Reloading 38spcl

[pennstater]

Interesting to read that. guess thats why I still like and shoot lead or jacketed. I tried some from a friend[Xtreme/230gr RN/45acp] and they just didn't work like I had hoped. To the OP tho; get your manuals and read them. You're on the right track to learning. You can always ask here and then reference it to a manual. Good luck.

[Capybara]

Two point seven grains of Bullseye for a hollow base wad cutter for sure. That has been true since, what, the 1950s. As for a solid base...you need a little more.

One hundred and forty-eight grain or 158 grain solid base cast or FMJ bullets going 800 to 900 FPS from a 38 Special maintains one-gallon milk bottle of angle groups at 50 yards day in and day out. Start using plated bullets and you won't be happy with 50 yard accuracy. Heck, I'm not happy with the accuracy of plated bullets at 7 yards at any speed.

Are your lousy accuracy results with plated bullets for all calibers or just .38 spl?

[Bastard]

when I started loading 38 spl I had issues with the expander die & not being able to seat it far enough down in the press to bell the case mouth & once I started loading a softer swaged wadcutter I had even bigger issues where the bullet would get deformed, shaved or even broken/cracked during seating... afterwards I switched to the Lyman M die & have never had a problem since. that said I haven't loaded any wadcutters in some time as I have one revolver that didn't seem to like them so now I load a 158gr SWC exclusively in all of my 38 loads

[hambam105]

It is not just my lousy results, and it's with all calibers...any gun any time. It is do to the way the bullets are made no matter who makes them or when they made them or who reloaded them. Accuracy bites bigtime using plated bullets.

Do you see any plated bullets in the top 30% at the NRA Action Pistol events that require a lot of accuracy such as the Bianchi Cup? Nope. Nuka. Neit. Zippo. Lots of jacketed, lots of home rolled cast bullets.

[John Joseph]

Nothin' wrong with lead bullets, cast or swaged. Less wear on the barrel than jacketed.
I can see the attraction of plated bullets, but not for me.
Make the effort to find the right alloy for the velocity, the correct diameter, and best lube and powder and "dirty" won't be a problem.

[ironhorse1]

I have never achieved the accuracy with plated bullets that I have from jacketed or lead.

I tried DEWC plated and they were not giving the groups I could get from a 125 JHP.

Finally went to the Speer 148 HBWC and 2.8 grains of Bullseye for a target load. Remington's 148 HBWC are messy to load so the Speer are used because they are much less dirty to handle.

I still shoot plated 125 grain flat nose for a plinking load that is quite enjoyable to shoot. All .38 Special of course.

I'm still not feeling the love for the M die. I just don't get why some loaders are having difficulty using standard dies. The standard die bells and opens the case body slightly to help guide the bullet. If that did not work then everyone would be buying the M die.

I think I have almost forty years of practice at the reloading bench.

I'm not looking for a solution for a problem that I'm not having.

Of course the disclaimer of YMMV.Cheers!

irh

[9mmepiphany]

If that did not work then everyone would be buying the M die.

I think it is pretty telling when two top tier die manufacturers, RCBS and Redding, start offering the same design in the Expanders

That you can't see an advantage doesn't mean that others shouldn't take advantage of newer developments in the industry. Carbide resizing dies and Dual-Ring Resizing dies came about the same way.

I think the M-die,and it's clones, was initially a huge boon to lead bullet loaders and has developed a following among Progressive Press users also

[lostinsurf]

The Lyman M die creates a "nest" for the bullet. Those beautifully cast .358 Bullets can be compressed during normal seating to .357. Not good.
The nest accepts the .358 without changing the size or shape. Belling only gets the bullet to start seating easier; the compression of the bullet can still occur.

Maybe better accuracy, maybe not. Maybe less leading if the bullet is large enough to fill the rifling and not let the gasses escape past the base and melt the lead.

I used it for awhile and liked the nest it created for my perfectly sized boolets. However, I wanted the stages in my dillon 550 for a separate seater and crimp die instead.