.38 special load

[dlbarr]

my carry gun is a Taurus 605. The load im shooting
for practice is a Lee 158gr swc backed by 5.8 gr of
Blue Dot. I always have some unburned powder when
using this load. Any suggestions?

[Winger Ed.]

You're probably getting a real cool looking muzzle flash too.
Blue dot is on the slow side. It shines in magnum calibers with long-ish barrels.

Switch over to Unique, or something else faster than blue dot.
It'll clean all that up.
Whatever left behinds you see are usually just graphite and soot.

[Outpost75]

Blue Dot is not a suitable powder for standard-pressure loads in the .38 Special.

You would be much better served with a faster powder such as Bullseye, TiteGroup, 231, HP38, WST, 452AA, etc. While Unique is often recommended, it is better suited for +P loads than for standard pressure, unless you are loading bullets heavier than 150 grains.

[BigAlofPa.]

I had issues with blue dot not burning completely with 10mm. I tried magnum primers. They did the trick.

[farmbif]

3-3.5 gr bullseye shoots real well and a pound of powder goes a long way, I also load some with 4.5 gr be-86 and that works well also in my old lend lease S&W.
this is where I use up all my Remington 1 1/2 primers

[Gar10]

Try a faster burning powder and I bet you unburned powder goes away.

[uscra112]

Bullseye. 'nuf said.

[Mk42gunner]

I've used W231 for decades in standard .38 Special loads. I see no reason to change.

Robert

[Hutch556]

I would switch to Bullseye or Unique.

[winelover]

I use either Bullseye or Unique in 38 Special. Save the Bluedot for 357 or 9 mm.

Winelover

[Jniedbalski]

HS6 has worked for me in 38 loads with 158 gr boolets. Bulseye is my #1 powder in 38

[cwlongshot]

I love Blue Dot... But I also love 4350.... Neither is really best for the 38spl! ;)

As suggested, Unique, Bullseye, 231, HP38 and a few other newer powders are better!! Id like to see the pile of Bullseye I have burned in almost 40 years of Bullseye 3.2g at a time...

CW

[Wayne Dobbs]

3.5 Bullseye or 4.0 231/HP-38 with a 150 - 160 boolit. That's about all you need to know for a working .38 Special load. It's full power, standard pressure.

[Larry Gibson]

Casting a lot of 158 SWCs with a TL358-158-SWC I seat to an put a medium roll crimp in the top lube groove in 38 SPL cases. Loaded over 3.5 gr Bullseye they are an excellent factory duplication load and very accurate.

[dlbarr]

Appreciate the input. I'll switch to Unique as I have plenty of that. Somewhere I thought I heard Blue Dot was the powder for .38 snubbies....apparently I heard wrong. thanks again

[Outpost75]

Appreciate the input. I'll switch to Unique as I have plenty of that. Somewhere I thought I heard Blue Dot was the powder for .38 snubbies....apparently I heard wrong. thanks again

.357 Mag. powder for snubbies, but VERY finicky and I no longer use it.

[ddixie884]

Ed and Larry know that you reduce it to the lowest common denominator BE and Unique for everyday and a little extra when needed. I started with Unique and BE always scared me a little. When I first started I had a can of Unique and a Lyman 45th. That is all I used for a year or two.........

[rfd]

it's all good to someone somewhere. i use w231 for .38spl and 9mm. it works well for me.

[Dvdmacdaddy]

In my S&W 638, I use a 155gr MP Keith HP Bullet HiTek coated, 4gr Universal, seated to crimp groove, heavy crimp getting 720fps. I am not getting any leading and great accuracy. Universal is very similar in burn rate to Unique.

[FISH4BUGS]

I've used W231 for decades in standard .38 Special loads. I see no reason to change.

Robert

Ditto!
231 for ALL my standard handgun and subgun loads. 4.0 for revolver over H&G #51 for 38.

[Winger Ed.]

. I'll switch to Unique as I have plenty of that. Somewhere I thought I heard Blue Dot was the powder for .38 snubbies....

I've always been a big fan of Blue Dot for 4-6" .357s.
For .38s, I seem to always find myself coming back to Unique, or Bullseye if I can find a good deal on it.

[oldhenry]

Ditto!
231 for ALL my standard handgun and subgun loads. 4.0 for revolver over H&G #51 for 38.

Same here. My "231" reads HP38 & 4.0works with#358432 & 359429.

For a friendlier load in the snub nose light revolvers: I load 3.0 of WST with the MP-130 (a 9mm boolit) sized to .358 for the ladies as an introduction load.

[pakmc]

try red dot! it's very fast burning(if you can find any!)

[1006]

I will second Red Dot. If you can not find data, I believe you can always start with Bullseye’s published minimum load and work up. I like Bullseye, but Red Dot burns at about the same speed, is usually cheaper, and fills the cases to a higher level. I do think the down side of Red Dot is that it is dirtier than Bullseye.

3.1 RDot and a 148 Full Wad Cutter gives me 820 from the four inch, and 830 from the 6inch. Even though they are two different guns, I like to think that my data shows that the load is good for a four inch gun.

[1006]

My Alliant BlueDot data says 6.3 for the 158 LSWC, 38 Special +P. The burn might cleanup with more pressure, or a magnum primer.

[Kosh75287]

I concur with PAKMC and 1006 concerning the use of Red Dot. Economical and clean-burning, very consistent results. I'm not in front of my notes nor a reloading manual, but I seem to remember that 3.5-4.0/RedDot/158 SWC worked well in snubbies & 4" barreled .38s, without straining anything.

I DO recall, clearly, that my 5.0/RedDot/158 gr. LSWC/RNFP load in .38 Special cases never failed to exceed 1000 f/s (nor make my firing hand hurt) in any snubby with a 2" or longer barrel. In fact, the velocity was high enough from my 3" S&W M36 that I dropped the charge weight by one or two tenths of a grain, to go easier on my revolver AND my hand. Now I caution that this is a load which exceeds SAAMI specs for the .38 Special, and should only be used in modern guns with steel frames, and only for situations in which life hangs in the balance. It REALLY should only be used in revolvers chambered for .357 Magnum, but I relate the data for the purpose of equipping owners who are constrained to the use of .38 Spl. snubbies with a load significantly elevates the probability of a one-shot stop with an "A-Zone" hit.

On another note, I'm a HUGE fan of Unique, but it, too, can generate significant muzzle flash, even from 5" .45 ACP barrels. When using Unique, max or near-max loads, bullets over 150 gr. in weight, and heavy crimps are your friend. Unique isn't slow-burning enough to REQUIRE the use of magnum pistol primers, but their use often HELPS. Just watch your pressures with max/near-max loads.

[tinhorn97062]

I carry the same gun, and I load Unique under a 150’ish grain SWC. My load for my bullet in my gun is 5.0gr Unique, firm crimp, and that same SWC cast fairly soft (10-12 BNH).


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[Conditor22]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?408422-38-Special-Loads&p=4982527&viewfull=1#post4982527

[dlbarr]

My Alliant BlueDot data says 6.3 for the 158 LSWC, 38 Special +P. The burn might cleanup with more pressure, or a magnum primer.

I actually was using a magnum primer in this load. I went light on the charge as a veteran reloader told me to be careful about "spiking" the pressure..appreciate your input though.

[ddixie884]

A lot of different things will work but it is hard to beat a 150 to 165gr swc on top of a nice round number of 5gr Unique. The first two years I reloaded in the 70s, fresh out of the Navy, that is all I used. Lyman 45th and a pound of Unique it was a good choice...........