38spl reloads shooting low

[Jon]

I bought a 105gr Lee mold for 38spl, and tried out some of the bullets yesterday.
They seem to group well, but are about 3 inches low at 10yds. Should I load these down even more, or do they need more powder? I'd have to buy another disk for my lee auto disk to go any lower.

I'd like something that matches the 158gr factory loads as much as possible. It shoots POA with factory.



Powder: 3gr Bullseye
Primer: Winchester
Brass: Asst 38spl


Thanks Guys.:coffee:

[Ben]

Light weight bullets like a 110 gr. and 125 gr. will shoot low.

Heavier weight bullets like a 170 or 200 gr. RN will shoot high.

Like you said, the 158 shoots dead on.

It is all about physics. The mass of the bullet and the velocity of the projectile and the number of milli-seconds the projectile is in the barrel is different with a 105 gr. Lee and a 200 gr. cast RN in the 38 Spec.

Try it, you'll see that it is true.

Ben

[JIMinPHX]

4.3 grains of Bullseye gets the little 105 to shoot point of aim at 60 feet in my gun. It gives me 900ish fps.

[Firebricker]

Bens got it on the money. Try a 158gr boolit over 5 gr of Unique. FB

[Houndog]

Bens got it on the money. Try a 158gr boolit over 5 gr of Unique. FB

+1
That's been my standard 38 Special load for a LOOOONG time.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Jon you have been given good advice so far and I am not disagreeing with any of the previous posters, yet I would like to share with you some of my personal experience.
Different guns seem to prefer different combinations of components. As the others have noted 158 grain boolit seems just about right for most 38s. I would bet that you could get your gun to shoot POA with that bullet if you really wanted to. There are all sorts of things you can try, adjusting powder charge from min to max a little at a time, trying different primers, adjusting crimp and COL. If you want to try different powders I would strongly recommend Trail Boss. By using these technique I have gotten my 357 to shoot POA with 125 grains on up to 180 grains. Hope that helps.

[Jon]

Thanks guys.

I was trying to make a light practice load for my wife. The funny thing is that she mentioned after I bought the mold that she'd like to practice with the regular loads as well.

I'll give 4.0 gr of Bullseye a try. That's what I use in my 45 loads. If that doesn't work I'll bump it up a little to 4.3 Switching powders is a last resort option at this point. I'd like to keep the Bullseye if at all possible.

In the meantime, I'll be getting a 158gr mold when I can find one in stock.

[Ben]

Here is recorded data from live fire with the 38 Special at 25 yards.
Notice the deviation in point of impact with the 110 gr. vs. the 200 gr. loads
There is a 9.5 " spread between the two bullet weights. A lot of people think
that 38 Spec. ammo is 38 Spec. ammo.........NOT SO !

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/311413%20HP/CHART.jpg

[calkar]

trail boss is ok if you are really worried about double loads or shoot cowboy action, but if you are concerned about enconomy and want to shoot alot it will just waste your money. When I shoot light practice loads in my sp101 I just pull the front post up higher in the sight picture.