Cast bullets for .38 practice

[dlbarr]

Have a Taurus 605 and just want to load +P rounds for
practice. What size bullet & any particular mould recommends? Thanks.

[Winger Ed.]

I use a RCBS Keith style gas checked semi-wadcutter.
Can't remember the weight, I think it's a 158 and I size to .357.

It does very well in any .38 and you can gas it up into .357Mag speeds too.

[Green Frog]

The Lyman/Ideal 357156 (with GC) is a longtime favorite. If I only had one bullet mould for all my 38 Spl and 357 Mag shooting, this would have to be it. :Fire:

Froggie

[smkummer]

358477 150 SWC was my 38/ 357 bullet for years. Non gas check. You don’t need the gas check for 38 plus P speeds.

[Petrol & Powder]

You generally don't need a gas check on a handgun bullet.
A 150-160 grain SWC is about the best "do it all" bullet for the 38 Special. RCBS makes a great mold for that bullet but RCBS molds are limited to two cavities.
If you want more cavities in the mold, there are dozens of choices available for a 150ish grain SWC.

I switched from the RCBS SWC to a similar style bullet from a SAECO mold to get 4 cavities. They are both excellent molds but the 4 cavity mold sure does speed up the casting process.

Some people claim that a round nose bullet is more accurate but I've honestly never seen the difference.

[USSR]

I use the MP 359-640 and MP 358-429, both of which when cast as hollowpoints weigh in the neighborhood of 160 gr. Middle bullet at 845 fps and right bullet at 940 fps fired in .38 Special +P loads out of my S&W 19 2.5 inch snubbie.

249978

Don

[charlie b]

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If it is practice with your carry pistol then you want to duplicate your carry ammo with cast. Same weight bullet, same general velocity. Two reasons. First, it means your POI vs aimpoint will be the same for both ammo. Second, it means the recoil is about the same so you are training your muscles the same way.

Plinking loads in my .357's I like to use lighter bullets, 125gn, and +P velocities.

For a field load I like 158gn SWC at +P velocities or full bore .357 loads depending on where I am going. If you are going to be shooting smaller game then a 125 or lighter might be better.

I tend to buy Lee stuff but some prefer the other brands. For this use in a revolver the exact shape isn't important.

I had a 605 for quite a few years in the early 90's. It was a great little pistol. Don't know if anything has changed but mine had a tendency for screws to work loose when firing .357Mag loads. The one screw that gave the most problem was inside the action, IIRC the screw holding the hand in place(?). When it worked loose it would lock up the action. Even blue loctite did not fix it. I ended up using a dab of red loctite on it and it fixed the problem.

[dlbarr]

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If it is practice with your carry pistol then you want to duplicate your carry ammo with cast. Same weight bullet, same general velocity. Two reasons. First, it means your POI vs aimpoint will be the same for both ammo. Second, it means the recoil is about the same so you are training your muscles the same way.

Plinking loads in my .357's I like to use lighter bullets, 125gn, and +P velocities.

For a field load I like 158gn SWC at +P velocities or full bore .357 loads depending on where I am going. If you are going to be shooting smaller game then a 125 or lighter might be better.

I tend to buy Lee stuff but some prefer the other brands. For this use in a revolver the exact shape isn't important.

I had a 605 for quite a few years in the early 90's. It was a great little pistol. Don't know if anything has changed but mine had a tendency for screws to work loose when firing .357Mag loads. The one screw that gave the most problem was inside the action, IIRC the screw holding the hand in place(?). When it worked loose it would lock up the action. Even blue loctite did not fix it. I ended up using a dab of red loctite on it and it fixed the problem.

I appreciate this input. Yes, this will be a carry piece for me so I want to practice with the same loads. I'll pay attention to that hand issue also. Thanks.

[Winger Ed.]

I tend to buy Lee stuff but some prefer the other brands. For this use in a revolver the exact shape isn't important..

I'm a big RCBS, Lyman guy.
I had a bevel base wad cutter I cast for a S & W model 52 automatic that chambered .38Spec. wadcutters flush with the case mouth.

A buddy got a very well used Lee double end wadcutter mold at a garage sale for a dollar and gave it to me.
It was so accurate in the Smith the ammo made with the RCBS mold sort of embarrassed me.

