Snub nose reloading questions

[Fyathyrio]

Soon I'll be reloading .38 +P rounds for a 2" barrel snub nose. I recall reading somewhere on Calguns that 1" rifle barrel length change (compared to reloading manual equipment used) equals about 200 ft/sec. Does this guideline work with hand guns also? Any other important differences or helpful info for short barrel reloading?

I will be loading 125 gr XTP bullets using Bullseye and Unique to try and find what works best to start with.

Thanks,
Mark

[sghart]

Very helpful website to answer your questions.

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/index.html

[Bill Steele]

I sold my stubbies, but when I was loading for them, I favored faster powders over slower ones, even though the slower ones would deliver a little more velocity. IMO the marginal velocity gain was not worth the added muzzle blast.

[Dutch Henry]

I've always liked the results I got from W231. With a 158 bullet and a tight crimp, it shoots accurately with little smoke and less powder residue than others that I've tried.

[skibuff]

I was just reading last night that the faster powders help reduce felt recoil.

I wanted to these were from a .357 case
from a balistic chart I have
Uniique 8.5gr 110gr jhp
6" 1362 fps
2" 1185 fps

Unique 7.5gr
158gr RN
6" 1177
2" 1024

[skibuff]

This is what I've been running in my 2" Smith 66 .357
I have not loaded any +P rounds the 6.4gr of bullseye was in a .357 magnum case.
4.4gr bullseye in a .38 case make a nice fun plinker load.
Yes the bullet is a 125 9mm Laser Cast lead round nose.

These were made with Rem Magnum Primers so using a standard primers would make for a 5-10% softer load.
.38/.357 125 Gr 9mm Lead RN Bullseye 4.4
0.357 125 Gr 9mm Lead RN Bullseye 6.4

[RandyD]

Yes the bullet is a 125 9mm Laser Cast lead round nose.

I have been contemplating doing the same thing; reloading 9 mm bullets in .38 Special cases. This would avoid having to stock two different bullets. My 38 Special is a 2 inch S&W Model 60 so I am not reloading for accuracy, instead I just want practice rounds that won't punish my hand after shooting 100 rounds. How does using 9 mm bullets in a .38 work for you?

[XDRoX]

You're going to have to push Unique or any other fairly slow burning powder pretty hard in order to not get unburnt powder. The super short barrels don't allow for enough time for the powder to completely burn. Unburnt powder may just be a little annoying or theoretically it could cause problems if you shot enough of it.

[Fyathyrio]

Thanks for the info, and yes, I suspected the Bullseye would likely work better. Also thanks for the link to BBTI. Once Widener's shipping gets caught up with their recent surge, I'll load some up and see what the chrony and target have to say, as well as the feel.

[skibuff]

I have been contemplating doing the same thing; reloading 9 mm bullets in .38 Special cases. This would avoid having to stock two different bullets. My 38 Special is a 2 inch S&W Model 60 so I am not reloading for accuracy, instead I just want practice rounds that won't punish my hand after shooting 100 rounds. How does using 9 mm bullets in a .38 work for you?

The 125gr 9mm laser cast works great because it has a longer bearing edge than other 9mm bullets.
I tryed to use an Xtreeme 124gr but the bearing edge was shorter so I couldn't get it to seat at the OAL I needed for the .38. Also the laser cast lead bullets were .356 and the xtreme plated were .355

So I guess it'll just depend on the bullet you choose. The 9mm shoots just as accurate out of a 2" .357 as anything I've shot. I've run them as .357 magnum loads also with same great results.

I've used the laser cast for around 10 years but they've gotten expensive and the plated bullets are cheap and so much cleaner. So I'm going to have to order have separate bullets for the 2 now.

RE: Powder I've used Unique, Win321 and like them both but Bullseye works so good for every situation, caliber, hot or mild loads that unless the price skyrockets I won't ever change.