Light 38 Special loads

[Ruber]

For the sake of trying something new...

I'm looking for a light (90-100 gr) load for plinking with a police bulldog.

Anyone have a fun one? Looking to have a light plinker to shoot cans and break clays when my son is working away with his 10/22.

 

[mattsbox99]

Why not wax if you're gonna go that light. No powder, just a primer. You can reload them right at the range too.

 

[stevemb]

I've gone as light as a cast lead 125 TC on 4 grs of Unique. These for short tubes. Do not substitute jacketed when going light and carefully go thru first couple cylinders to be sure they are exiting ! Both Penn's and Matt's bullets have an array of light bullet options. stevemb

 

[Ruber]

Thanks! That may be the practical limit of what I'm going for. I was looking at Penn's 100gr WC, but had a hard time finding data with convenient powders (I have a bunch of 231 and Unique). I have a 125 gr load at 5.7 gr unique, and didn't know how low I could go with that powder, but that your load looks pretty good.

 

[Chief 101]

Ive done the same using the lightest load of 231 as will get the results you want. Quiet and no recoil, great for teaching aid. I use the 120 gr lead and I think I used like 3-3.5gr powder.

 

[Rclark]

Well Trail Boss is your answer. For my Dad I load up 5g of TB under 125g TC for a nice plinking load in .38 Special and same in .357 case. Should work just fine under your 'lighter yet' bullets.

 

[Ruber]

Well Trail Boss is your answer. For my Dad I load up 5g of TB under 125g TC for a nice plinking load in .38 Special and same in .357 case. Should work just fine under your 'lighter yet' bullets.

Yep, and a lot of the newer light load data uses that powder, but the way the dealers and distributors work, it's a pain to get trail boss here. I'd kinda like to stick to more available powders.

Thanks

 

[Chief 101]

Ive done the same using the lightest load of 231 as will get the results you want. Quiet and no recoil, great for teaching aid. I use the 120 gr lead and I think I used like 3-3.5gr powder.

If you want really light, i think I used 2.5 gr 231 with the 125 lead cast...with 231 and unique I have never heard of problem with lighter than published loads...just sayin

 

[Ruber]

Yep, I think that looks perfect, thanks!!

 

[cellar701]

I used to shoot a lot of reduced load .38s with no problem - don't recall the load data and don't have my notes. Please heed the caution of an earlier post to go slow at first and make sure they are all exiting the tube in your revolver. Light loads with ear protection sometimes makes it not so obvious when you get a squib - or, if doing some fast shooting double action you can be squeezing off the next round before you realize it. Variables such as tube length, barrel/cylinder gap, cylinder throats can become very critical when exploring to find that "lightest" load. JMHO

 

[cellar701]

I will add one additional thought on this - I learned the hard way that what works in one revolver might not work as well in another. My nephew shot some of my light 38 loads (which had functioned flawlessly in my revolver) in his nice Smith Model 28. Unfortunately, one of the soft lead bullets didn't exit the tube and he fired another one behind it. Very fortunate he wasn't injured, but the gun was destroyed...

 

[LAH]

I have a RCBS 38-90-RN mould that cast large enough to size .358. I use it with 2.0 grains of Bullseye.

https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/MainServlet?storeId=webconnect&catalogId=webconnect&langId=en_US&action=ProductDisplay&screenlabel=index&productId=3344

 

[GP100man]

I shoot a RB seated flush then lube squeezed into the void to lube it a little over 2 grs. of reddot.

Quite & NO recoil , 2grs. is just enuff to seat the case back on the primer.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Well Since I do a lot of CAS I'm well aware of light loads to control muzzle flip/recoil. So here is my 3 cents worth

This is better controled buy a light bullet going fast rather than a heaver bullet and less powder. Get the light bullet and forget about trying to use less powder. Quite a few of the CAS guys use the 90 gr. Also the bullet drop is not as great.

