Tips for reloading 38/357

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Headed to cabelas in a few days to search out some reloading components for 38 special and 357 mag. Looking to hopefully use one powder for all loads (probably not possible I know). I want a magnum load to use for my woods walk around load, and a 38 load for plinking and punching paper. All loads will be shot from a 3" 357 mag Ruger SP101. Thankyou.

**i have a Hornady reloading manual but I'm sure I can find data elsewhere for different bullet makes.


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Unique may be your best bet. I would rather use h110 for a good 357 load and hp38 for 38 but if you are inly looking for one unique may be it.
 
I highly recommend two powders. My Cabela's didn't have many pistol powders last visit. I like Unique for .38 Special. Only thing I would suggest is to make a list of powders for each from on-line powder manufacturers and your Manual and hope you find them in stock. Some like to shoot lead bullets for plinking with .38 Special. I would highly suggest that you buy bullets WITH cannelures for both .38 Special and .357 Magnum. Both need a good roll crimp to help keep bullets from moving which makes the powder burn more uniform. I know Cabela's has Berry's plated bullets but I would avoid them and buy jacketed bullets with cannelure. I like to shoot 110 and 125 grain in .38 and 158 gr. in .357 Mag. Just prepare a list before you go. Check Hodgdon's on-line data.
 
Although powder availability has improved generally, pistol and shotgun powders can be hard to find. Sometimes you have to make a list of suitable powders and choose from what is available.

My local Cabelas store has had Universal in stock lately; it is similar in burn rate to Unique and I've been pretty pleased with it.
 
You need two powders. One for full magnum loads and one for plinkers. To be really versatile with the .357, three powders are better.

You can get by with one powder if you compromise on both ends.
 
plinker loads to me means HBWC with just enough powder to get to about 700fps.
AA#2 or almost any of the fast powders will do that with ease.

You can also get some decent velocities with the lighter bullets too.
 
I can load all my handgun cartridges with 3 powders. They are W231/HP-38, W540/HS-6 and W296/H110.

I use a lot of W231 for standard pressure .38 Special loads and for me if works very well. AA#2 mentioned above is also a good choice as is ZIP.

For full power .357 Magnum ammo W296 is a great choice. You can also use 2400 or AA#9 for full powder loads.

Don't limit yourself to only one powder especially with cartridges with such a wide spread of max pressures. You just won't do either well so why bother reloading if you can't exceed the performance of factory ammo?
 
I wish RC was here to chime in on this one.

38/357 is probably the easiest cartridge to learn on, and get good results with. There are a lot of good powders, bullets, and primers to consider. Sadly at this point in time you still can't get to pick and choose unless you luck up and find a well stocked shelf. Just because it's easy doesn't mean you can be careless. Read your manuals and always double check everything.

You mention wanting one can of powder, but you didn't mention projectiles. I would recommend picking your powder to match the projectile. For a true magnum load you want the lighter JHP bullets. Don't get terribly hung up on finding exactly the same bullet and powder listed though. As long as the bullets are of similar shape and structure your good, but always start in the basement and work up. Never use data for different powders though...and never have 2 different powders on the bench at the same time. There are plenty good bullets to pick from. I settled on Hornady as a good mix of value and accuracy. They have done well for me. For plinking rounds you cannot beat Missouri bullet company's offerings, just keep the velocity down. Ladder test your plinking load to get just to the point you don't get soot on the outside of the case. That's typically the sweet spot between leading the barrel and being under pressure. On your magnums ladder test and keep a close eye out for pressure signs. Your ruger is strong, but not indestructible, watch the primer. Flat but not flowing is what I hope for in a power load.
 
Unique or Hodgdon's Universal are good choices. Universal is said to be cleaner, because it doesn't have Graphite coating on the grains. I haven't noticed a lot of difference, but YMMV.
You may probably settle on "Hot .38-Mild Magnum loads" as they have less recoil, and are as effective as most loads that us mere mortals can shoot effectively. Speer 135 gr. "short barrel" .38 Spl. +P factory loads have a good reputation, as do the Remington Golden Saber 125 gr BJHP loads.:)
 
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Here's a tip, load everything in magnum brass, including your light loads, saves a lot of time fussing with dies. Otherwise if you're set on using .38 brass you can add dies later to avoid a lot of adjusting.

I use HS-6 as my heavy powder, not a true magnum powder, but it gets me close and is very versatile.
Unique for a lot of middle of the road stuff, including my LSWC-HP load. Sure fire ignition with any primer in any weather and good load density.

Bullseye for light stuff. Even in magnum brass, BE works great for light load with light bullets. Burns real clean with coated and plated bullets.
 
wanted to see were 800x fits in w/a .38xtp hp. spp/new brass/at upper end?
 
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Does anyone load 357 with power pistol? Would that be a possibility for the OPs question?

My personal experience with PP for target loads are disappointing but maybe if I put more time and energy into it I could find a way to pull this off.
 
thomas15 said:
Does anyone load 357 with power pistol? Would that be a possibility for the OPs question?

