J-Bar
Member
On March 25 I asked this forum about light loads of Unique powder in the .38 Special. The responses generally agreed that between 3.0 and 4.5 grains of powder under 148 to 150 grain lead bullets would be safe, although perhaps dirty and maybe not as accurate as heavier powder charges. A few Forum friends asked for an update, so here it is.
I loaded some tests rounds and shot them this morning at an indoor range. The loads were 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 grains of Unique under 148 grain home cast wadcutters and 158 grain home cast RNFP .38 Specials. All cases are Starline, primers are Federal Small Pistol. Lube is Alox with a dash of cornstarch sprinkled on after lubing to prevent stickiness. Cartridge overall length for the wadcutters is 1.240”, for the 158 RNFP 1.450”.
Some of my favorite range companions got exercise at the range; a S&W .38/44 Heavy Duty Model of 1950 (“Pre Model 20”) made in 1955; a S&W Model 27-2 .357 Magnum made in 1977; a S&W Model 14-3 .38 Special made in 1977. I ran five shots of each bullet and powder combination through each revolver at 10 yards, seated, resting my forearms on my range bag.
I also took my S&W 1938 K22 Outdoorsman as my warmup gun. I shot Cowboy Action competition for 22 years, and one thing it taught me was how to jerk a trigger. Maybe some competitors can shoot huge close targets as fast as possible without jerking the trigger. I couldn’t. Now I must consciously concentrate to avoid jerking the trigger on each shot I make. Even so, the cowboy or the shaky old man show up unexpectedly and the trigger gets jerked. To keep those guys away from the range, I shot the K22 at a small orange sticker, focusing on trigger pull technique, before testing the ammo in each centerfire revolver. The 1960s era Fitz walnut target grips help. The .22 LR group size also serves as a calibration for what my eyes and nervous system can do at a given moment. I am pleased when the big guns’ groups are the same size as the .22 groups.
Here are the targets for each centerfire revolver; 38/44 on the left, Model 27 in the middle, Model 14 on the right. The 148 grain wadcutters are on the left side of each paper, the 158 grain RNFPs on the right side. Powder charges increase from bottom to top; 3.5 grains on the bottom, 4.0 grains in the middle, 4.5 grains on the top.
Five shots is too small a number from which to draw firm conclusions, but nonetheless I can see some trends here.
First, none of the groups are disgustingly terrible. The biggest ones are still minute of Coke bottle or tomato can, so the lighter charges could be used to conserve powder while teaching a newbie or just out plinking for fun. Cowboy Action shooters who are having difficulty finding Trailboss or Clays or Titegroup could have success using the 3.5 grain Unique load. Those big, close cowboy steel plates should catch these light loads just dandy. Yes, you will see some flyers on some groups where the shaky old man and ex-cowboy crashed the party. The good thing is I called most of them when they happened, so they are mine, not the gun’s or the powder’s fault.
The old .38/44 showed a slight preference for the 158 grain bullets over the 4.0 grain powder charge, but it probably was not significant. My old eyes find that grooved rear sight and the narrow front sight difficult to see. The original Magna grips are not as comfortable in my arthritic hands as the factory target stocks on the other two guns. I was pleased I could wring this group out of it. But I love shooting guns about the same age I am.
The Model 27-2 was next and shot its best group with the 158 grain bullets over the 4.5 grain powder charge. But the wadcutters pushed by 3.5 and 4.0 grains were only slightly larger. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that a .357 Magnum might have been bored by these loads, or that a Model 27 can shoot a variety of loads well.
158/4.5 grains
148/ 3.5 grains
148/ 4.0 grains
On the first run, the Model 14-3 grouped the 158/4.5 grain combination rather nicely.
So I played with it some more and got this group with the wadcutters over 4.5 grains. I guess that is why Smith and Wesson called it the K.38 Target Masterpiece before giving it a number for a name. It’s probably a fluke, but we should be allowed to enjoy flukes when they happen.
My revolving friends and I had a great couple of hours at the range this morning. My original question is answered; there are indeed light loads of Unique that I can enjoy in these guns. I can conserve my stock of Bullseye, Titegroup, and HP-38 and enjoy burning Unique. Cleanup afterwards was not all that bad, especially for a shooter who is accustomed to shooting blackpowder in competition for 22 years.
