Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Help me with a .38 Special load

I was gifted with 500 158 grain Speer SWC swaged lead bullets. I have a lot of once fired cases, and a brick of SP magnum primers.
On hand, I have Unique, Blue Dot, and 2400 powder.
I don't need magnum performance, but then I don't want a squib load either.
What would be my best bet for a balanced load, using the components I have in the cabinet?
Would I be better off getting a brick of standard SP primers, or a different powder?

Let me add, that this will most likely be shot in a 4 inch Model 19, or a 4 inch Model 10 heavy barrel revolver. It may get some use in my 3 inch Model 60.

A non Plus-P factory duplication load would be 5.0 grs of Unique with a 158 gr lead bullet. If you want a light plinking load, use 4.5 grs of Unique.

2400 is usable for Plus-P loads in .38 cases. Most manuals show from 10 to 11 grs with a 158 gr bullet. I have no experience with Blue Dot.

Your magnum primers will work fine with any of those loads.

I used the often recommended 5.0 grain Unique load for years with a 160 grain cast SWC or occasionally the Speer bullets that you have. We had very good luck with this load in a lot of revolvers.

It is listed as a plus P load now but we used to shoot it in J frames and older vintage revolvers with no ill effect. It seemed to get all of the potential out of the .38 special case with sane pressure.

I also used to load the 170 Keith SWC with 10.0 of 2400 in .38 special cases for use in my .357. This load was listed in the Lyman # 43 manual .38 special data and would not be catastrophic if fired in a lesser gun.

I would try the Speer bullets at 4.5 grains of Unique and adjust up or down for accuracy.

That's where I would start.

Another vote for unique, it should provide great accuracy and you'll get the best mileage out of it. Haven't seen much blue dot data and 2400 needs to be run at higher pressure to burn clean.

It would be better to use std sp primers.

Sounds like a plan, and thanks guys. I can get started, and load up some rounds, for zero extra expense.

Next gun show, I will be looking for some SR4756. I used to load a lot of .38 Special with that powder, and the Speer 160 grain LSWCHP.

You might also want to try 4.5 gr. of Hodgdon's Universal. Works great in my 38s and seems to be a little cleaner burning.

I agree 100% but if you don't have any now you'll never find any,there was a fire at the clay's plant. I'd pick universal over unique any day, cleaner and meters like a dream

If you're shooting in a .38 Special made in the last 40 years, then I see nothing wrong with just reducing a published starting load by about 15% and load up with your magnum primers. I would personally start with Unique, but you may find 2400 works best. The problem with using 2400 in target loads is that you'll use far more powder, making your loads much more expensive round per round. With Unique, it's a fast powder but not so fast you're going to massively spike pressures. Just give it a whirl. About 20 years ago, I had the same problem, but the powder I had was AA#5. I don't recall the load I settled on, but it all came out well. Just approach it carefully and you'll be fine. You know your chit; you should have no problem pulling this off.

Last night, loaded up 100 rounds of the 158 grain LSWC bullets, and 5 grains of Unique.
Tried some today in my heavy barrel Model 10. They worked as they should, recoil being light, and hitting point of aim.
Thanks for the help

I love a story with a happy ending.

With pistols I don't see powder expense as a major issue. Maybe with a big magnum rifle, but pistols don't use that much powder.

To me, the biggest problem with 2400 isn't expense, it's those pesky unburned grains that get stuck under the star extractor, often making the gun impossible to close. As a mere lad, I had a K-38 and tried all sorts of loads, some pretty hot. I quit using 2400 in that gun for the above reason.

Blue Dot has some quirky characteristics, reportedly. I used it in some hot .357 loads and it worked great. It also was good in the .45 Magnum round, shot in a dual cylinder Texas Longhorn Arms #5. It was the accuracy load.

Unique is very good and became my go to powder in my .K-38. Today, there are better, cleaner powders for that application, although Unique still works as it always has.

DF

Unique seems to burn a lot cleaner than it used to. I agree, that 2400 can be dirty, but boy, it sure pushed the lead!
Blue Dot is my current favorite with heavy .45 Colt loads.

2400 is a dirty powder. I've switched to ww 231

any Titegroup users in the .38 Special?

Or anyone using the Speer Gold Dot .38 short barrel hollowpoint?

I've been using 3.4 grains of Titegroup in a Model 15 with a 160 grain cast SWC. It shoots accurately but I couldn't say for sure it's the ultimate load for the .38. I tried 3.0, 3.4 and 3.6 grains under the 160 SWC and 3.4 gave the best groups.


2400 might be dirty but 10.0 grains under several different 158 or 160 gr. SWC has proven very accurate. I had an older Model 15 that wouldn't shoot any of my loads worth beans. I figured I had to have gotten the only Model 15 in the world that wouldn't shoot straight. But one day I loaded 10.0 gr. 2400 under a Speer swaged SWC and that thing finally produced the wondrous one raggedy hole group. I've used that load in my current .38 with commercial cast SWC and two different cast bullets from Lee and Accurate molds and it shoots great with everything. IIRC it's a +P load although not too bad and certainly no problem for a K frame Smith.

Damn! Too bad about the Clays plant. Glad I have plenty of it.