Ready To Start Reloading .357 and .38 Special

[Bigscot]

I bought a used Ruger GP100 earlier this year. I have ordered dies and .357 brass. I have a bunch of .38 special brass. I have cast about 60 lbs of H&G 158 gr Keith gc boolits and some others. I am now ready to start stuffing brass. I have Unique, 2400, Bullseye, WC 840, 296 and some 231. I was wondering what would work best with .357 and .38 loads and any load recommendations. I am looking at mainly plinking/target loads in .38 and plinking/target/backup hunting loads in .357.

Bigscot

[reddog81]

Bullseye will work great for light 38 target loads. Unique will be good for regular or +p loads and 2400 works good for light .357 May loads. 296 is good for heavy .357 loads.
sounds like you're pretty well stocked and need to start reloading ASAP.
lyman #49 is a good reloading manual and will get you the appropriate powder charges and explain the reloading process in detail.

[rintinglen]

You picked a good place to start! The 38/357 is about the perfect combination to learn cast boolit loading with. A few pointers to help you avoid stumbling on the way.

First, make sure you bell the case enough to allow the boolit to seat without scraping the sides. Some of the photos I have seen are a little too skimpy in this regard.

Second, start with the 38 loads first, you'll have more joy if you have early success, and the 38 is a tad more cast friendly. (But only a tad.) A .358 or .359 sizer is likely to be your best choice. The Lee push through sizers are inexpensive and work well with Liquid lubes. If you haven't decided on a lube yet, I recommend you look at the Lube section here and take a gander at the Ben's Liquid Lube postings. It's cheap, it's easy to make, easy to use, works well at pistol velocities and stays crunchy even in milk. (OK, maybe not the later.)

BE-86, Titegroup, Power pistol, Red Dot, PB, Hp38, AA no.2; virtually every pistol and shotgun powder made can and has been made to work in the 38. There are literally hundreds of loads that work in the 38, but here are few stand outs. 3.5 grains of Bullseye with your 158 grain boolit in 38 cases. If your 357 won't shoot these loads, it just won't shoot. 5.0 grains of Unique was Old Elmer's choice. you could do worse for a +P load. I use WW-231 in my 38's: 4.1 grains for my standard 158 grain boolits, 4.5 for plus P. The powder manufacturers have data on their websites that is tested: you pays your money and you takes your choice.

The 357 is a bit more limited, only a few powder will give true magnum performance. AA no.9, WW296, N-110, H-110, IMR 4227, Bluedot, all have been used, but for my money the best choice is 2400. 14.5 grains is a time tested load that will give you +1300 fps, but unlike some of the others--yes I'm talking to you, WW-296--it can be downloaded and still perform well. 12.5 grains under a Lyman 358-477 was a favorite of mine for a lighter training load in my M-66 S&W. One thing to beware of; H-110 and N-110 are very different powders. A safe max load of H-110 will be a 20-30% OVERLOAD if used with N-110.

Goodluck and good shooting!

[JSH]

I know this will draw fire from quite a few.
Be aware that it may or may not shoot 38's as well as one would like. Yes you can shoot 38's in 357's and they will go bang with no ill harm to the gun. However 38'smay build up lead, carbon and lube in the cylinder and not let a 357 chamber easily.
My findings in SW and Ruger, I shoot 357's and 38's in guns chambered for each and don't mix and match anymore. Doing this my accuracy has stayed to where it pleases me and if it doesn't it is me and not a gun or ammo issue.

[SteveS]

A GP100. H&G 158 gr Keith gc boolits. Bullseye, Unique and 2400.

I'm not sure it gets much better than that.

Slug your chamber throats so you know what size you need. Select your lube. Buy a thousand gas checks and standard primers. Get a good loading manual.

I'd suggest putting the .38 special cases away. You can load the .357 cases to do anything you need.

Then, have at it, hoss. There's fun in your future.

[bedbugbilly]

You are going to have soooo much fun! I usually use Bulls Eye in my 38s and Unique in my 357s but you have a good selection of powders that you list. If you don't have one of the Lyman Cast Boolit Handbooks - get one. I have the 2nd and 3rd edition and use them all the time for load data reference. Somewhere here on this site, a member posted a link to a PDF file of the 3rd edition - I don't have the link but maybe someone else does?