Thanks to all who helped answer the question. Thanks for reading this far, if you did.
I loaded some tests rounds and shot them this morning at an indoor range. The loads were 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 grains of Unique under 148 grain home cast wadcutters and 158 grain home cast RNFP .38 Specials. All cases are Starline, primers are Federal Small Pistol. Lube is Alox with a dash of cornstarch sprinkled on after lubing to prevent stickiness. Cartridge overall length for the wadcutters is 1.240”, for the 158 RNFP 1.450”.
Some of my favorite range companions got exercise at the range; a S&W .38/44 Heavy Duty Model of 1950 (“Pre Model 20”) made in 1955; a S&W Model 27-2 .357 Magnum made in 1977; a S&W Model 14-3 .38 Special made in 1977. I ran five shots of each bullet and powder combination through each revolver at 10 yards, seated, resting my forearms on my range bag.
I also took my S&W 1938 K22 Outdoorsman as my warmup gun. I shot Cowboy Action competition for 22 years, and one thing it taught me was how to jerk a trigger. Maybe some competitors can shoot huge close targets as fast as possible without jerking the trigger. I couldn’t. Now I must consciously concentrate to avoid jerking the trigger on each shot I make. Even so, the cowboy or the shaky old man show up unexpectedly and the trigger gets jerked. To keep those guys away from the range, I shot the K22 at a small orange sticker, focusing on trigger pull technique, before testing the ammo in each centerfire revolver. The 1960s era Fitz walnut target grips help. The .22 LR group size also serves as a calibration for what my eyes and nervous system can do at a given moment. I am pleased when the big guns’ groups are the same size as the .22 groups.
Here are the targets for each centerfire revolver; 38/44 on the left, Model 27 in the middle, Model 14 on the right. The 148 grain wadcutters are on the left side of each paper, the 158 grain RNFPs on the right side. Powder charges increase from bottom to top; 3.5 grains on the bottom, 4.0 grains in the middle, 4.5 grains on the top.
Five shots is too small a number from which to draw firm conclusions, but nonetheless I can see some trends here.
First, none of the groups are disgustingly terrible. The biggest ones are still minute of Coke bottle or tomato can, so the lighter charges could be used to conserve powder while teaching a newbie or just out plinking for fun. Cowboy Action shooters who are having difficulty finding Trailboss or Clays or Titegroup could have success using the 3.5 grain Unique load. Those big, close cowboy steel plates should catch these light loads just dandy. Yes, you will see some flyers on some groups where the shaky old man and ex-cowboy crashed the party. The good thing is I called most of them when they happened, so they are mine, not the gun’s or the powder’s fault.
The old .38/44 showed a slight preference for the 158 grain bullets over the 4.0 grain powder charge, but it probably was not significant. My old eyes find that grooved rear sight and the narrow front sight difficult to see. The original Magna grips are not as comfortable in my arthritic hands as the factory target stocks on the other two guns. I was pleased I could wring this group out of it. But I love shooting guns about the same age I am.
The Model 27-2 was next and shot its best group with the 158 grain bullets over the 4.5 grain powder charge. But the wadcutters pushed by 3.5 and 4.0 grains were only slightly larger. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that a .357 Magnum might have been bored by these loads, or that a Model 27 can shoot a variety of loads well.
158/4.5 grains
148/ 3.5 grains
148/ 4.0 grains
On the first run, the Model 14-3 grouped the 158/4.5 grain combination rather nicely.
So I played with it some more and got this group with the wadcutters over 4.5 grains. I guess that is why Smith and Wesson called it the K.38 Target Masterpiece before giving it a number for a name. It’s probably a fluke, but we should be allowed to enjoy flukes when they happen.
My revolving friends and I had a great couple of hours at the range this morning. My original question is answered; there are indeed light loads of Unique that I can enjoy in these guns. I can conserve my stock of Bullseye, Titegroup, and HP-38 and enjoy burning Unique. Cleanup afterwards was not all that bad, especially for a shooter who is accustomed to shooting blackpowder in competition for 22 years.
Thanks to all who helped answer the question. Thanks for reading this far, if you did.
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