Black powder loads for .38 special with wadcuttters

[Kaneohekid]

Hello any favorite loads or other info for the .38 Special in a 1861 Colt cartridge with wadcutter lead? Also the .38 long colt. Thanks

[owejia]

Case full of black powder, slightly compressed by the lead boolit. No dead air space in black powder cartridges.

[Castaway]

What Owejia said plus use a black powder lube

[John Boy]

158gr bullet … 16gr FFFg …. 870 FPS

38 long Colt: 150gr bullet … 18gr FFFg …770 FPS

[Froogal]

158gr bullet … 16gr FFFg …. 870 FPS

38 long Colt: 150gr bullet … 18gr FFFg …770 FPS
That would work with conventional, round nose bullets, but the wad cutters are 147 grain I believe, and seat flush. Very little room for powder. No way will you be able to 16 grains of FFFG in there.

[John Boy]

Try a couple before you give up otherwise, you are on your own finding the proper powder charges

[StrawHat]

Why does everyone think wadcutters need to be seated flush with the case mouth? If you are shooting a S&W Model 52, yes there is a need with that pistol. If you a shooting any handgun with a cylinder, the bullet can be seated out as long as it will fit in the cylinder and stay in the cartridge. When I competed in PPC I routinely loaded my DEWC and HBWC so they were 1/8” past the case mouth. They entered the chambers easier that way.

Kevin

[bedbugbilly]

+1 . . . . . wadcutters can easily be seated out and roll crimped into one of the grooves.

OP - if you are using a cap & ball revolver with a conversion cylinder - remember your bore is .375 - you beed to use a hollow base wadcutter of soft lead in order to get any accuracy - and use BP lube to keep fouling soft.

If you are looking for a mold - Old West offers a nice .358 150 grain hollow base mold or you can buy boolits from them. Bernie's molds are top notch high quality molds. I have that mold for my 36 Navy revolvers as and several other applications.

You also might look at loading .375 heeled 38 Colt Long as well. I use Bold West molds - 125 chain and 150 grain. In a Remington, the 150 grain will work but in a Colt clone Navy, you need to use the 125 grain version as the conversion cylinder is too short for the 150. You will also need avspecial shell holder and crimp die to crimp a heeled bullet load - Old West offers those as well.

If your revolver is one of the conversion revolvers made that way - such as a Uberti Richards and Mason, etc. - then your bore will be .357 and .358 lead boolits will work fine. I have a Uberti '51 R & M Conversion and it shoots a 148 grain wad cutter and a 120 isn grain RN - I use the Ideal/Lyman 358-242 - just fine - both BP and smokeless loads.

You may already know these things but am posting them anyway. I can't tell from your post if you are using a cap and ball revolver with a conversion cylinder or a copy of a conversion revolver such as a R & M clone.

When loading a BP cartridge, you must load a compressed loads - no air space. If you are determined to load your WC flush - then determine the charge volume you need so that when you seat the boolit, it compresses the load. Load up several and try them - but check fir squibs after each trial shot. I am guessing, but you mention 38 spl. with your '61, so I assume it is a R & M clone? If so, I would seat the WC out like a normal round nose boolit, crimp in one of the grooves in either the 38 Colt Long or 38 Spl. over a compressed load of 3F BP. Determine what you need by volume to make a compressed load with your particular case, boolit, seating depth and COAL and then make a dipper for measuring that amount for when you load them.

Good luck, be safe and have fun.

[Charlie Horse]

Why does everyone think wadcutters need to be seated flush with the case mouth? If you are shooting a S&W Model 52, yes there is a need with that pistol. If you a shooting any handgun with a cylinder, the bullet can be seated out as long as it will fit in the cylinder and stay in the cartridge. When I competed in PPC I routinely loaded my DEWC and HBWC so they were 1/8” past the case mouth. They entered the chambers easier that way.

Kevin

Yup.