[charlie b]

LOL, Lee stuff has always been good for me. I was surprised when I looked at some of the cast bullet bench rest matches. Some of those guys use Lee molds.

Every now and then a mold has to be carefully touched up, eg, removing some burrs. But, most I have used as is for many years.

[Up North]

The lee 158 swc tumble lube bullet is one of my favorites in that caliber. Good design and shoots awesome behind 6.4g herco in all my 357 mag guns for less than max loads. I hi tech coat em.

[Petander]

A six cavity Lee 358-158 RF maybe? Good for 9mm-357.

I've had this mold for 15 years, it has made 50 k+ boolits. There's always been a tiny "seam" in the boolits and the size is 160 with my alloy.

The seam is visible in this pic from Lee site as well. But after sizing you have nice,round boolits. Depending on the chambers/throats,these also shoot fine unsized. I fired some as cast with a 586 (3583 throats) and a Rossi carbine just yesterday.

250777.


EDITH: I took a look at Titan,these prices are ridiculously low. Having said that, I tend to prefer makers like NOE and Mihec these days. A different experience.

[Petrol & Powder]

If you're attempting to duplicate the Point of Impact [P.O.I.] with revolver loads, the weight of the bullet is generally the most critical factor.
A 158 gr bullet will shoot to the same point of aim as another 158 gr. bullet and velocity isn't as significant as bullet weight.

There's no need to shoot +P loads for practice unless you just want to duplicate the carry load as much as possible. And remember that when dealing with 38 Special, the difference between a standard pressure (17,000 psi max) load and a +P load (20,000 psi max) isn't that great. The jump to .357 magnum is huge (35,000 psi).

Now, if your velocity gets too low the P.O.I. will change but for the most part the bullet weight is a bigger factor.

Most revolvers chambered for the 38 Special and equipped with fixed sights will have sights regulated for the 158 grain bullet weight.

Just a little re-enforcement here, a few weeks ago I obtained a 1960's vintage S&W model 12 Airweight. It has a 2" barrel and fixed sights. Using a very well established standard load (158 gr LSWC over 3.5 grains of Bullseye), It was SPOT on !

Your Taurus model 605 is chambered in 357 mag and has plenty of strength for a +P 38 Special but if a standard pressure load will shoot to the same point of aim, why not practice with a standard pressure load?

[phantom22]

I have had success with powder coated 105gn SWC in both .38 and .357 for plinking. They are cheap to make and have had very good accuracy out of my guns. I've been loading them over 3.5/7gn of bullseye for the 38/357 respectively.

[Murphy]

I'm onboard with Petander with this one. The Lee 358-158 RF is a great boolit. I haven't a clue as to how many I've shot in the past decade plus since I first started using it. I notice your Taurus 605 is a fix sighted gun and as stated in another post, it is most likely regulated to a 158 grain boolit.

Like you, I was looking for a decent practice boolit. The RNFP was the icing on the cake so to speak. Easy to chamber and enough meplat if I wanted to use it for more serious things, it should get the job done. I was competing in IDPA quite a bit back then and they loaded into the chambers very nicely. I think if I dug around under my loading bench, I'm sure I have 2,500-3,000 of them cast up just waiting to be sized and lubed. Speaking of what size, I've had zero issues sizing mine to the standard .358 dia.

Good luck,

Murphy

[reddog81]

Velocity and bullet weight determine the point of impact for handgun rounds. A 158 grain bullet doing 750 FPS is going to have a much different POI than a 158 grain bullet doing 1250 FPS. A 125 grain bullet doing 850 FPS is going to have about the same POI as a 158 grain bullet doing 850 FPS.

To some extent bullet weight determines velocity, and that is why a 38 Special with fixed sights will shoot to the POA with a 158 grain bullet. A factory 125 grain bullet will be traveling faster than a factory 158 grain bullet and therefore leave the barrel faster and have a lower POI. Change the velocity of that 125 grain bullet to match the 158 grain bullet and you'll have a similar POI at defensive handgun distances.

For 38 Special +P 150 to 158 grain bullets will be as good or better than anything else.

[Petrol & Powder]

Velocity and bullet weight determine the point of impact for handgun rounds. A 158 grain bullet doing 750 FPS is going to have a much different POI than a 158 grain bullet doing 1250 FPS. A 125 grain bullet doing 850 FPS is going to have about the same POI as a 158 grain bullet doing 850 FPS.

