.38/.357 powder and primers

[AgentAdam]

I picked up some Herco to try also and went with 500 rounds of Oregon Trail Laser-Cast silver bullet 158g SWC .358 calliber and will stick with the CCI small pistol primmers i have.The only reason i asked about the primers is because i thought i read that the old .38 special loads called for a magnum primer. Next time i will pick up some H110 or W-296 and Herc 2400. Who makes H110 & W-296?

What would be the cheapest powders and primers that work well enough for both the .38 and .357 ? I know cci is good but i have never had any trouble with winchester primers.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Hodgdon makes H110. Winchester (hodgdon) makes W-296. Hercules is long dead. Alliant makes 2400.

Work well enough in both .38 Special and .357 magnum...W-231...WSP primer...

 

[AgentAdam]

/Quote:
"Yep, I've used 5.3 gr. of Unique pushing the 158 JHP or LSWC in a 38 case. Lots of fun too shoot and good for up to 200 yards.

I've also shot quite a few of the 8gr. Unique loads and the same slug. I didn't realize that this was above max as the book my dad and I were using came out around 1980! Guess it's time for an upgrade, but my Colt Peacekeeper has done just fine with this load."
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4.5g of unique is the max load for .38 +p w/ 158 lswc according to Alliant. I don't think i would try 5.3g unless in a .357 and that would be kinda weak as the max load for unique and the .357 is 6.8g w/ a 158 lswc.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Far too many new reloaders try to use only 1 powder for both their .38 Special and .357 Magnum rounds. Yes, it can be done but for the most part both rounds will suffer somewhat. If you really want to get the best ammo with good accuracy use a faster powder for the .38 Special and a slower powder for the Magnum rounds.

I think Winchester W231 is a great powder for the .38 Special. I use a lot of W231.

I use Winchester W296 (same as Hodgdon H110) for my .357 Magnum rounds. When using W296/H110 a Magnum Primer and a heavy crimp is required. If you decided to use Alliant 2400 you won't need a Magnum primer.

If you really want to use only 1 powder for both I would suggest using Hodgdon HS-6. It's my opinion it comes the close to being a powder that will do both rounds fairly well. (but you really should use 2 different powders)

 

[AgentAdam]

I was using bullseye for the .38 and herco for the .357 but i was thinking that maybe a slightly slower powder like unique would work better for .38 with a 6" barrel.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm glad you are using 2 different powders for your 38/357 rounds. I don't think a slower powder will aid in accuracy for your .38 Special rounds. You "might" get a little more velocity from a slightly slower powder but is that what you are aiming for? Powder burn rate and barrel length is more important in Magnum rounds than .38 Special rounds but mostly for velocity. Both Unique and Bullseye along with a dozen other powders will work well for your .38 Special rounds. Which will be a better choice depends upon what you are trying to achieve.

 

[loneviking]

4.5g of unique is the max load for .38 +p w/ 158 lswc according to Alliant. I don't think i would try 5.3g unless in a .357 and that would be kinda weak as the max load for unique and the .357 is 6.8g w/ a 158 lswc.

I just noticed this reply and it's wrong. Here's the link and the load data for these loads:

http://glarp.atk.com/2008/2008_Catalogs/AlliantPowderCatalog.pdf

5.2 of Unique pushing a LSWC is max. I'm 1/10 of a grain over but I'm using a Colt Peacekeeper/Trooper MK V .357. No signs of stress in the cases, and the gun handles the pressures easily.

 

[broham]

If I remember from my load manuels they use a mag primer with 2400. I have also heard before that you don't need a mag primer with this powder. Has anybody used both styles in their loads with the same powder charge and see a diference. I have a GP100 6", what charge are you guys using for your mag loads.

 

[zxcvbob]

Has anybody used both styles in their loads with the same powder charge and see a diference.

I've used both small rifle and small pistol primers in .38 Specials brass with 12 grains of 2400 (a light .357 load), and I didn't see any difference -- but at 12.5 grains it maybe would have mattered quite a bit because that's where the pressure starts going up real fast.

I never use small pistol magnum primers in anything (one less primer to stock.) I always use small rifle primers in .357 Magnums when I use 296 powder.