Some will recommend that you only use 357 brass but you can shoot anything from 38 Colt Short, 38 Colt Long, 38 Special and 357 in a 357. I do all the time as I like playing with the different cartridges and boolit weights/designs. Just clean your chambers well.

Good luck and have fun!

[Silver Jack Hammer]

You can't go wrong with what you are starting with and the advice you are receiving here. Have fun and keep us posted. What alloy did you use to cast your boolits? You will likely discover that softer alloy is more favorable to lower pressure, and harder alloy is more applicable to higher pressure loads. Your GP100, the powders you mentioned and your mold will serve you well. A general rule of thumb is faster burning powder for lower velocity target loads, and slower burner powder for high velocity magnum loads. Unique is your middle of road good for everything powder.

Keep us posted, hit the range often, take lots of notes on what results you get.

[williamwaco]

1) DO NOT LOAD .357 LOADS IN .38 CASES. SOONER OR LATER ONE OF THEM WILL FIND ITS WAY INTO A .38 SPECIAL CYLINDER.


2) There are no magic powders. In this market you might not be able to find what you want. In this case a burn rate chart and the Lyman Pistol and Revolver Guide will guide you to a good load.

3) I have never owned a .38 Special revolver. I have owned around 30 - .357 Magnum revolvers. I currently own 2 Rugers and 4 Smiths. I own around 200 .357 Magnum cases and upward of 5,000 .38 special cases. I load .357s in batches of 50 and .38s in batches of 300.

On average, I fire around 1,500 to 2,000 .38s for each 50 .357s.

With a scope, either the Ruger or the Smith will group 6 shots in one half to one inch at 25 yards.

When the gun gets really dirty - say 250 rounds without cleaning, cartridges will need a light push instead of just falling into the chamber.

All revolver cartridges will leave a ring of powder and lube fowling in the cylinder. This is easy to remove and has never caused me any problem. Maybe when I get a little more experience, I will experience some of these problems. I have only been shooting .38s in .357s for 60 years.

4) You are about to have lots of fun. Loadem and shootem.

PS: My favorite .38 load is 3.2 gr Bulls Eye with any bullet from 100 to 170 grains. My favorite bullet is any flat base wad cutter.

[rintinglen]

While William has a 15 year head start on me,my experience echoes his. I too have fired just about 30 38's for every 1 357, and and I have had no trouble cleaning my cylinders. I clean my guns every time after they are used before they are put away. You should too.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I load both 38 and 357 using a set of carbo dies for the 38. When I want to load 357 I use spacer rings made for that purpose. The system works well for me without any problems. I keep track of my brass, keep it cleaned and of proper length. I do a lot of wadcutter work even with the 357. An old handloader saying is that " 357's make better 38's". LLS

[SteveS]

William and Glen, why do you prefer the .38 special case to the .357?

[dragon813gt]

I use 231 for plinking and H110/W296 for full power loads. Load them all in 357 cases since I see no reason to use 38 cases. Bullseye will work well for light loads. Unique works well for midrange loads. And 2400 works well for midrange to magnum loads. You won't get the velocity of 296 but it can be down loaded to lower levels unlike 296.

[williamwaco]

William and Glen, why do you prefer the .38 special case to the .357?

You are kidding? Right?

.38 special cases are free for just the effort of picking them up and .38 loads are fun to shoot.

.357 cases cost up to 10 cents each, and i only use .357 loads for hunting.

[SteveS]

.38 special cases are free for just the effort of picking them up and .38 loads are fun to shoot.

.357 cases cost up to 10 cents each, and i only use .357 loads for hunting.

Ok, free cases.

.38 special loads are fun to shoot, whether loaded in .38 or .357 cases. Accuracy seems to be the same no matter which case is used.

[dragon813gt]

Where are these free 38 Special cases? There is no revolver brass at the ranges I belong to. There are five that I check periodically and I might pick up ten cases per year.

[williamwaco]

Ok, free cases.

