38 Special wadcutters

C

Clubster

New member
I decided to start with new powder to standardize on in regards to the 38 Special. Looking for a wadcutter powder in roughy 148gr. What seems to be the go to for this. I see Bullseye but what comes in second?
 
Bullseye has been the go-to for eons; I also have used Titegroup, Universal, and a few others. Bullseye has been the most accurate for ME lately with Titegroup a close second
 
Bullseye is scarce from what I can tell in my area so thinking of using w231 as a standard. How close is Bullseye to 231? It seems pretty much any 38 load in the Hornady 11th edition has a recipe using it. How does 231 compare to RedDot for the same purpose?
 
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231 is a little slower than Bullseye and will require about 0.4 grains more powder with a 148 wadcutter than Bullseye for the same velocity - based on my data.
 
I have loaded all bullets in .38 Special with W231 ever since the CH representative told me that it was what they used to test the measures on their Autochamp progressive loaders.
The bushing that came with the Autochamp throws 3.2 grains of W231, so that is what my wadcutters get. I bought or got a friend with a lathe to make bushings for heavier loads for semiwadcutters. I now load on a Dillon, but still with the same powder charges.
 
Jim Watson said:
I have loaded all bullets in .38 Special with W231 ever since the CH representative told me that it was what they used to test the measures on their Autochamp progressive loaders.
The bushing that came with the Autochamp throws 3.2 grains of W231, so that is what my wadcutters get. I bought or got a friend with a lathe to make bushings for heavier loads for semiwadcutters. I now load on a Dillon, but still with the same powder charges.
Click to expand...
Ditto, 231 works very well with the 148 grain Wadcutter and is very clean compared to Bullseye. I used Bullseye for many years as I was a cheapskate and it was the least expensive. After trying 231 once I quit.
 
38 Special - 148 gr. Wadcutters ... I been looking for the ultimate powder / load for near 50 years ... here are my accuracy powders :
Bullseye
700X
Red Dot
HP38 / W231
TiteGroup
AA #2
Zip (Zip is a Ramshot Powder - made by Western Powders )

These are at the top of my accuracy list , I usually shoot flat based cast wadcutter bullets because I can cast them myself .

I have found nothing that beats Bullseye ...
Equals , yes but ... nothing beats Bullseye.
If you find something better ,,, Please let me know !

Gary
 
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