Short Barrel 38/357

[Bareen]

Do any of you have favorite loads for a short barrel 38/357? My soon to be wife(under 20 days left) got me a Ruger LCRx as an early wedding present and I wanted to know what people enjoy shooting in something with this short of barrel. It's my first wheelgun, but I load for several semi auto handguns. I have a pretty good selection of powder available locally, Alliant and Hodgdon.

I don't have a mold yet, but will most likely get a 158 grain SWC, either new or from my grandpa who is getting out of reloading due to failing health. I did some searching but I haven't found too many loads geared toward short barrels. 1.875" is the barrel length by the way.

Thanks!

[Outpost75]

I don't load full charge .357s in my snubbies, but +P .38 Special level with powders which give low flash in the short barrel.

[Hickory]

I have this mould and use it in my S&W model 60,
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=35_310&products_id=2372
but it might give your wife more recoil than she would like.

[MT Gianni]

With a snub i like velocities that give a quick return to target so +p 38 is the max I would want. In general the 158+ gives me a better powder burn so I compromise with recoil.

[thegatman]

I shoot 130 grain 38’s in my short barrel snubbie. Shoots to point of aim and recoil is bearable.

[jmort]

I got one for my daughter
148 grain wadcutters
Low recoil

[gnostic]

I load full-on 296 from the manual and 125 grain J word bullets in my 2.5" 686 and model 19. In addition to having a handgun I'm confident with, I can light cigars at 4 feet...

[stubshaft]

I use 2.7 grs. of Red Dot behind either a Lee 125 or RCBS 158 RN in my 36's and 642. The recoil is lighter with the 125 but the 158 RN shoots to POA. BTW - both shoot 2" @ 20yds.

[ShooterAZ]

My wife has a 2" S&W Model 10. It will only shoot to the POA with bullets 140 grains or heavier. I load 3.5 W231 with the RCBS 140CM boolit for her. It's an accurate load and she enjoys shooting it.

[Gray Fox]

Since HP expansion is iffy at best I use some plated DEWC with a +P load of Win 231 or Universal Clays in my snub .38s and the equivalent loading in .357 cases for snubs in that caliber. I prefer the Universal because it burns very cleanly. I carry a +P load of the Lee 125 grain RNFP in either an HKS speedloader or in a strip loader because the DEWC are pretty difficult to reload in a hurry. GF

[marlin39a]

I've been loading the Lyman 358477 for 40 yrs. HP-38 is my powder.

[country gent]

In my 340 airlight the only really easy to shoot comfortable load is as follows
Alloy is 50-50 beeswax paraffin pour in pan 1/2" - 5/8" thick.
push sized deburred case into cake to cut bullet and seat into case
seat a pistol primer and your good to go

If you want a little more modify the primer pockets to large pistol size and open flash holes up to .100 size. The large pistol primer dosnt give a lot more real performance but it keeps you from loading full power loads in cases that have the flash holes modified

I used these for practice and also pidgeons, mice and rats in buildings. A nice light load that has no recoil in in the ultra light magnums. The 340 at 12 ounces is sharp recoil even with light wadcutter loads. Other wise look for some light 100-125 grn bullets and load to light 38 spl loads. My 340 has a barrel ledgend warning against using 125 or lighter bullets in it.

[rking22]

We ( myself,my wife, and daughter) shoot lots of cast wadcutters on top of 3.2 or 3.5 gr of bullseye powder. Carry load is the same, no such thing as "over penetration" in my world. The 125 gr Lee is a nice plinker but does not shoot to the sights in our M36s. All 38 special standard pressure,,,,, check the book don't trust my, or anyone's , memory!

[rintinglen]

I use MP 360-640L 140 grain hollow points over 5.0 grains of WW-231 in my 357 snubbie. That is a plus P load, which, cast from 30-1 lead/tin expands reliably and is quite accurate. For many years, I used Lyman's 358-432 160 grain WC over 4.0 grains of Red Dot. Either of these loads will serve you well.

[catboat]

I have a S&W. model 49 in 38 Special ( “Bodyguard” / humpback , 1 7/8” barrel). I shoot 148 grain double-ended cast wadcutters ( wheel weights) over 3.5 grains of Bullseye. Shoots well and to point of aim at 10 yards ( about 1 inch groups). I call it “ my short range squirrel gun.”

You have to wonder how much your gift gun will be shot. Might be better to just reload commercial cast/ swaged or jacketed bullets, instead of casting your own.

Roze Distribution ( online) is a great place to buy lead or jacketed bullets.
They have high-quality swaged 158 grain lead HP bullets, as well as 148 grain wadcutters (hbwc or doubled-ended). Great quality and pricing, $77-80/1000 ( including shipping for swaged bullets). Their jacketed bullets, “Zero” brand, are also very accurate and high value. Can’t beat that with a stick. Not to mention your savings in time, and raw lead cost.