.38 special loads are fun to shoot, whether loaded in .38 or .357 cases. Accuracy seems to be the same no matter which case is used.

Agreed. I can detect no difference in accuracy.

[RogerDat]

Have managed in 38 special to accumulate 3,000+ cases for modest cost, my .357 mag cases number in the few hundred and cost a good deal more. Even if not finding them on the range at gun shows 38 brass goes maybe 5 cents a case while 357 is better than double that and I can seldom find 357 as range brass. I would suggest posting in WTB and see what you can turn up for a deal on 357 brass, or just spring for a big batch of starline and know you are good for reloading it for a long time.

One of the joys of handloading (and casting) is you can experiment. If the 38 cases in your 357 revolver are making a mess or lack accuracy then just download some 357 cases to a milder plinking and target round. Use the starting load from the manuals and in small batches increase by .2 or .3 grains from there to max. Find out what works for what you are shooting.

+1 on the 45/45/10 or Bens liquid lube made from Lee Liquid Alox and Johnson's paste or liquid wax. Dump a few hundred cast bullets in a 1 qt. ziplock freezer bag, squirt a thin line of lube and tumble the sealed bag. Dump out on wax paper. Fast, easy and cheap.

For years wife shot a 38 special pistol, I bought ammo for her and used it in a 357 pistol to save money. Did no harm to my 357. Matter of fact the speed loaders for SD use are all 38 so they can be used in either firearm. If the situation is not resolved with the first 5 rounds of 357 reloading with 38 won't be a problem, still works better than throwing rocks. BTW - I am in the camp of store bought ammo for self defense. I'll load some close to it in weight and power, and fire a few store bought to maintain a comfort with that ammo. Really don't want some personal injury lawyer showing up with an "expert" to testify that for some wacky reason my lead pills were too "brutal".

[Petrol & Powder]

Bigscot
First - excellent choice in gun and cartridge ! I can't think of a better place to start.
The 38 Special is by far my favorite handgun cartridge.

Lots of good advice already so I will not add much.
As to powders, you have a lot of choices but ww231 (HP-38) is a good choice. I use 4.4 grains of 231 behind a 158 gr LSWC. That load is at the upper edge of standard pressure for 38 Special (some manuals place it in +P territory) but it works well for me in a variety of revolvers. You can drop that charge weight a little but I find my guns shoot a bit better at 4.4 grains.
Bullseye is a classic powder for 38 special as is Unique. I find 231 and Bullseye meter better than Unique when using a progressive loader.

I don't shoot as many .357 magnum loads but H110 (ww296) works well for magnum loads.

A couple of words about 38 vs 357 casings.
1. Don't load magnum charges in 38 Special cases. The GP-100 can certainly take it but the risk of losing control of one of those rounds and having it end up in someone else's gun is too great. Once you assemble a cartridge there's no way to tell it apart from any other 38 special cartridge. It's just not worth the risk to make an over pressure cartridge that appears to be a 38 Special.

2. Just about every time the topic of 38 Specials in .357 magnum chambers comes up, someone will start talking about the alleged "crud ring". I've been shooting longer than some members of this forum have been alive. I've shot FAR more 38 Special rounds than .357 magnum rounds and a LOT of those rounds were fired in magnum length chambers. I've never found the so called "crud ring", "carbon ring" or whatever you want to call it; to be a problem. Clean your guns once in awhile !

By the way, that GP-100 is a fine gun. Super strong, durable and accurate. You will not wear it out !

Good Luck

[saleen322]

Bullseye works well in 38s as does 231 which you have. I shoot Clays and some WST in light target 38 loads now only because they burn so clean. 2400 and, with heavier loads, 296 works well with 357 magnums. Good luck.

[tazman]

I once had a "crud ring" in my 357 that was so hard it took almost 3 hours cleaning time to get it out. I shot nearly 400 rounds through the gun, all 38 special, one afternoon and cleaned the gun the next day. That ring was so hard it was almost impossible to remove and didn't want to dissolve for some reason. It had built up solid in the front of the chamber and looked as if it had shortened the chamber to 38 special length.
I have since changed boolit lubes and no longer have that any difficulty getting the ring out.