Powder recommendation for .38 & .357M

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mdripley

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Hello I am new to reloading and have been a little overwhelmed by the amount of information out there on powders and components. Can any of you old hands recommend a powder that is the old standby for .38 SP and .357 Mag. I will be using jacketed bullets both 125 and 158grains to start with. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
 
Win 231 is always a good choice for these cartridges. I've also tried Universal Clays, IMR 700-X, AA#5, WST, and Red Dot with varying degrees of success depending on bullet & firearm used.
 
.38 Special and short barreled .357 magnum------W-231

.357 magnum with barrels 4" and over-----H110, Alliant 2400, W-296

Make sure you have a (preferably two) manual and stay within the listed powder charges in these manuals for the above listed powders. Three manuals would be even better.

I prefer W-296 in my .357 magnums only... W-231 is excellent for 9mmX19, .45 ACP also...

Have fun experimenting...That is part of the hobby of reloading...:D
 
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IMO you can't go wrong with the new Unique for .38s or lower powered .357. I took this grouse at about 20 yards with one of my first handloads of 9g over a 125g JHP. Not much meat left.:uhoh:
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Like Bushmaster says, experimenting is a big part of the fun. My guess is you'll end up with a shelf full of powders.:D
 
Why load jacketed bullets?

Over the years, I have ben real happy with hard cast lead bullets.
If you pick the right bullet weight and powder, lead build up is A none issue.
Of course you may have a Colt Python with A tight bore.
I'm happy with 4 grains of WW 231 under a 158 LSW .357 for most of my .38 loads.
 
The Lyman manual listed 4.9 gr of W231 as the best in accuracy for .38 spl with 158 gr hard cast bullet. I find that 4.8 to 4.9 gr under a plated bullet is very satisfactory.

I also like AA#5 for consistency in the same load, AA#7 for .357 magnums.
 
Book loads:

158 gr JHP
12.3 gr W296 for 38sp
17.1 gr W296 for 357Mag

W296 = H110

With those powders a good roll crimp into the canalure is expected.

I have been using LIL'GUN in 38sp and 357m, because it looked like lower pressure per the Hodgdon data, but now I beginning to suspect the data, and I will go back to H110, because it smells better.
 
I use 2400 but: use magnum primers and it doesn't work well with light bullets or light crimps...I notice that it's not shown in 38 spec data any more. I load 357 with a 196g gas checked hard cast bullet
 
I load bullseye for both calibers. I guess it is one of the old standby powders, as it is seen in many old reloading manuals.
 
For plinkers I use 4.5g 231 behind a cast 158g SWC, Bullseye/Berry's plated 158g for IDPA and for full house loads 2400 and jacketed 158g.
 
I use titegroup. It seems consistent, accurate and cheap.

But I don't hear or read about it very often.

Any reason why none of you guys use titegroup.
 
Bullseye works good and is clean. Unique works good and is a little dirty compared to Bullseye. So, I switched to Bullseye a long time ago and never went back.
 
I have used 3.2 Grains of Bullseye under a 158 Grain Lead SWC since I started reloading in 1968. I have substituted Red Dot on occasion at 3.1 grains and got similar results. I consider these light recoil target loads and have used them in both Combat and Bullseye competition.

I used 150 Gr cast SWC (RCBS mould) until I quit casting my own lead back in 1990. That was an even better load.
 
bullseye is my standard pistol powder, I shoot a 4" 686 and a 5.5"vaquero a little dirty, but easy to clean. for 38spl 125gr jsp 4.5gr for a warm load just a little under +p specs. 158gr plated I use 3.5gr for a light target or cowboy load. for .357 mag loads I use 8.4gr with the 125gr jsp and 6.5 with the 158gr plated, for a lot of single action practice i have been using 4gr with the 158gr plated bullets in .357mag cases fairly accurate, light recoil and keeps the front of the cylinder a little cleaner than my light 38 load does.
 
I haven't liked the same powder in both loads. I like my .357's to bark and my .38's to pop. What I have ended up with as my "standard loads" for my Smith & Wesson 686P 6" is this...

.357 Magnum: Remington 158gr JSP, 16.5gr Hodgdon H110 powder, Remington case, CCI 550 primer.

.38 Special: Meister 158gr LSWC, 2.9gr Hodgdon Clays powder. Winchester case, CCI 500 primer.

I have used Titegroup quite a bit in my .38's and liked it till I tried Clays and found it to be more accurate in my gun and it seemed cleaner.

I have just purchased a S&W 637 and have yet to shoot it. I am looking forward to see how my .38 load will work in the 637. I am guessing I may have to tweak it a little.
 
Thanks for all the advice and information. I have some 231 and some HP38 that I am going to try and will get some Bullseye next.
 
I use Titegroup and Power Pistol. PP is hard to find.
I used to use Unique.

Titegroup uses a smaller load. I get more rounds. And I think, it is cleaner.
 
Greenman

I use Titegroup for almost all of my loads, 38/357mag, 9mm and .45ACP. It is extremely clean and is not position sensitive. H-110 is used for seriously hot .357 mag loads for pistol and rifle. I'm pushing over 2k/fps using 125gr.TMJ bullets for my rifle. Don't use those in a handgun. I color mark the cases for the rifle loads.
 
I use W231 for lead loads in the .38 spl. Mostly 158gr in SWC, SWCHP or RN using swaged bullets from Speer with 4.5 to 4.7grs (+p). The 4.5gr is standard velocity and leaves the barrel of a 4” revolver at 810 to 875 fps variation is pistol dependant. A load of 5.0grs of Unique has similar performance. For 125 gr JHP load I use 6.0grs of Unique which runs to the + side of 1,000 fps from 4” revolvers. I don’t load 158gr jacketed bullets in the .38 spl. as the velocities are too low for reliable expansion and they’re more expensive than lead for just practice.

In the .357 mag I use Unique for 158gr commercial cast lead loads of 6.2grs to 6.5grs. With 125gr JHP’s or JSP’s my load and powder of choice is Blue Dot. 13.8grs of BD matches factory ballistics of 1,450 fps from a 4” barrel. For the heavier 158gr JHP/JSP 14.0grs of 2400 on top of a standard CCI pistol primer yields a velocity of 1,243 fps from a 4” barrel duplicating factory published ballistics.

If I was only loading .38 spl and .357 mag and had to limit my powder choices it would have to be Unique and 2400.
 
For light to medium .38 Special loads I use a 158 gr. LSWC over 3.75 grains of American Select.

For use in .357 Magnum Handguns ONLY I shoot a heavy .38 Special 158 LSWC over 12-13.5 grains of 2400 or for .357 Magnum 14-15 gr. of 2400.

The heavy .38 special load (to be used in .357 Magnums only!) is an old Elmer Keith load.
 
another bullseye guy here.... i use it because it goes so far. very economical.... i use 3-3.2 grs bullseye under a homecast 150 gr. swc for .38 spl...... i use 6-6.5 grs. bullseye under the same bullet for a .357 magnum load....... i won't load any hotter than 6.5 grs. of bullseye in a .357 magnum case and procede with caution if you use it......
 
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