What Bullet & Powder Would You Use

GeoDudeFlorida said:
I just went through this looking for a good load for my wife’s Colt Cobra (1968) and Detective Specials. I use four bullets: Winchester HE 110gr JHP (w/W244), Speer 135gr SB-GDHP (w/Bullseye), GT Bullets 165gr LSWC-HP (w/Bullseye), and Cast Performance 200gr WFN-GC (w/ Unique).

Universal is a good generic choice but try to avoid +P or higher. A good 158gr LSWC at 700fps is still a stopper IF you put it where it needs to go. A miss never stopped anybody so find something you can control without having to think about it.
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I was thinking Speer Gold Dot , but you can’t find them and I was concerned about them expanding out of the short barrel . So I was leaning more to a 158 gr LSWC .
 
red rick said:
I was thinking Speer Gold Dot , but you can’t find them and I was concerned about them expanding out of the short barrel . So I was leaning more to a 158 gr LSWC .
Click to expand...
Always a good choice.

I would suggest one of the softer cast alloy or swaged antimonial lead. Speer and Hornady both make a good swaged bullet for .38.

Avoid super hard alloy and especially bevel based bullets. Plated and painted are okay as long as they aren’t bevel based bullets but they really don’t have any advantage in a snubby.

I would try a variety and see A) what’s available and B) what you and your gun agree on.

Unfortunately, right now GT Bullets is months back ordered on all of their inventory. But I have seen the Hornady Frontier and Speer (both 158gr LSWC-HP) online and at Bass Pro.
 
red rick said:
What bullet and powder would you use for a .38 special with a 1 7/8 inch barrel if you were to load for defense purposes ? I know a lot of people won’t load their own for that , but I don’t want that to be the subject in this thread .
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Am another fan for 158 lead flat point. And at a standard velocity, without trying to get maximum velocity or expansion. At least in the days of old, S&W jframe 38 specials were regulated for 158 gn bullets. Have tested the light weights at high velocity's, and they hit very low. Moderate loads make it easier to practice with, which imo is an important necessity in snub 38. Have stayed away from the swaged lead, as unleading your barrel can make wanting to practice problematic. Again, just an opinion or personal preference.
 
I don’t load .38’s for defense myself, but if I did I would not feel disadvantaged using a snubnosed revolver shooting these 165gr BNWC from Matts Bullets over 3.2 gr Bullseye. IMG_4563.jpeg

But, I would prefer to load these in a snubnosed revolver myself. (As always, YMMV.) +P on the left, standard pressure on the right.

IMG_4564.jpeg

Stay safe.
 
red rick said:
What are the things that you look for when getting over pressure loads , stuck case , deformed primers ?
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In cartridges like .38SPC and .45ACP, if you are getting flat primers, you are in heap big trouble; those are relatively low pressure cartridges to start with, if you are seeing mashed primers, you are waaaay overpressure.

Stuck cases can be a symptom... but you wouldn't see that with an automatic. Abused brass... early cracks, swipe marks, gouged up rims. An automatic that throws the brass other places than is normal for that pistol and a standard load.

Very often you can predict when you are nearing where pressure might be an issue by using ballistic software, like QuickLoad. QL (and the other programs) are not perfect, but much like a chronograph, they can provide some information and insight to your handloads.
 
red rick said:
I was thinking Speer Gold Dot , but you can’t find them and I was concerned about them expanding out of the short barrel . So I was leaning more to a 158 gr LSWC .
Click to expand...
Mattsbullets.com 147 gr hp, or barnes 110, they both do what they're supposed at low velocities, I like bullseye but have been looking at slightly slower powders, accuracy has been great with bullseye, but I think I'd like just a bit more speed.
The gold dots (even the 135 for "short barrel" loads) are underwhelming with a <4" .38.
 
All of my 38 Special loads mirror the box my Grandmother bought when she bought the S&W that I inherited with 158 grain jacketed hollow points.

Using HP-38, I got to 834 fps on the chronograph. Since 800-850 fps seems to agreed-upon as the velocity for the bullet to expand, I settled on this as my load.
 
I was just looking in my Lyman cast book and the 4” revolver they were using got a 158 gr lead bullet up to 913 fps with a max load of n350 .
 
Last edited:
red rick said:
I was just looking in my Lyman cast book and the 4” revolver they were using got a 158 gr lead bullet up to 913 fos with a max load of n350 .
Click to expand...
Two words of caution: F=ma, always and everywhere; and, a solid hit at 650fps followed by two like it in under a second, is more effective than a near miss at any velocity.

Be careful chasing the velocity bunny when a snubbed nose revolver is in play.

Now have fun and be safe.
 
If I were reloading for that it would be a 148 gr hbwc over 2.7 grs of bullseye.

I usually carry factory 148 hbwcs in a j frame.
 
I load Rim Rock 125 grain LSWCs over 6.1 grains of Silhouette for a good standard pressure load. This one’s very accurate and shoots to the sights in my Colts. It does 950 fps from my Cobra and 1050 fps from my 4” Python and S&W 67-1. One hole groups at 25 yards are possible with the 4” revolvers and the Cobra will keep them all in a 4” bullseye. They won’t expand but they’re easy to shoot and cut nice holes :)
 
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