Powder help

It has gotten to the point where you have to use what powder you can find/get ...
In 38 special , light and mid-range loads these are some useful powers to look for .
faster powders are for lighter loads , TiteGroup . 700X , Bullseye, Red Dot , HP-38 , W231 , AA #2 .
For midrange loads , these are slower and do not like to be "light loaded" Unique , Universal , Power Pistol , AA #5 .
Slower powders like AA #7 , AA #9 , 2400 and H110 are useful in heavy magnum hunting loads but not much else .

I shoot a lot of 38 special with cast lead bullets ... usually from Target / light velocities to mid-range with the occassional +P loads so the powders in the first two groups take care of those needs ... I have used all at one time or another ...
Bullseye is still my favorite target powder and Unique my favorite mid-range but I'm learning to love all of them ...
Make a list and carry it with you when you go powder shopping ... find something on the list ... But It ...Hoard It ,,, try it out and develop your own "Pet Loads" !
Gary
 
rc said:
Ok, now that you are clear about Caliber 38 special as your goal I say, W231 or HP38 which is the same powder under Hodgdon's label and works fine for full power or target loads in that caliber and will serve well for other calibers in the future like 45 ACP. If those two powders are not available, something like AA#2 is going to be similar to bullseye. 700x is also similar and a sold performer. Get to know your burn rate chart. It will help you pick possible substitute powders for which you should be able to get load data for 38 special. 231 is about the slowest that works well in that chambering. I would not use HS6, 800x, True blue etc in 38 loads. If you were going to load 357 mag then powders as slow as H110 would be on the menu but not powder faster than 231 in general.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...F&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
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Power pistol actually works quite well in my experience and its several powders slower than HP-38/W231
 
"About" .... a general rule of thumb people. You may have your pet load with slower powders producing max speeds and pressures but it is hard to beat 231 in 38 special as an overall do all powder.
 
You are reloading for a .38. I suggest Bullseye. It is the classic powder for the .38. There are standard loads for the 38-148WC. I was skeptical at first and ran through a whole test, coming up with the classic load as my accuracy load. Bullseye shooters use this powder. I get good groups with other cast lead bullets with this powder too. I had no luck with VV310, Red Dot and AA2 compared to Bullseye. Start with Bullseye. I personally don't like Unique even though is said to be very versatile. Instead, my JHP and other cast loads print nice groups using AA5 (eg 40-170tC). My 38-135 Gold Dot accuracy load uses AA5.
 
rc said:
"About" .... a general rule of thumb people. You may have your pet load with slower powders producing max speeds and pressures but it is hard to beat 231 in 38 special as an overall do all powder.
Click to expand...

One does not need to run powders at max speed and pressure in the 38 Special to know that powders slower burning than 231 produce excellent results.
 
rc said:
Ok, now that you are clear about Caliber 38 special as your goal I say, W231 or HP38 which is the same powder under Hodgdon's label and works fine for full power or target loads in that caliber and will serve well for other calibers in the future like 45 ACP. If those two powders are not available, something like AA#2 is going to be similar to bullseye. 700x is also similar and a sold performer. Get to know your burn rate chart. It will help you pick possible substitute powders for which you should be able to get load data for 38 special. 231 is about the slowest that works well in that chambering. I would not use HS6, 800x, True blue etc in 38 loads. If you were going to load 357 mag then powders as slow as H110 would be on the menu but not powder faster than 231 in general.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...F&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info.I have heard 231 enough here to know and grab it when i find it. Hoping they have it there tomorrow
 
georgehwbush said:
danb6177: one other thing i didn't see mentioned, well two things. 1 powder valley has enough turn over that you need to check there daily it might be out of stock one day in stock the next and out again the next...

2 is that for just one pound the hazmat and shipping make it 100/lbs but if you order four different powders at one time that makes them (assuming $50 ea.) $62.50/lbs if i order online i try to get at least enough to make it worth ordering.
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great advice, ill remember that. I didnt realize the turn around could be day to day. Ill keep checking if i cant find anything locally
 
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gwpercle said:
It has gotten to the point where you have to use what powder you can find/get ...
In 38 special , light and mid-range loads these are some useful powers to look for .
faster powders are for lighter loads , TiteGroup . 700X , Bullseye, Red Dot , HP-38 , W231 , AA #2 .
For midrange loads , these are slower and do not like to be "light loaded" Unique , Universal , Power Pistol , AA #5 .
Slower powders like AA #7 , AA #9 , 2400 and H110 are useful in heavy magnum hunting loads but not much else .

