lots of Red Dot 38 SPL loads in numerous revolvers, both 38 SPL and 357 Mag. Used 4 gr RD over the 358477, excellent load.

Larry Gibson

[smkummer]

The official police Colt is a medium frame revolver that was the basis for the Python and other .357 chamber Colt double actions post war. It is a stout revolver in the 38 special chambering. I have been using red-dot in 38 S&W and 38ACP for now. Works fine and it appears to meter well enough for me in the 3.0-4.0 charges.

[Battis]

I got the Red Dot and some 148 gr double ended wad cutters. I found a good starting load. I searched around for info on seating the bullet and found anywhere from flush to 3/16" to 1/8" out from the case. Any suggestions?

Seat it to the groove...makes sense. Good thing they're double ended or I'd be asking which end goes in the case.

[dverna]

Battis

Normally a wadcutter is seated to just below flush and a slight roll crimp to hold the bullet. One advantage of doing this is that you will not deform the front of the wadcutter. Also, pressure will be a bit higher with the bullet seated flush so you will use a wee bit less powder for the same velocity.

Don Verna

[mpmarty]

Red Dot seems to be one of the best, most flexible powders around. I've burned a bunch of it reloading in my 550B and had no metering troubles at all. Great powder that I use in 45acp and reduced cast loads in 30/284.

[maclords]

Red dot is my favorite for lead in 38 special. I do find it "faster" than bullseye in this caliber.

[Battis]

If I wanted to keep the pressure down a bit (older gun), would it make sense to seat the bullet above flush?

[maclords]

My preferred load with 148 gr. cast wadcutters is pretty light: 2.5 gr red dot seated to crimp groove with barely a crimp. I think you'll find something you like between 2.5 and 3.0 and they should all be gentle on your gun.

[GSM]

Check the Alliant site for CURRENT Red Dot loads.

[Battis]

I loaded up 20 or so rounds with 3 grs Red Dot, seated (seated? sat?) the bullet out to the crimp groove, crimped it (not sure if they needed crimps), went to the range and fired them off in the Colt Police and Ruger Speed Six (along with some factory ammo). The reload is a very mild load, and as accurate as I make it. The Colt with its 6" barrel handled them better than the Ruger (2" barrel). Now I can experiment with the bullet seating and crimp.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[dverna]

Battis,

Factory wadcutters are seated flush. With mid-range loads, you will not have a pressure problem in any .38

Seating them long provides no advantage I am aware of - but I am willing to learn.

Don Verna

[bob208]

red dot in .38 is my go to load. 3.5 gr. with the 358429. 4 with the lee 150 gr semi wad cutter. I also used to load 124gr tc 9mm bullets in .38 cases they were quick to load with speed loaders.

I like red dot because it is bulkier then bullseye which makes it harder to get a double charge.

[Battis]

After firing those reloads, I see no reason to seat the bullet out - the factory ammo that I fired was more powerful and the gun was fine. As far as crimps - I can't see those bullets moving at all, but the crimp does take the bell out of the case mouth.
Now I gotta figure out how to adjust the dies for .357.

[dondiego]

Add a 0.10 inch washer to the .357 dies. it will be fairly close.

[Battis]

I keep breaking/bending the decapping pins, no matter how much I back out the dies.

[Certaindeaf]

I keep breaking/bending the decapping pins, no matter how much I back out the dies.

It sounds like the decapper isn't centered.. take it out of the press and adjust the rod depth so that it's centered relative to the die body as much as possible. If this doesn't work, it's bent and you'll have to try and straighten it or get a new decapper rod assembly.

[Battis]

It works fine with the .38s but not the .357s. I'll check the alignment again.