Cowboy load data for 125 grain 38special?

C

CCCLVII

New member
With the prices of factory ammo grinding up I have decided to pull out the old press and start reloading for my SASS shooting. I haven’t done so in a few years but looking to get back in to it.

Any way can some on give me some data or a link to some 38 special 125 grain loads that are super soft? I have a ton of trailboss so that would be the powder of choice but I all so have Unique and various magnum powders.

Any good advise?
 
Trailboss should be fine. So is Red Dot and Clays. (or Green Dot, or American Select) You want a bulky fast-burning powder. Just look up whatever a starting load is on the powder companies website or manual, and go with that.

You're shooting lead bullets, right? (swaged or cast doesn't matter) You don't want super-soft loads with jacketed bullets, and especially not with "half-jacketed" like some of the Remington JHP's.
 
The Hodgdon 2021 Annual Manual shows minimum 3.0 grains of Trail Boss with a 125gr cast LRNFP bullet at 753 fps from 7.7" barrel, max 5.3 for 952 fps at CoL of 1.445".
 
Alliant has a couple 125 grain cast .38 loads on their site(isn't a great site for data though). Both of 'em have higher velocity Max loads than Hodgdon's Trail Boss Max loads. Their 125 grain Jacketed Unique load is also slower than TB.
3.0 is TB is the Start load for a cast 125 according to Hodgdon's site. That'd do if your revolver likes it.
Any reason for the 125's? Just curious but "cowboy" loads are usually just bullseye target loads. Like 148 grain WC's with Bullseye.
 
Something I just thought of; make sure your sights are regulated for 125 grain bullets. They might shoot low.
 
Something I just thought of; make sure your sights are regulated for 125 grain bullets. They might shoot low.
Click to expand...

They did just that. The loads seem to be consistent, but consistently low lol.
 
I am not sure I can give load data but I have gone a little lower than 3 grains of trail boss with a Oregon Trail hard cast bullets (125 grain). WOrked well when I was in to SASS.
 
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