Loading .38 Short Colt

[WRideout]

I have a friend with a top-break Iver Johnson in .38 SC that I would like to load for. Can I use standard .38 spl dies? I know it will resize okay, but I don't know if it will seat and crimp.

Wrideout

[MtGun44]

You are right on the diameter, no way you will be able to crimp but you might have
enough adjustment to seat the boolit.

[Mk42gunner]

You could find a used .38 Special Crimp die and shorten it so it would work.


Robert

[AzShooter]

I use a 9 mm die for crimping. The .38 just doesn't go low enough in my press.

[WRideout]

Thanks, everybody. Those are some good ideas. The cost of oddball cartridges is so steep that it definitely pays to acquire a few pieces of tooling to reload with.

Wrideout

[AzShooter]

Let me know what loads you are using. I was able to find some decent data in an OLD lyman manual.

[jameslovesjammie]

Lee makes a 38 Short Colt die set still. The dies are marked:

Resizing and Decapping: Lee-38 Auto E8
Flaring: Unmarked, but I'm pretty sure it is 38 Special
Seating/Crimping: Lee-38/357 F8

If you've got a .38 special and a .38 Super set, you should be good to go! A 9mm set would probably work for the resizing die.

[mooman76]

Actually it sizes a hair smaller than for the original 38 colt but that shouldn't be that big a deal as I was planing on doing the same for mine. It will just work the brass a little harder. You might be ablt to get a crimp if you put a spacer in the die to bring it down farther. That's what I do for 44 special in a 44 mag die.

[NickSS]

Are you sure its a 38 SC? I have seven Iver Johnson 38s and they are all chambered for the 38 S&W round which looks similar to the 38SC but is not the same. By the way the 38 S&W is also known as the 38 colt new police.

[MtGun44]

Good point on the .38 S&W. IIRC the .38 Short Colt was developed as the round for
conversions on the .36 Navy Colt 1851 and 1863 models. I don't know if it was used for
anything else other than being the precursor cartridge for the .38 Spl.

[mooman76]

Some people call the 38 S&W 38 short because it is short in comparison to the 38 special.

[Oyeboten]

Yes...I doubt any Iver Johnsons were chambered for the .38 Short Colt as such, which was a slightly smaller diameter Cartridge and Bullet, I think, from the .38 New Police and or .38 S&W.

...nor can I imagine Iver Johnson would have chambered their Revolvers for the .38 Colt New Police Cartridge as such, but they were typically chambered for the .38 S&W Cartridge, and, should chamber and fire either...since these were practically identical Cartridges.

Avoid 38-200 Cartridges though ( 200 Grain Bullet )...which though probably chambering alright, would be a bit much for the small Break-Tops, and should be for Solid Frame Revolvers only.


Anyway, you would want Dies for .38 S&W...these are slightly larger in diameter than .38 Special...as are the Bullets for .38 S&W, ideally.

148 Grain Hollow Base Wadcutters when a full 358 or a tad more, are said to usually work well...owing to their hollow base flairing out to make a good seal.


Bores of old .38 S&W Revolvers may run up to 361-ish...