Two great .38 Caliber bullets

[Wally]

Have been a reloader & bullet caster since 1972. I have used many bullets molds/bullet types in numerous calibers, but I use the .38 Caliber the most. I have had great success with the Lee 90574 125 RF and the Lee 90318 140 SWC in my .38 Specials and in the .357 Mag, using the 140 grainer for the later. I also find I can use lighter charges of Bullseye or HP-38 with excellent results for both. This saves on the amount of powder & lead, an important consideration these days. In the .38 Special I use 4.0 grains of Bullseye for either bullet and 7.0 grains of HP-38 in the .357 Mag. All loads are quite accurate and pleasant to shoot.

[Nate1778]

I love my Lee 90574 125 RF with 4.6g of HP38. This is my love load.

[Dframe]

I've used an old Lyman 358429 for years.

[Wally]

I have used the 358429 myself for years. It is a wonderful bullet however it is too long for my S & W M-27 and for most shooting it is unecessarily heavy and a waste of lead. I gave up using it in the .38 Special years ago, as I felt it just wasn't useful. However I cannot argue about it being a good bullet.

[Matt_G]

For .38 Special plinking loads I like the Lyman 358495 141 grain WC.
Push it with 3.0 to 3.5 grains of Bullseye or WW 231.
My wife shot some of these on Saturday and really liked shooting them. :)

[Landric]

I just got into casting, so far I'm just doing it for .38 Special and .45 ACP. So far, my favorite .358 bullet is the Lyman 358430 200 grain RN.

[USSR]

Lyman 358480 (133gr SWC) for light .38 Special loads, and the Lyman 358429 for .38 Special +P and .357 Magnum loads.

Don

[SierraWhiskeyMC]

Spent a few days casting from my Lyman 358477 two-cavity mold last week. Very similar to the 358429, but runs around 155gr with the alloy I'm using. Works well for me, since I'm using it for both .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads. Also have an old 6-cavity Hensley that puts out a wadcutter similar to the Lyman 358495.

[Wally]

For .38 Special plinking loads I like the Lyman 358495 141 grain WC.
Push it with 3.0 to 3.5 grains of Bullseye or WW 231.
My wife shot some of these on Saturday and really liked shooting them. :)

Yes, I also use a similiar load using Lee's 148 WC-TL...it is a great can plinker load!

[9.3X62AL]

Good thread topic!

I have zero experience with the 125 or 140 grain Lee patterns, but others have remarked over time that they both work very well. One Lee pattern that I have come to respect is their semi-copy of the Lyman #358156, a 160 grain SWC/GC. Its nose is short enough to fit in a pre-27 N-frame S&W, seated and crimped conventionally. It is every bit as accurate as its Lyman cousin, too--well past 1400 FPS in the 357 BisHawk x 7.5".

I haven't warmed a wadcutter mould in at least 15 years, having succumbed to the allure of the SWC for general purpose revolver shooting. #358477 was my go-to 38 Special pattern for many years, and with the addition of a tightly-dimensioned Colt Police Positive in 38 S&W that mould design has taken over in that caliber. Run to 700-725 FPS or so, it shoots right to the sights and into tight clusters at 25 yards.

For the past few years, #358429 has become my 38 Special choice. Not many +P loads here, only one of the 38s is built for them. The 163 grain SWC with all that weight outside the case can safely be run to 850 FPS in the 6" Colt OMT, which translates to about 725 FPS in the DetSpec. That little D-frame bucks a bit with that load, but point of aim is point of impact at 15 yards.

The few +P loads I put up get assembled into WW +P cases, and get enough fuel to enable 950-1000 FPS from the #358429s out of the Model 10's five-inch tube. NOT for the Colts, or most J-frame Smiths. Quite a hunting load for varmints, and I wouldn't object to carrying it in harm's way, either.

I've used the heavy-version #358430 (195 grains) since I started casting; it was among the first moulds I bought in 1981. Fattened out by Beagling, it was my first mould for the wide-bodied 38 S&W variants. In its standard diameter, it has shot VERY well in 38 Special and 357 Magnum loadings, from mild to wild. The castings are ACCURATE. This boolit would get my vote as the candidate to cast as a soft-point for hunting deer with the 357 Magnum.

[Guesser]

I find that Lyman 358156 is good for it all. I can make 38+P+ over 12 gr. of 2400 and seat it in the lower crimp groove and for my NMBH I can horsepower it up and also seat it long in 357, the cylinder is long and will accept the longer rounds. I use it unchecked for midrange 38 plinking/target from my Colt OMS. MMMMMMMMMMMGOODBULLET!!!!!!!!!!

[inuhbad]

I also really like the 358156 Gascheck bullet too! It's a NICE general-purpose bullet that will run good in both 38's and 357s...

I run it with 4.5 Grains of Hodgdon's Universal in 38 Special without a Gas Check for a decent target practice round - and it'll still make any burglar have a pretty bad day!

I also run it in the full 357 Mag with a hotter load & run it with Gas Checks for the full Magnums.

Thus far the 38 load has proven to have EXCELLENT accuracy in the Ruger SP101!!! Even with the tiny little 2.25" Snubbie barrel!