Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 38 super jhp load data

Don't ask me why, but I have a wild hair to load a hotter jhp in my custom 38 super and tote it around the woods for shcitts and grins.

The pistol is an older Tripp (now sti) 2011 body with 5" barrel and compensator.

Alp I have ever done is shoot soft loads for 3 gun and speed steel and have no experience with the hotter loads.

Any advice is appreciated.

RJM will be along. He has forgotten more about the Super than most will ever know.

For the warmer loads in .38 Super my powder of choice was always AA#7. I don't remember the powder charge because it's been about a decade or more since I've loaded .38 Super, but I wanna say I was getting in the neighborhood of 1,300fps with a 130gr FMJ, and 1,250 with a 147 JHP.

I think these days VV N350 is the go to powder for hot Supers. And Blue Dot is always a good standby for the Super.

Not sure how bad I want to beat the gun super hard as the old timer I bought it from told me he bought it directly from Dave Stanford, the ex president of IPSC and USPSA.

the gun has changed hands a few times since Mr. Stanford owned it but is now mine. Even found an article online about my pistol

Edited: initially I was confused on the story I knew and thought it was Dave Skinner of STI'S, not Dave Standford.

Noticed some really impressive loads using LilGun with lower pressures and top velocities.

What powders do you have and what do you want the bullet to do when it hits...

Bob

Dig the new avatar RJM.

That place has a lot of things that are "Just Right".

I bet the bucket is still there.

RJM,

In powders I think should work well I have AA5, AA7, H110, Win 231, 2400 and Power Pistol.

If it works as planned it would mainly be woods bumming with an eye to coyotes, cougars and maybe a deer if the opportunity presented itself (probably 50-75yds max). I was thinking the 124 GDHP but I am all ears.

All I have ever shot in it is a 124gr Montana Gold fmj and 5.2gr of Win 231 as that is what the guy I bought it from ran. It clocks 1125fps from my 5" barrel

That's barely even a full pressure 9mm load, not even +P. Probably shoots real soft in that gun though!

Just FYI, that 124gr GDHP is a great bullet, but once you push it up to 1250-1300 fps it opens wide enough that I'd be concerned about penetration for hunting. I use it in 9mm at 1300 fps, and don't think I'd want to push it any faster unless shots were a little longer distance; expansion is impressive at that speed. IMO the XTP might be a little better for penetration, since it doesn't open as wide and you should be able to easily run faster than my 9mm load.

BTW what part of western WA? I'm in Skagit co.

Yondering, i am down in South King County.

Researching this gun has been interesting. Apparently the guy it was made for was the uspsa/ipsc president for years and was from Arlington I believe.

It has an odd kink with the slide stop that I need to figure out yet and needs a newer optic versus the early 90's aimpoint thays on it.

I only recently bought it and have shot it twice at the range and 1 speed steel match. You are correct in that it is a very soft load, recoil is nonexistent and I dump the plates significantly faster then I did with my M&P CORE.

It's been fun researching this gun and is kind of cool seeing it in magazine articles and pictures of it in the uspsa magazines from the 90's.

Now if I can just sort out the damn slide stop issue.

Not JHP, but using Power Pistol to push 125 gr copper Barnes' to 1341 fps av. in a 4" Colt LW Commander, it's a rockin little load that penetrates for days in homemade test media.

Gotta be hell on barriers, and I don't believe a crackhead could hold one.

I carry it with complete confidence, recoil is next to nothing and easy to get back on for follow up shots, it's loud though, as may be expected.

In looking at your posts I'm sure that the gun has a barrel with a fully supported chamber... If that is the case there is no even unreasonable load that is going to hurt that gun...

#1 thing to do if you are going to run bullets over 1350, which is quite easy, is get a 18-18.5# recoil spring. I run that weight in all my guns and they will function even with 9mm.

As to bullets, if you want to go with a Gold Dot HP there are two 124s...one with a deep cavity for 9mm and the other for .357 SIG. Speer loads the .357 SIG bullet in their rounds and CorBon uses the 9mm version in their .357 SIG rounds... Just depends on your beliefs... I personally prefer a faster opening bullet for self-defense and people are not made of Jello...

#2 is when reloading hot use Small Rifle Primers. The metal in the cups are thicker and take a lot more pressure.

Powders...I have mainly worked with Unique and SR4756. I heard great things about Blue Dot but never got the velocity others claimed to have. AA-9 is also supposed to be a real mover in Super.

