38 Special loads for carbine and pistol use +p

[bluejay75]

Greetings gents,

Any of you have a proven 38 special load with 150-160 grain boolets and Unique or HS6?

Any comments welcome. Pistol is a Ruger LCR 3 inch. Rifle is a handi rifle.

Bluejay

[Outpost75]

Neither of those are the best powder for the purpose.

4 grains TiteGroup
4.5 grains W231 or HP38
5 grains AutoComp

HS6 is going to leave unburned powder in a 3" .38 Special which can tie up the gun if you are not careful to raise the muzzle when you eject the brass, and carry a toothbrush to clean under the extractor when it does.

Unique tends to do the same thing in short barrels and its particle size isn't conducive to uniform metering of +P charges, so that you would have to weigh every one to be safe.

[winelover]

I use 5.0 grains of Unique, as my standard load in 38 Special for decades, with 158 grain bullets. Nowadays, it's considered a +P load.

Winelover

[bluejay75]

I use 5.0 grains of Unique, as my standard load in 38 Special for decades, with 158 grain bullets. Nowadays, it's considered a +P load.

Winelover

How accurate is that load? Dirty?

[bluejay75]

Is it worth it to get a 4 pound jug of 231?

[Outpost75]

Is it worth it to get a 4 pound jug of 231?

Whatever you can get the best deal on, 231, TiteGroup, HP38, WST.

[bluejay75]

Share some good loads gents. Proven, go-to loads.

[Outpost75]

Share some good loads gents. Proven, go-to loads.

Hodgdon web site has data for the powders I listed.

[bluejay75]

Which powder has the least flash?

[tazman]

Which powder has the least flash?

In my experience, CFE Pistol, WST, and Bullseye have less flash than others. YMMV

[winelover]

How accurate is that load? Dirty?

Minute of bad guy, in my belly guns. I make it a point not to use 38 Special brass in anything other than 38's. Carbines get 357 brass..............downloaded, if required. Never found Unique to be excessively dirty. Mostly, use Unique or 2400 for all pistol cartridges. Can't even begin to count the number of 8# jugs I've gone through.

Winelover

[kenton]

A little off topic but I have been really happy with 5.5 grains of power pistol under a 158 rainier out of my rossi 92 and ruger 77/357. I haven't tried it with cast yet.

[Larry Gibson]

I use and have pressure tested 5.5 gr of Unique under the 358477, TL358-158 and the 358156 cast soft. They weight 155 - 162 gr. The pressure in a closed breach barrel with no cylinder throat (free bore) is just under or at the SAAMI MAP for +P 38 SPL.

[USSR]

A couple of years ago, I did some extensive load development work on the FBI Load, which is basically what you want. Using my home cast 158gr hollowpoint bullets, the loads were as follows:
7.0gr HS-6
6.4gr AA#5
5.6gr Unique

Note: You should always use a magnum primer with HS-6. That is my favorite load and does 940fps coming out of my 2.5" Model 19, so it would be a real barn burner coming out of a carbine.

Don

[gwpercle]

5.2 grains of Unique , cast 150 to 160 grain boolits in +P-38 special or 357 magnum .
When shot out of a Ruger Blackhawk , 6 shot groups were about the diameter of a quarter .
If the charge was dropped to 5.0 or below...accuracy suffered. Unique likes +P loadings.
4.5 grains sucked rocks.....going to Bullseye solved the light target load accuracy problem.
Gary

[Clamper13]

160gr bayou RN
5grns Win231
mixed brass
CCI SP

Average 827fps
Spread 70
SD 24

This is our of my 3" 686+

[badwolf]

How's that bullet feed in a lever action?

[Hi-Speed]

I’ve used 5.2 grs Unique and 158 gr lswchp to duplicate Remington/Winchester’s 38 Spl+P 158 gr lhp factory loadings. 5.6 grs Power Pistol also very good with same 158 gr bullet. All these loads are in accordance with current reloading manuals for 38 Spl +P.

Enjoy

[bluejay75]

About to hit the loading bench. My boolits are weighing in at 165. I have a box full of sized and primed (with small rifle primers) 38 special brass and am going to run 5.7 HS6, 6.0 HS6, 6.3 HS6 and 6.6 HS6. Will post results.

[Pioneer2]

Manstopper load for pistols. 148gr HBWC loaded upside down on top of 3gr Unique.Expands to over .70 caliber and will penetrate one side of a 40gallon steel drum at 100 yards.Use at own risk.

[Wireman134]

About to hit the loading bench. My boolits are weighing in at 165. I have a box full of sized and primed (with small rifle primers) 38 special brass and am going to run 5.7 HS6, 6.0 HS6, 6.3 HS6 and 6.6 HS6. Will post results.

What happened? Did it blow up?

[bluejay75]

What happened? Did it blow up?

Results were erratic in ALL of my pistols. Like couldn’t hold to a pie plate at 7 yards erratic. I settled on Unique.

But.....

In 44 Magnum 12.8-13.2 grains shot like magic in both my pistols and rifles with every boolit I tried. Accuracy and performance outpaced Unique.

[dg31872]

I am curious how Unique worked in the Handi Rifle?

[Wheelguns 1961]

I don’t know if you are still looking for a load, but I have the same pistol, and use 4.0gns of bullseye under the 359 hammer lg hp. It is a great load. I only shoot it at 10yds, but it is very accurate. My anti- personnel load for that weapon.

[RickinTN]

In a Rossi 357 Carbine, not a handgun. I recently tried 5.2 grains Unique under the Lee 158 RNFP in 357 cases which actually weighs about 162 grains, sized .360". Even with my old eyes accuracy was pretty good at 50 yards. I shoot a green front sight pretty well but I lose the dark front sight on the Rossi. Only a guess here, since I didn't chronograph, but thinking still subsonic.
Good Luck,
Rick

[sniper]

I use and have pressure tested 5.5 gr of Unique under the 358477, TL358-158 and the 358156 cast soft. They weight 155 - 162 gr. The pressure in a closed breach barrel with no cylinder throat (free bore) is just under or at the SAAMI MAP for +P 38 SPL.

Yup! what he said! many 100s shot in IPSC competitions and walking about, with no complaints. ~ 860 fps, 4" barrel. Good load!

[fecmech]

Only a guess here, since I didn't chronograph, but thinking still subsonic.
In my Rossi's (20 and 24") 5.1/Unique and various cast 158's run right at 1100fps.