My personal experience with PP for target loads are disappointing but maybe if I put more time and energy into it I could find a way to pull this off.
Click to expand...
Power Pistol, as with most middle speed powders does not perform well unless it's up in the high end of the pressure range. It's not a good choice for light target loads. That is the job of faster powders like W231, AA#2, Zip, Red Dot and the like.

It can be used for middle to middle hot magnum loads but it will not do full power loads without excessive pressure.
 
thomas15 said:
Does anyone load 357 with power pistol? Would that be a possibility for the OPs question?

My personal experience with PP for target loads are disappointing but maybe if I put more time and energy into it I could find a way to pull this off.
Click to expand...

You asked about Power Pistol in 357mag? Here we go. I like Power Pistol in 357 magnum and 38 special.

357mag
COL: 1.620"
MBC, 158gn, B18HTSWC, PowerPistol, 6.5gn, WSP
Average: 965
ES: 33
SD: 12.3
Force: 327
PF: 152
Velocities: 964, 965, 952, 985, 959
attachment.php
 
I've loaded power pistol with 125 and 158 grain hollowpoints in 38 special with great success. Very accurate and stout.

In 357 I've loaded 125 JHP and 158 LSWC with pp. I prefer it with the lighter bullet weights in 357. With the heavier bullets the recoil is quite similar to that of full house 2400 loads but it lacks the velocity of the 2400 loads.
 
Hodgdon's Universal can do a fairly good job of medium-range 38 spl and medium .357 magnum loads. The Hodgdon Annual Manual (the "Bible" for all Hodgdon, Winchester, and IMR powders) recomends the following for Universal in .38 spl:

4.3 to 4.7 gr for a 125gr Lead Round nose flat point.

3.5 to 4.5 gr of a 158gr lead semi-wadcutter.

(If you use bare minimum charges of Universal in .38 sp., you will get some unburnt powder and large velocity variations.)

For 357 magnum:

135 gr Lead Round Nose Flat Point (per Hodgdon help line) the following loads also work for a 140gr lead truncated cone. Universal 4.8 gr to 6.5 gr.
I used 6.2 gr under a 140 gr lead truncated cone as my "major power factor" load in my old GP-100 with a 6" barrel They averaged around 1,200 fps, were accurate, and gave almost no leading.

158 gr lead semi-wadcutter - Universal 4.0 gr to 6.2 gr. In my old Ruger, these average around 1,100 fps.

Although the Annual Manual says to use a magnum primer in .357 loads, this is not necessary with Universal. A standard Federal small pistol primer functioned perfectly.

If you want more oomph in both .38 spl and 357 magnum from a single powder, try Vihtavouri N-340 or N-350.

Chris
 
I like 800X, although it meters horribly. Lucky for me I've got the RCBS auto dispenser. It's a good load of plinking with .38 and you can find some moderate loads for .357 and even .44 magnum.
 
One 38/357 powder? BlueDot. Easy to light and doesn't need a heavy crimp. Do not and I repeat do not use Blue Dot data for 357 out of the Speer 11. Too hot by ALOT!

Your 3 inch Ruger should be quite interesting with BlueDot. Even starting and mid range loads should be quite flashy.

Sierra data seems to work well in my 4 and 6 inch 686's and the 357 Marlin cowboy 2.

I must admit I have a favorite 38 load using Unique and for the rifle 296 works well for Cowboy Silhouette.

But if I had only one powder it would be BlueDot. BlueDot is a flake powder and doesn't meter as well as ball powder but it's not bad.
 
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I'm in the Unique camp on this one.
I guess depending on how hot you like your plinkers.... Unique isn't too happy down at the low end, and that's where you'll find its reputation for being dirty.
I like mine fairly zippy, so I don't worry about that.
Bullseye would be my alternate if I wanted to go for a true "plinker".

I don't have my data on me, but on the high end I'd say I load Unique for 3/4 throttle loads, as compared to something like H110. Still a lot of punch, but not nearly so loud, and without all the flash that goes with the slower magnum powders.
 
I load both with Bullsye but load both light to middle. The 38 gets 2.7 gr and a 148 wc, and the 357 gets 5 gr and a 158 swc. Both are lots of fun and can be shot all day long. I did at one time load some 357 with 2400 for some high power loads but I don't hunt and don't need the abuse. :)
 
Why do so many new reloaders want to use only one powder for everything? You really won't save any money using 1 powder, you don't load the best ammo you can either. You are not doing yourself right trying to do very different jobs with only one powder. Like I said in Post #9, why reload unless you can at least equal the performance of factory ammo?
 
I use TightGroup for loading Montana Gold 125 grain HP bullets. In 38 brass I use 5 grains, which is supposed to produce 38+P and in 357 brass I use 7.1 grains. These are fired from 357/38 lever rifles and seem to be good loads. the Montana Gold 125 grain HP bullets have the cannelure closer to the back end of the bullet than most I have seen, and this allows a longer COAL which really helps with feeding the 38 brass rounds through my lever rifles. The longer COAL also probably drops the pressure a bit compared to what I was expecting based on loading data, but the rounds seem to work well for my purposes and it lets me use one powder for both 38 and 357 brass.
 
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