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Thread: Top Three Powders for .38 Special

  1. #41
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    Bullseye and Unique then if I ran out of those two AA2.
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  2. #42
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    Red Dot, Green Dot, Unique, You choose the order they all work great. 3.5 grs of Red Dot, 4 grs. of Green Dot, 5.0 grs of Unique under a 148 gr. wad cutter or a 150 gr. SWC. All Alliant American made, all powders that are easy to load and do a good job of burning consistantly.
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  3. #43
    Boolit Master evan price's Avatar
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    Titegroup. 3.5 grains and a 158 LSWC makes a sweet target load.

    Other than that- whatever I can pour into a case and get reasonable data for approximation. 38 Spl is very forgiving. Promo, Win231, Clays etc. Was using SR7625 'cause I had some.
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  4. #44
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    For me, Bullseye, Unique and then FFFg black powder. Those three get the job done in my 38 Specials.

    I could be happy using any one of them and no other.

    I am seeing a lot of Bullseye and Unique mentioned, followed by other more "modern"powders. Wonder if the age of the reloader has anything to do with the choice of powders or if it has to do with what you were shown or read about while developing loads? For me, I was shooting 38 Specials in competition and used 2.7 Bullseye as did nearly everyone else. I tried Unique for a different boolit and liked it for the 158 grain boolit. FFFg, I tried as a stunt, and liked it.
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  5. #45
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    I'll jump in. My three favorites are, in no particular order, Bullseye, Unique and WW-231/HP-38. In fact, I can't recall using anything else for over 40 years in that caliber!

  6. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by PS Paul View Post
    bullseye,red dot then unique- in that order
    This is what I was gonna say!
    You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.

  7. #47
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    I am seeing a lot of Bullseye and Unique mentioned, followed by other more "modern"powders. Wonder if the age of the reloader has anything to do with the choice of powders or if it has to do with what you were shown or read about while developing loads?
    For me the BE loads came back when I owned a Ransom Rest and was doing a lot of testing. I did some work for a friend who was a commercial reloader and was using 231 because it was very cheap for him at the time ($2.50 vs $3.50 for BE per lb.) I had a few K-frames and a Colt Trooper as test beds for the ammo. With the mixed brass he was using the powder did not make much difference and his ammo was in the 4+" range at 50 yds. When cases were segregated and good quality bullets used, BE was generally slightly better for accuracy in the guns I was working with and accuracy(at 50 yds) was in the 2-2.5" range. It also held true in my .45 wad gun. What I did find with the Ransom was that the "holy grail" of 2.8/BE was not so holy with cast solid WC's like H&G #50 and Lyman 358495. The guns all liked 3.1-3.3/BE much better and I still shoot 3.3/BE today when using wadcutters. It is also the accuracy champ at 4.2 grs with my 158 rn running right at 900 fps. I started with it as a target powder only but in the .38 spl (at least according to the Lyman Cast bullet Handbook) You can safely match velocities with slower powders . That is why it's my "go to" powder for .38 spl.
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  8. #48
    Boolit Grand Master Char-Gar's Avatar
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    Another vote for Bullseye and Unique
    Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.

  9. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by fecmech View Post
    For me the BE loads came back when I owned a Ransom Rest and was doing a lot of testing. I did some work for a friend who was a commercial reloader and was using 231 because it was very cheap for him at the time ($2.50 vs $3.50 for BE per lb.) I had a few K-frames and a Colt Trooper as test beds for the ammo. With the mixed brass he was using the powder did not make much difference and his ammo was in the 4+" range at 50 yds. When cases were segregated and good quality bullets used, BE was generally slightly better for accuracy in the guns I was working with and accuracy(at 50 yds) was in the 2-2.5" range. It also held true in my .45 wad gun. What I did find with the Ransom was that the "holy grail" of 2.8/BE was not so holy with cast solid WC's like H&G #50 and Lyman 358495. The guns all liked 3.1-3.3/BE much better and I still shoot 3.3/BE today when using wadcutters. It is also the accuracy champ at 4.2 grs with my 158 rn running right at 900 fps. I started with it as a target powder only but in the .38 spl (at least according to the Lyman Cast bullet Handbook) You can safely match velocities with slower powders . That is why it's my "go to" powder for .38 spl.
    Thank you for the insight.