Anyway that is what I was told by Hunter Supply for his 100 gr. LRNFP. So mine were at 950-1000fps with 4.0 700X or 4.5 of 231 out of a 51/2" 3 screw. A joy to shoot and able to shoot fast and control the gun. I was told that the 100 gr. has around 50% less muzzle flip than the 125gr. Seemed about right to me.

 

[Ruber]

Anyway that is what I was told by Hunter Supply for his 100 gr. LRNFP. So mine were at 950-1000fps with 4.0 700X or 4.5 of 231 out of a 51/2" 3 screw. A joy to shoot and able to shoot fast and control the gun. I was told that the 100 gr. has around 50% less muzzle flip than the 125gr. Seemed about right to me.

Great! Thanks. I had used hunter supply for my .45 cowboy loads and was about ready to order from them when I first posted this thread. Good to hear from someone with some experince with them in 38. I might just order some from both them and Penn and see how they both do.

Thanks again all!

 

[dougader]

I have used both 148 grain HBWC and 158 grain cast SWC with 2.1 and 2.5 grains of WW231, respectively. It's a nice target load that recoils like a 22 LR. Never a stuck bullet out to a 6" barreled Taurus, but was the main target load for the ex-gf and her 2-1/2" Model 64.

Caution: Make sure of your backstop. Soft dirt is what you want. Any old tires around or other hard debris and that bullet will bounce right back and hit you in the lip.

 

[Chief 101]

I have used both 148 grain HBWC and 158 grain cast SWC with 2.1 and 2.5 grains of WW231, respectively. It's a nice target load that recoils like a 22 LR. Never a stuck bullet out to a 6" barreled Taurus, but was the main target load for the ex-gf and her 2-1/2" Model 64.

Caution: Make sure of your backstop. Soft dirt is what you want. Any old tires around or other hard debris and that bullet will bounce right back and hit you in the lip.

Exactly tho I never used a Taurus...

 

[LAH]

Caution: Make sure of your backstop. Soft dirt is what you want. Any old tires around or other hard debris and that bullet will bounce right back and hit you in the lip.

Should be ask? :lol:

 

[dougader]

Yep, a hbwc my gf fired went through the paper target and hit an old tire that someone had placed at the back end of the shooting bay. The bullet hit the tire and bounced back, hitting her upper lip. No blood spilled, but she did have a fat upper lip!

 

[LAH]

Glad she wasn't hurt Doug.

 

[dougader]

Me too. At the shot, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. When she didn't follow-up with another shot I looked over and she said she got hit with a bullet. I freaked out on the inside, and I was looking for blood, anything to see where she'd been hit.

I didn't see anything and I asked her, "Really, where?" She pointed to her lip and I could tell it was swollen. I looked on the ground, and there was the offending bullet. We went down to the end of the shooting bay, and that's when I saw the old tire laying there.

I was mad, cussed a bit, and wondered aloud who the heck had put that old tire there. I moved the tire to the dumpster area and we went back to shooting.

It scared me for a minute there. I was so relieved to see she wasn't hurt any more than a swollen lip. I pay more attention to the range and the berm when I go shooting now. I'm always surprised at the junk people haul in there and then leave for someone else to clean up.

 

[mr surveyor]

I waited to post this until I found the camera to get a pic....

These are Bayou Bullets, 138 gr Wad Cutters loaded in mixed brass over 3.7 gr Unique with CCI sp primers. Seated to crimp groove and crimped with Lee FCD.

The reduction of smoke with Bayou Bullets as compared to conventionally lubed cast bullets is amazing, even with that "dirty old Unique". Light shooting and very accurate, even out of a short barreled snub. I could bump them up a good bit more, but for accurate plinkers these do just fine for me.

surv

 

[dougader]

Are those Bayou bullets moly coated or..... ?

 

[mr surveyor]

nope, not moly. It's a special dry lube from a supplier in Australia that's baked on. Actually, as I understand it from "Mr. Donnie", it's a two step-two coating process. The .45 acp boolits (only other Bayou Bullets I have so far) show the gold colered first coating in what would be the "lube groove". Down right purty. There's pics of all the offerings on the web site.