Back to bullets. First thing you want to do is pull the barrel to check what you can get away with for length overall. As long as the round is under 1.280 they will fit in the magazine. Depending on the ojive of the bullet you may have to seat as deep as 1.200 as in the case of the Sierra JHP rounds. Every bullet is different. You also want to make sure there is enough bullet in the case to ensure good feeding and bullet retention.

Once you get what you feel is a correct round, make up 10 dummies and after putting them in the magazine SLOWLY cycle them trough the action watching to see how the bullet is interacting with the feedramp and is the case rim timing correctly slipping up under the extractor. If all that goes smooth, put them back in and rack the slide back hard and let go to see what the round does under speed. You may also want to measure the LOA to see if you are getting any bullet setback but this usually isn't very critical.

Once you have a round that will feed it is time to make up test rounds... I make up batches of 5 rounds of a certain powder weight and go up usually .3 grains at a time until I get start getting pressure signs. It is good that you have a chrono as that takes a lot of guessing out of things...

If you have a nice grips on your gun take them off and put a set of rubber on...like Pachmayer...if you blow a case web the only thing that ever gets damaged on a 1911 is the grips...don't ask me know I know this... In your case the likelihood of blowing a case web are very low...only my Kimber has a supported chamber barrel...none of my Colts do. I've blown about 6 cases since 1980...and that is well over 150K rounds fired. And almost all were on experimental rounds.

Invest in a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die...also MGW has contracted with Lee for a special resizing die that puts fired brass back to factory specs...irons out any web bulge... Since I started using that die have had ZERO feeding issues with brass has been shot well over 20 times...

Here is the die at Midway...MGW no longer has them...

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/390353/lee-undersized-carbide-sizing-die-38-super

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/721680/lee-carbide-factory-crimp-die-38-super

And don't worry about ever wearing out that gun using even hot loads... A couple of my guns have way over 30K rounds of +P+ loads and will still run 3" at 50 yards.. If one can safely run 9x23 Winchester at 55K psi running a 125 at 1450 fps running Supers in the 40-45K range is a cakewalk for these guns...

As to 9x23 Winchester, if you can get a box pull the barrel and drop one in...if it fits the chamber it will run... Almost all my barrels will run them. For regular use I would have a flat bottom firing pin stop put in and run a 24# recoil spring...but for the occasion firing you are not going to hurt anything...


Some reading for U...

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon%2038%20Super%20Ammo%20Tests.htm

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/38SuperTo9mm.htm

http://www.38super.net/

Lots of Handloading Data...

http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/d...ype=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=

http://www.k8nd.com/documents/hl38sup.pdf

One mans packin pistol...

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Trail+gun+perfection%3a+Kimber%27s+.38+super+stainless+target+II.-a0285993666


You can PM any time you need something...

Bob

...next year we are going back to visit that bucket!!!

Mine's a 5" Colt Super barrel in a RIA slide/frame.

Load is 8 grains of HS-6 in Starline cases with 124 rem JHP's at 1.235" OAL running 1300 flat.

Ran it up to 1400, but decided 1300 was the place to be. Want to ventilate a coyote with it.

115 JHP's are where it's at for Yotes...it's impressive.

Laid in some 124 XTP'S and will hopefully get to see what they do on meat soon via a hot handload.

A buddy sold me 250rds of Atlanta Arms 125gr JHP'S. They clock a chrono'd 1405 fps from my gun and shoot very accurate and very soft.


I also have a few boxes of the cheapie Sig 125 gr JHP'S which shoot well in my gun but seem to recoil more then the Atlanta Arms likely because theu aren't producing enough gas to benefit the compensator.

I clocked some of the SIG .38 Super JHP and FMJ rounds and they were right on the money as to the velocity posted on the side of the box.

Federal has a new 115 gr. JHP round out that is going only 1230 fps... Wrote the company and asked "why" so low...never did get a clear answer back.

Any time you can get a 124/5 grain bullet up over 1400 fps in a Super that is smikin'.

Bob

Bob,the Atlanta Arms load is sold specifically as making major power factor as its rated at 125gr bullet at 1380fps from a 5" 1911 for a PF of 172.

As far as factory Super loads go it is actually pretty economical selling for $21/50rds or $400/1000rds which is what 50rds of normal factory ball sells for around here.

I wonder whose JHP they are using? If it holds together okay that might be a pretty good ccw/woods load

That is real cheap...

If you post a picture of the round I may be able to tell who makes the bullet...my guess is Hornady...

Bob