Shot my first reloads today..

[Sparkola24]

Loaded 300 .38 special 158 LSWC with W231. I loaded 50 shots of each grain weight..3.2, 3.4, 3.6, 3.8 4.2 and 4.5. I shot them with my S&W 637 2.5 inch .38 special and with my Ruger .357 mag GP 100.

As expected the Ruger loved all rounds..at the lower 2 weights it almost felt like a .22.. I will probably load 200-300 at a time with anywhere from 4.1 to 4.5 for targeting.

The 637 was really good and 3.6. At 3.8.and above...it was a little too "snappy"..the lighter weights were fine as well but felt really comfy at 3.6.

The only issues were maybe 5 out of 150 shots were "light strikes" in double action with the Ruger..which then fired fine in single action.

I need to know what I will find to be a difference in powders..I have 3 others to try..Bullseye..Unique and 2400..

Any insight?

After I get all this done..I will load for the .357..any advice on those loads.

I will say the loading experiance was a bit tedious on my RCBS pro2000 but once I got up and going..it seemed to go smoother. I got some weird inverted primers from the APS strips which seemed very odd..but I am really glad for the lockout die..that was a nice safety feature.

Also..it seemed the mouth expander on the powder dropper seemed to close the longer I loaded so I had to reset that and the bullet tube feeder sucked and cracked on the first 20 feeds...so it was back to manual bullet placement.

I also liked putting the finished rounds in "individual" boxes..that allowed me to inspect EVERY round. Doing that eliminated the primer issue and a couple others.

All in all..shooting my own ammo was WAY more rewarding than retail rounds..not only cost, but because I made it..so that was a nice feature as well.

[Bongos]

38spl = 4.2 of 231 125gr LSWC is under 1"@ 25 meters out of my S&W 14

[BigJ]

Congrats! I cannot help with your questions as I'm not (yet) a reloader. But I just wanted to say you're comments at the end there have remotivated me to start. .38s and .357s would be where I'd go first too.

Didn't mean to derail, but I just wanted to say thanks and to subscribe so I can start learning about all this too

[Bill Steele]

The light strikes were likely primers that were not seated fully. The primer has to be seated all the way down for the anvil to be pressed against the cup allowing ignition when the hammer falls. The reason they fired on the second shot was likely the first strike finished the seating job.

[Fishslayer]

I will probably load 200-300 at a time with anywhere from 4.1 to 44.5 for targeteting.

JMHO but I think that 44.5 might be a little hot...

[Pete1979]

231 and bullseye are very similar and both work really good in .38 or .45. Unique is dirty but you can use it in just about everything if you don't mind cleaning soot off the outside of the cylinder. It meters ok but no where near as good as the others. I like it because it fills more of the case so its harder to get a double charge. Not sure about 2400.

[G-forceJunkie]

I love 231, but i have heard TrailBoss is the ticket for lower power lead bullet loads in 38spl. Bulkier as well, probably cannot fit a double charge in as you probably can with such small loads of 231.

[lpspinner]

I will probably load 200-300 at a time with anywhere from 4.1 to 44.5 for targeteting.

Even with compression, I don't think you'll be able to squeeze in that powder into the case.

btw, Congrats on your first successful loads!

[fatfreadiescat]

There is no going back now

[Darklyte27]

[Sparkola24]

Thanks for the input..my wife hogs the computer so I never spell chack my posts..

[Cowboy T]

Oh, you're totally speaking my language since you're doing .38 Special. That's the round I do the most of, both mild and wild. Talk about a versatile cartridge...!

In my case, the powder of choice is Bullseye, both for powder-puff and "+P" loads. I get terrific precision with this, and the cases with the +P loading end up so clean that I actually do not have to tumble them afterwards. Yes--that clean. Another guy I know uses W231 for the same sort of thing with excellent results.

I also have a load using Titegroup, which is a little dirtier than the Bullseye load, but it, too, shoots very well. This was developed during the post-election Great Ammo/Powder/Primer Rush of 2009, because while Bullseye was rarer than hen's teeth, Titegroup remained plentiful for whatever reason.

Now, for 2400, oh, that's my favorite general-purpose magnum handgun powder. You can download it a good deal and still get relatively complete burn, but it really sings when you hit about 27,000 PSI of pressure and beyond. I use it for .357M, .44M, and what I call ".45 Colt Magnum." I also have a load that I use in .38 Spl +P cases that replicates the ballistics and feel of my .357M load; this was when .357M cases were kinda hard to get. Both use a 158gr LRNFP, similar to your LSWC.

[bandook]

A question, can one load 38 to +P in regular cases or is there a +P case designation?

[Cowboy T]

Yes, and yes. Generally, the +P-marked cases are the exact same strength and construction as the "normal" .38 Spl cases. But as always, if you should choose to load regular .38 Spl cases to +P levels, mark your ammo and ensure you don't mistakenly put the load in a non-+P rated firearm. Is that going to be a problem in your .357 Magnum Ruger GP-100? Nope, not one bit. You can load those cases to full-house .357M pressures with that gun and be just fine. But if you do that, make good 'n' sure that they only see .357M-rated firearms. Safety first, always.

[bandook]

Cool thanks. I can finally put those cases to some use...