    I never used a Ransom (or other mechanical rest) to test it. It just shot better than other powders I had seen used in competition based on scores. Re: 2.7, that is the recipe for HBWC. For a solid or DEWC, the charge does need to be adjusted upward. A harder cast DEWC propelled at about 900 fps is a wonderful hunting load, accurate and hard hitting.
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  10. #50
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    Tite Group, Bullseye, and 231 are what I have been using with good results.

  11. #51
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    Bullseye for target, Unique and 2400 for service. 52 years of satisfaction.

  12. #52
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  13. #53
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    You've got it covered already -- Bullseye, Red Dot, and Unique. For .357 Magnum, I like slower powders (H-110 is top of that list, for me), but at low velocity and pressure, the fast burners are where it's at.

  14. #54
    Boolit Master 0verkill's Avatar
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    In order

    Bullseye
    HS-6
    Winchester 231

    I'm surprised I hadn't saw HS-6 up there already. Bullseye gives "good" accuracy in every revolver I've tried. "My Load" is 3.5gr under 158gr RNFP, SWC or 173gr Kieth with whatever standard strength primer was on sale. Plenty of power yet mild and accurate, and I get 2,000 loads per pound.

  15. #55
    Boolit Grand Master Char-Gar's Avatar
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    As a truly retro person, I am gratified to see Bulleye and Unique with such a strong lead over newer powders. These two have been doing the job in the 38 Special, 45 ACP and a few others for 100 years and still soldier on as the powders of choice. The old Hercules Powder Company did it right when they did it so many years ago.
    Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.

  16. #56
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    I have only been loading 38 Special for the last 4 months but have had really good results with the Jeff Bartletts Russian surplus 700X. Mixed brass any small pistol primer Hornady 38cal 148gr HBWC 2.3-2.4gr 700X Russian surplus 1.160 COL. Light recoil, mild report, and accurate. At 2,916 loads per pound this powder will last along time.

  17. #57
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    Someone said it above........the 38 Special is a very forgiving caliber for the handloader. Very darn flexible, too. And ACCURATE.

    Bullseye is a fine target fuel for sure, but I stopped using it due to its "reacting" with the plastic flask on my RCBS Duo-Measure. Flakes stick to the flask's sidewalls, and that is annoying. Some chemical element of the powder causes this, I suppose. No other powder has had this effect to date, and BE didn't do this 34 years ago when I first bought the tool--only in the last 10-12 years. GMBTA.
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  18. #58
    Boolit Master HighHook's Avatar
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    +1+1+1 bullseye,red dot then unique- in that order
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  19. #59
    Boolit Master PS Paul's Avatar
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    StrawHat brings up something VERY interesting: (to paraphrase) does the age of the reloader have anything to do with the choice of the older powders?

    Maybe. I suppose if someone had a tried and true powder they've used for many years, they might stick with it out of "tradition"? I'm 44 years old and have been reloading for better than 25 years, but nobody showed me. I learned on my own and used Bullseye from reading manuals and published data. I consider Bullseye just a fine old "standard" for general-purpose/light loads for revolver cartridges. Unique is also something I've used since the beginning, but Red Dot is a powder I "discovered" maybe 15 years ago as a good alternative. maybe a little more "clean-burning" than Bullseye?

    I guess for me, BE, Unique and Red Dot are not "cutting-edge", they simply "work". For .357 it's an entirely different story: 2400, 296, H-110, #9, Lil Gun, 4227(!) and Unique are powders I use frequently. More experimentation, I suppose. Perhaps "tradition" or even "nostalgia" have a lot to do with the powders in .38 spl. I like 4227 becasue it is more of a "push" than a "crack" in revolver loads. Plus, I LOVE the smell!!!

    I am going to reflect on his comments and see if I have become "that older guy" who puts tradition ahead of substance (ha-ha)!!! This thread has turned out to be more fun than I anticipated.....

  20. #60
    Boolit Master Forrest r's Avatar
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    Good thread about a great caliber!!!

    ww452
    universal clays
    2400

    Those powders have gotten me from mild to wild with the 38spl. I used to use tones of unique & found that the universal clays does the same thing but cleaner.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check