American Rifleman: Testing the 38 Special

[mtnbkr]

Here's another option for cast lead hollow points. Note that the 125gr 38 bullet (about halfway down the page) looks like it could be made from the same mold that GT uses. Also appears to suffer from shallow penetration...

https://www.andersonballistics.com/our-products.html

They use 20:1 allow (20pts Lead, 1pt tin). Brinell hardness, per their site, is 10. That's soft. Not saying it won't work, just softer than I'd select.

BTW, if you want to get an idea of how common casting alloys stack up, check out this site and their notes on lead alloys: http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm

I mostly use lead wheel weights and water quench the bullets as they drop from the mould. That's a little hard, but they shoot well and are mainly for range use. If I wanted to avoid the quench step and/or had no WW, I'd go with Lyman #2 alloy.

Chris

[Tokarev]

I mostly use lead wheel weights...

I've made quite a few H&G #68's over the years as well as a little clone of this bullet made for 9mm. I don't cast nowadays.

[Tokarev]

Loaded up ten of the 145gr LSWCHP in 357 Mag cases with 7.5gr of Unique. I loaded just a couple of these before. Chrono data shows this load right at 1,000 fps from my LCR.

I'll try five in gel through clothing and also try a few for accuracy.



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[psalms144.1]

Tok - out of curiosity, why did you load those in .357 brass? Too stout a load for .38 brass?

[Tokarev]

Too stout a load for .38 brass?

Probably. It looks like 5.5gr is going to be about max with the 145gr in a 38 case.

I haven't messed with it much but it might be a stretch to get 1,000 fps from a 2" barrel, a 38 case and the 145gr bullet. At least within 38 pressures....

[willie]

I still intend to do some gel testing with various lead loads. I have a box of Remington 148gr wadcutters and two different cast bullets I want to try. They're both from GT Bullets. One is a 130gr round nose HP. The other is a 145gr SWCHP. Initial testing seems to indicate that the 130gr will be a good bullet for low velocity 38 while the 145gr might be a better choice for 38 +P or even a mild 357 Magnum.

So which 158gr LSWCHP to test? Factory load or handload? I'm thinking either this bullet from Matt's:

http://www.mattsbullets.com/index.ph...roducts_id=323

Or this bullet from Rim Rock:

https://rimrockbullets.com/xcart/g-c...-ammo-box.html

Another option might be the Speer or Hornady swaged bullets and they might be best for duplicating the original FBI load:

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/hand...8-gr-swc-hp#!/
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/h...hp-bullet-bulk

The problem with most of these is either quantity and/or cost. I don't need a box of 500 since I doubt I'll ever shoot that many. Nor do I want to pay $30 plus shipping for a hundred cast bullets.

Maybe I'll just get a box of the 158gr +P ammo from Underwood and see how it does.

https://www.underwoodammo.com/collec...=7865929203769

Tokarev, if you live in the USA, I'll donate what you need. I have a box of 500 commercial cast. PM me if interested.

[willie]

The Federal +P+ ammo cited is loaded with an obsolete projectile, Hydroshok. To me that means that we can count on high velocity but not expansion. Yes, I would buy a box but would not practice self-deception. Most know that +P+ ammo lacks a defined pressure range. We know that it exceeds +P but noting else. So what do I think? I think that we had best load up with wadcutters and hope for the best when toting a 38 snub.

For decades I loaded and fired a large number of .38 Spl ammo that had low end .357 pressures. I managed not to blow up my revolvers but now know I was lucky. The stupid part was that this practice was unnecessary.

[willie]

Probably. It looks like 5.5gr is going to be about max with the 145gr in a 38 case.

I haven't messed with it much but it might be a stretch to get 1,000 fps from a 2" barrel, a 38 case and the 145gr bullet. At least within 38 pressures....

In my post above, my reloading practice that I now condemn was 5.5 Unique and a 160 grain bullet. I see you specified a 145 gr bullet. Please be aware that I'm not criticizing but merely sharing information.

[Tokarev]

In my post below my reloading practice that I now condemn was 5.5 Unique and a 160 grain bullet. I see you specified a 145 gr bullet. Please be aware that I'm not criticizing but merely sharing information.

Rather than load hot 38 as part of these experiments I'll load light 357 Magnum.



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[farscott]

I miss Nyclads.

Just sayin'...


Okie John

Me too. I still have a few blue/gold boxes of the 158-grain round nose that I use in place of 158-grain LSWC for practice. I also have a few rounds of the standard pressure 125-grain JHP that I used to carry in my S&W M642. The lead in Nyclad is extremely soft as it is very easy to deform the hollow point opening with mere handling. I like the fact that JHP expands a bit without excessive penetration; it has come in handy a few times with animals that needed to be dispatched with what I had with me.