To some extent bullet weight determines velocity, and that is why a 38 Special with fixed sights will shoot to the POA with a 158 grain bullet. A factory 125 grain bullet will be traveling faster than a factory 158 grain bullet and therefore leave the barrel faster and have a lower POI. Change the velocity of that 125 grain bullet to match the 158 grain bullet and you'll have a similar POI at defensive handgun distances.

For 38 Special +P 150 to 158 grain bullets will be as good or better than anything else.

/\ Not entirely correct

While velocity has an effect on POI with bullets fired from a revolver, projectile weight has a bigger influence.
Huge differences in velocity within the same weight range will have an effect but within a smaller velocity spread, the weight is far more critical.

If you want to compare 750 fps to 1250 fps, we're in a different discussion.

[Petander]

I think if I dug around under my loading bench, I'm sure I have 2,500-3,000 of them cast up just waiting to be sized and lubed. Speaking of what size, I've had zero issues sizing mine to the standard .358 dia.

Good luck,

Murphy.

I hear you - when I started Hi Tek coating a couple of years ago I dug around and found 10k+ Lee 158-358 RF:s in quart size yoghurt mini-buckets.

[Gray Fox]

What an insidious thread. I just dug under my bench and found a half dozen plastic snap lid containers of Lee 158 grain SWC already gas checked and sized to .359 awaiting a tumble lube. I also have the Lee 6 cav 158 RNFP, and the 125 RNFP as well as a 6 cav Lee/RD 175 GC RNFP that have produced lots of fine boolits, too. GF

[Bookworm]

For casual shooting in 38 Spl, I use the Lee tumble lube round nose.
With a 6 banger mould, I can cast a pile very quickly. Tumble lube design makes them lube very quickly also.

The round nose makes them feed with speedloaders nicely.

What's not to like ? The only thing missing is a flat nose for hunting, but I have many (far more than I need) moulds of that diameter with a flat nose.

[WRideout]

358477 150 SWC was my 38/ 357 bullet for years. Non gas check. You don’t need the gas check for 38 plus P speeds.

I used a hollow point version years ago, and currently use the plain nose. It is exceptionally accurate when loaded down for target use, and would function quite well for defensive use at full velocity.

Wayne

[Boogieman]

I've never found 158-165gr. bullet that shot bad, some were a little better than others

[FergusonTO35]

Any of the Lee designs will be more than sufficient in every way. If you can find one, the discontinued 358-150-SWC is a real dandy. All my .38's are more accurate than I can hold with these slugs.

[dlbarr]

I bought the LEE 357-158 SWC 6-bullet mould. Lyman manual shows several loads..I have Unique & Red Dot so I'll start with those. Appreciate all the input...interesting thread to follow. Thanks all.

[BamaNapper]

I saw this thread last week, read every comment, and I appreciate the info. Then I started thinking about the OP while I was at the range over the weekend. This is a gun with a 2" bbl and is probably for CC or daily carry. If the gun is just used for plinking on Saturdays you've got plenty of good info here already. Have fun with it.

I'm not the expert here, but I took a one-day personal carry course with the sheriff's dept last year and it was an eye opener. They stressed that accuracy was probably the least important part of practice with CC. It should be lots of time with the gun in hand, pulling it without hanging on your clothes, quickly acquiring a target or multiple targets, using either hand, etc. All this can be practiced at home with an unloaded gun, and a couple laser rounds will even show your accuracy improving. Then range practice is mostly for recoil recovery and placing multiple shots quickly. Lots of different drills online. When I first started practicing this way 12" targets seemed really small, even at 5 yds.

With CC, target range is typically 5-7 yds. Shredding a bullseye is less important than control/familiarity since adrenaline becomes the largest factor if a CC is ever needed. Any bullet/load will work for practice, even a 22 in a similar frame. Drill with light loads and at the end of a practice day grab some +P or mag rounds and try a cylinder alternating shots quickly between 2 fresh targets. You'll probably find the recoil slows you down a bit but accuracy will be about the same. I know it's that way for me. For CC practice I'd use a light weight bullet just to save the lead and be able to cast more of them.