Home casting isn’t always the answer to a shooting need.

http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

Roze Distribution pricing for 500 bullet orders ( great way to test bullets)
http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RZD&Category_Code=ZB-38Special

Update: I picked up a S&W 60-4 ( stainless 3” heavy barrel 38 special j-frame with adj sights). I load homecast 148 grain solid base wadcutters ( H&G 50 or Lee tumble lube 148 gr solid wadcutter) over 4.5 grains Unique. Not quite +P level. Not quite “ FBI load” ( which is oft stared as 158 grain hp lead at 900 FPS, 4” barrel).

[RU shooter]

My 340 has a barrel ledgend warning against using 125 or lighter bullets in it.
Why do they warn against shooting 125 or lighter bullets in it ? Seems that heavier bullets would be more abusive to a light weight gun recoil wise anyways ?

[rking22]

Forcing cone impact stress or maybe cutting of the topstrap at BC gap by hi pressure gas., but then I'm guessing.

[Tikka]

Mid range 38+p loads about all most people can handle in that light weight. I tried some full power loads in my smith ultra light and you aren't apt to get a follow up shot unless your a few feet away. Compare to a small hand cannon with 357 loads. Best loads I've found are milder HP-38 powder and lighter bullets. Little dirty but no excessive muzzle flair.

[mr surveyor]

for light loads in the revolvers, I use AA#5 in .38 spl and AA#7 in the .357 mag. I shoot cast wadcutters, semi-wad cutters, RNFP and some jacketed with these powders and all seem to run clean and reliable in the shorties.


jd

[Wayne Smith]

Why do they warn against shooting 125 or lighter bullets in it ? Seems that heavier bullets would be more abusive to a light weight gun recoil wise anyways ?

It was a combination of high impact on the forcing cone and the barrel erosion from the powders used that wore out the earlier versions of the S&W guns.

[sandman228]

i just bought a pair of 38 snubby's for the wife and I about a week ago .1 is a new Taurus and the other a new rossi , I've never been a big fan of either but to be honest were both are very happy with them. she picked the Taurus I cant remember the model number but its the new 6 shot version of the 85 and mine is a rossi mod 351 . ive been loading a lee powder coated 105 gr swc bullet over 3.5 gr of red dot with very good accuracy at 7 yrds and they shoot at point of aim . we've also been shooting allot of 148 gr powder coated dewc from a lee tumble lube mold over 2.7 gr of bullseye also with very good accuracy . ive also been able to put the wad cutter load on paper at 25 yrds with the rossi , not dead nuts accurate at that distance, but not to bad either .

[USSR]

My CCW is a 2.5 inch S&W Model 19. My load is known as the FBI Load. The bullet is cast from my MP 359640 mould. The 158gr bullet in the middle came out at 840fps, while the bullet on the right did 945fps.

222652

Don

[Forrest r]

My CCW is a 2.5 inch S&W Model 19. My load is known as the FBI Load. The bullet is cast from my MP 359640 mould. The 158gr bullet in the middle came out at 840fps, while the bullet on the right did 945fps.

222652

Don

I use that same bullet in a s&w L-comp that is listed as having a 3" bbl. While the bbl shroud is 3" long which is a good thing because it has the longer extractor rod that fully ejects the long 357 cases. The bbl itself is 2 1/2" long with the comp taking up the last 1/2" of bbl.
https://i.imgur.com/V4IV6Qv.jpg?1

I use 14.7gr of 2400 with that Mihec 359640 158gr and it chronographs @ 1200fps in that 2 1/2" bbl'd l-comp 586. HP expansion is not a problem and that 158gr bullet has a pretty good smack @ 1200fps.

FWIW:
I did testing with 3 different powders for the 357/359640 combo. 2400/H110/MP-300 While I was testing the loads I figured I'd also test them in different bbl lengths. So I tested them with 2 1/2", 4", 6", 8" & 10" bbl's. The 2 1/2" bbl was the l-comp 586, the 4"/6"/8" bbl's were in a dan wesson with the bbl gap set @ 4/1000th's. And the 10" bbl was a contender bbl. The strings were only 20-shots but I gave me an idea of what to expect.

14.7gr 2400/359640
2 1/2" bbl ='s 1197fps
4" bbl ='s 1257fps
6" bbl ='s 1345fps
8" bbl ='s 1406fps
10" bbl ='s 1610fps

18.5gr MP-300/359640
2 1/2" bbl ='s 1124fps
4" bbl ='s 1261fps
6" bbl ='s 1404fps
8" bbl ='s 1477fps
10" bbl ='s 1672fps

16.0gr H-110/359640 load mirrored the MP-300 load (+/- 10fps)

The faster burning 2400 did extremely well in the short 2 1/2" bbl & all powders were pretty much = in the 4" bbl. The slower burning MP-300 & H110 really started to shine in the 6" and longer bbl's.

For me it's 14.7gr of 2400 pushing a Mihec 359640 158gr hp

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I put 3.0gr HP38 under a 125-130gr RNFP Cowboy bullet for a Taurus 851(638 clone) and an S&W 638 for pleasurable practice. I put a 148 Wadcutter over 4.0 gr HP38 and a CCI shot cartridge if I carry it for rattlers, skunks, raccoons. Swap out the shot cartridge or load Federal wadcutters for town.