Hornady 38 caliber 158 grain SWC

C

Carriertxv

New member
I haven't loaded any lead bullets and need some advise. There seems to be lots of jacketed bullets but not much lead where I'm at. They do have several boxes of these.
So do I need to get a set of cowboy dies or a factory die like Lee or some other oem taper die? And will the lube that Hornady says is on them be fine?
Will mostly load 38 special but also some 357 with these.

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Your mileage may vary but for my very first re-loads I used these bullets. Note that they are soft lead (swaged) and with Trail Boss I had moderate leading issues. Your gun may like them but mine was "ambivalent". Because they are soft lead you might deform the nose but I used the standard seating plug that came with my Lee dies and didn't have any problem (but today I would use a plug better fit to the shape of the bullet).

I think my leading was more due to the throats on my revolver than the lube on the bullets, and I've given up on lead for that gun. Today I use only plated, jacketed, or Hi-Tek coated bullets ordered on line since I just don't have good local sources. Pushing them to .357 velocities is probably not a good idea, but I haven't done it.

You can use your normal roll crimp die as it will easily dig into the lead and create its own "crimp groove".
 
So do I need to get a set of cowboy dies or a factory die like Lee or some other oem taper die?
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Any 38/357 die set will load these. Cowboy dies aren't necessary. Normally these bullets are roll crimped just above the knurling. But they could also be taper crimped.

And will the lube that Hornady says is on them be fine?
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Yes. No additional lubrication will be needed.

Will mostly load 38 special but also some 357 with these.
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These are very soft. They can be loaded for 357 Mag, but must be seriously "detuned." They are much better suited for target level (light) velocities, loaded in 38 Special cases.

You mentioned that lead bullets are hard to get where you are. Most folks who load a lot of lead (like me) purchase them on line. There are a number of excellent cast lead bullet producers out there, and they have lots of stock on hand. It's almost impossible to go wrong with Missouri Bullet Co., or S&S casting, or Penn bullets.
 
I used to put a lot of the 240 grain .430's through a Charter Bulldog. But that gun had a very smooth bore, which is important for leading, and I used only very light, slow loads. In that arrangement it would print about 1.6" at 25 yards, believe it or not. Pretty good for a 3" fixed sight gun. But it did put them about 8" high and 2" left, IIRC. Still, it grouped them.

I also used these in a pinch in .45 Auto for gallery matches (50 feet). They could clean a slowfire target at that range. Again, light loads. Probably in the 650 fps range in both guns.

In your shoes, I would start the .38 Specials with a load normally used for wadcutters. Perhaps 2.7-3.0 grains of Bullseye or its equivalent. See if your bore condition produces leading issues with them or not before increasing the charge weight. If you have leading issues at those low pressures, firing them warmer will almost certainly make them lead more, though I have run into exceptions to this, as when the cylinder throats were no wider than the groove diameter of the barrel.

If you have a leading problem, you may want to consider light firelapping of your gun or at least buffing the bore with some JB Bore Compound or Iosso Bore Cleaner. You can "fire polish" by rolling a couple dozen bullets in JB and shooting them with just a couple grains of powder and a tuft of polyester pillow filler over the charge to keep it over the flash hole, then cleaning the gun after every six. These are real catsneeze loads, but you just barely want the bullet to be spit out. You can see these streak through the air on a sunny day. Makes for interesting feedback if you ever choose to experiment with point shooting and prove the value of sights to yourself.
 
Appreciate all the replies. Yes they can be ordered on line but being in Canada it is not so easy. Plus the far left Liberals just got voted in last week and we may seriously be left loading flintlocks if they start the Australian type gun ban that they promised.
Please hold on to your precious 2nd amendment.
 
Its a shame that you can't mail order hard cast bullets from places like missouri bullet. A box of 500 is cheap, shipping is cheap, and as hard as they are most people have no problems with them at all.
 
I use them quite a bit. I knock off any loose wax and re-lube them with a 50/50 mix of Lee liquid alox and mineral spirits. It eliminates leading completely. My guns clean up with just cotton patches and mineral spirits. They're good to around 1,000 fps with alox.

I used to use a light profile (roll) crimp, but now I use a taper crimp, either one works.
 
you may want to consider light firelapping of your gun
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I did this with my Smith 67 (with Unclenick's assistance) and it really helped it. I still think it needs a little more polish, but that's for another post.

I'm also in the process of firelapping two of my 686's (I've completed the 220 grit for them last week; and loaded a batch of 400 grits for shooting this Tue.). Firelapping really helps with the leading. Not only does it reduce leading, but it also makes what leading that does occur, easier to clean out.
 
"I use them quite a bit. I knock off any loose wax and re-lube them with a 50/50 mix of Lee liquid alox and mineral spirits. It eliminates leading completely. My guns clean up with just cotton patches and mineral spirits. They're good to around 1,000 fps with alox.

I used to use a light profile (roll) crimp, but now I use a taper crimp, either one works."

Would you mind explaining this a bit more. What else would work if Lee liquid alox is not available?
 
You should be able to find it, it's a pretty common product. Look for it with bullet casting supplies. No shipping restrictions that I see, so maybe even order from the states.
Johnson paste wax (the original wax with no added stuff) is also mixed sometimes with alox, maybe that would work alone. Google LLA/JPW lubes.


The knurled surface on the Hornady bullets is perfect for hanging on to liquid lubes.
 
I believe that fire lapping has been around for decades. It's generally considered safe, and effective. Bore must be spotless. fire lapping is no different than using a standard rod and cast plug, it's just done in a hurry. Read up on lapping processes and you will see what I mean. the plug for ordinary stroke lapping is cast to fit the barrel, the plug for firelapping is just swaged to fit at the moment of entry.

You may think that this kind of work will damage the leades, but it doesn't appear to do so.
 
No special dies needed. These are VERY soft. You are going find that even at minimum 357 mag levels you will have excessive leading. As much as I love shooting lead, if this was all I could get, I'd use jacketed.

Is there a way to get you hands on some cast bullets? I take it you cannot import them? Are there no Canadian casters? Is it legal to cast your own?
 
"No special dies needed. These are VERY soft. You are going find that even at minimum 357 mag levels you will have excessive leading. As much as I love shooting lead, if this was all I could get, I'd use jacketed.

Is there a way to get you hands on some cast bullets? I take it you cannot import them? Are there no Canadian casters? Is it legal to cast your own?"


Oh yes there are some places to get cast up here that import from the US. It's not so much Canada that won't let stuff in its the USA government won't let stuff to be exported into Canada. It's sometimes such a hassle and expense to get a lot of things. There are some online places up here and yes we can cast our own. I'm just not set up to do that. Until I can find a decent place to get cast I think I will just stay with jacketed.
 
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