Need help choosing powder for 38/357 158 copper plated bullets

[Muley Buck]

Hi fellas, as the title says I am looking to load some 158 gr plated bullets in 357 cases and possibly some 38 special as well. I'm having trouble settling on a good powder for a mild to medium target load that would be comfortable and accurate to shoot. I will be feeding these rounds in both a S&W model 27-2 with a 4" barrel or a S&W model 586-3 with a 6" barrel.
I only have Winchester small pistol primers. As for powder, I have Bullseye, BE-86, Unique, Universal, HP-38 and CFE Pistol. Thank you for reading and I appreciate any help or guidance.

[bergmen]

My go-to powder for these types of loads (and many others) is W231. HP-38 is an equivalent powder that is basically the same as W231.

I find it very consistent and very clean burning. As a matter of fact, I just put up some .357 loads today to experiment with. 6.0 grains of W231 under 158 grain Hornady XTP. My other load that works well is 7.0 grains of W231 under a 125 grain JHP or flat nose plated.

I have not tried the 158 grain load yet but the 125 grain load is super accurate out of my new Kimber K6S 3" DASA revolver.

These loads I describe are somewhere in between .38 Special +P and the low end of .357 Magnum loads. Very comfortable to shoot.

Dan

[ptmn]

You're lucky, you already have some great powders for 357 plated bullet loads. From what you have, I'd use Unique and HP38. I'm sure BE86 and CFE pistol would be great, but I haven't used them before for 357. Used plenty of Unique and W231, which is HP38

[Cowboy T]

Any of the powders that the OP has listed will work fine. I use Bullseye and Titegroup with cast bullets with fine results. Therefore, your plated bullets will be good to go.

[NeilMo]

Lots of good powders you've got OP for med velocity 357 target loads. I prefer Unique as it fills the case nicely compared to those others. A little FYI trivia, HP38 was actually formulated for 38 Special (Hodgdon Powder 38 Special).

[croue]

Bullseye and HP38 for middleweight loads.
Unique is good too. Mostly use it on the lighter side though.


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[Muley Buck]

Thank you for the replies guys, much appreciated! It makes me wish I only had the HP-38 (W231) and the Unique. It's hard enough trying to choose which powder let alone what charges to begin with. In a perfect world I would like a decent case fill so I'll probably shy away from the Bullseye and the BE-86 for the 357 and use it for 38 special instead. So I'll probably try the Unique and HP-38 to start with. Any recommendations on a start charge? I was thinking of starting at 5.5 or 6 grains of Unique and 5 or 5.5 grains of HP-38?? Like I said I'm not looking for a full house load here, just something moderate that can yield good accuracy as well.

[ysr_racer]

.38 Special: Win 4.6gr 231, 158gr Berry's Bullet

Digital Link
Temperature: N/A
Pressure: N/A

Bullet Weight: 158.0
Power Factor Average: 108
Power Factor Low: 105
Power Factor High: 114

Number of Shots: 14
Minimum: 668
Maximum: 723
Spread: 55
Average: 689
Standard Deviation: 15

# Velocity Ft/lbs Power Factor Date
14 707 175.35 111 2/3/20 9:48 AM
13 673 158.89 106 2/3/20 9:48 AM
12 670 157.48 105 2/3/20 9:48 AM
11 683 163.65 107 2/3/20 9:48 AM
10 685 164.61 108 2/3/20 9:47 AM
9 701 172.39 110 2/3/20 9:47 AM
8 678 161.26 107 2/3/20 9:47 AM
7 690 167.02 109 2/3/20 9:46 AM
6 723 183.37 114 2/3/20 9:46 AM
5 703 173.37 111 2/3/20 9:46 AM
4 694 168.96 109 2/3/20 9:46 AM
3 698 170.91 110 2/3/20 9:46 AM
2 668 156.54 105 2/3/20 9:46 AM
1 678 161.26 107 2/3/20 9:45 AM

[Muley Buck]

That's a nice looking load for the 38 special, looks to be what I'm after. Thank you or the info and ballistics.

[Gryff]

My go-to powder for these types of loads (and many others) is W231. HP-38 is an equivalent powder that is basically the same as W231.

Same here. HP-38/Win231 is my standard revolver powder. Very happy with it.

[NeilMo]

Any recommendations on a start charge? I was thinking of starting at 5.5 or 6 grains of Unique and 5 or 5.5 grains of HP-38?? Like I said I'm not looking for a full house load here, just something moderate that can yield good accuracy as well.

Here's some good reading on the subject. Go down about half way down the page for loads.

My Friend the 357

[dreyna14]

I've used Win 296 for 158 grn plated 357 loads with great success. All go bang and never an issue.

[Calif Hunter]

W296 and H110 are not very good for reduced loads - in fact, they warn not to reduce the loads. I use W296 for full power loads in my magnum handguns. For reduced power loads, I mainly use Titegroup as I have a lot of it on hand for .45ACP loads. I also use W231/HP38 for standard loads in .45 (both Colt and ACP,) .38 SPL and ,44 SPL. I have a fairly wide selection of powder left from load development so I have some 2400, H4227, Blue Dot, etc to use up as well.
It is hard to beat W231 or HP38 for moderate loads in the magnums. I simply use Titegroup as I have 8 pounds of it. I also have an 8 lb jug of W296 that I also use in .30 Carbine.

[ysr_racer]

231/HP38 is great in .38 Special, 9mm, and .45acp. Soft shooting, clean burning.

[Fishslayer]

I use Bullseye & Green Dot.