I shoot a lot of 38 special with cast lead bullets ... usually from Target / light velocities to mid-range with the occassional +P loads so the powders in the first two groups take care of those needs ... I have used all at one time or another ...
Bullseye is still my favorite target powder and Unique my favorite mid-range but I'm learning to love all of them ...
Make a list and carry it with you when you go powder shopping ... find something on the list ... But It ...Hoard It ,,, try it out and develop your own "Pet Loads" !
Gary
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great advice! thank you. I already have my list made from all the replies here. Excited to go shopping tomorrow
 
These are all powders that I’ve used in .38sp with good results. HP38/W231, 700X, Clays, Power Pistol, Accurate#5, Bullseye, Red Dot/Promo, and Titegroup. HP38, 700X, and Clays I’ve had no issues. Power Pistol is a bit snappy and has a large fireball. Accurate #5 is a very fine grain and prone to leaking in powder measures and also seems hard to find reliably. Bullseye is great but a little dirty. Red Dot can be hard to find but works good. Titegroup is great but too easy to accidentally double load due to high density and the large size of .38 cases and tends to run hot, not really ideal for a new hand loader, and in even slight overloads can spike in pressure.
 
jetinteriorguy said:
Titegroup is great but too easy to accidentally double load . . .
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There's nothing special about titegroup in that respect. Folks can double charge with many, many powders. If people are double charging they aren't paying attention to what they are doing and they should not be reloading in the first place.
 
74A95 said:
There's nothing special about titegroup in that respect. Folks can double charge with many, many powders. If people are double charging they aren't paying attention to what they are doing and they should not be reloading in the first place.
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I guess the point I was trying to make is because Titegroup is a high density low volume powder it’s more diffficult to detect an overload, especially in a case the size of a .38sp. This can be especially true in progressive presses due to possible mechanical malfunctions or just plain old complacency. Of course everyone should be careful and pay attention to what they’re doing, but you know sometimes things just happen no matter how long you’ve been doing it and a moment of inattention can be a disaster.
 
Bullet and Powder Combo for 38 Special

Back when 110 and 125 JHP bullets were very cheap and available I preferred them to lead bullets in my 38 and 357 loads and the combination made very accurate and soft shooting loads. You could get 1000 JHP bullets for $50. Now it's hard to find lead bullets for that. Because of the operating speeds and pressures of the 38 special, I like full charges of 231 under the 158 LSWC. I prefer hard cast bullets with lube in the groove to moly coated but whatever is cheapest and available will work. I'm sure the new nylon coatings and plated bullets would work also. LRN will work too if you get a deal on them, just make sure they have a crimp groove. Because 950fps would be pushing it for a 38 special load with 158 grain bullets there really isn't any "need" for spending money on jacketed bullets. A 357 mag is a different animal and jacketed bullets are preferred. If you are shooting a fixed sight pistol, often you can regulate elevation by choosing different weight bullets or loading lighter or heavier powder charges to modify your point of aim. Why do I prefer LRN and SWC to full wadcutters in 38? They feed better into the cylinders with speed loaders, punch nice round holes and fill up a lot of the 38 case volume to reduce extreme spread which is a measure of consistency. I have no beef with anyone who chooses to shoot and recommend Wadcutters out of a 38 special, but the 158 LSWC is one of the most common and popular choices for reloading 38s and is just a good general purpose bullet that is commonly available.
 
Double charging is an issue that comes up. On my bench I keep a small shop light clipped over my press so I can look down at all my casings to examine the powder level in every case before seating my bullets. I also keep my powder in a closet and bring out one powder at a time so powders are not accidentally mixed. This is off topic to the OP question but important..
 
cptjack said:
mid south has free hazmat with code and hazmat is not45.00
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nice, didnt know there was a code. And correct it is not 45 its 22$ then 11 for shipping and 6 for taxes, so 39$. Either way it comes to 95$ to get it online for me.

But if I can lose the haz fee I may do it anyway. Gonna wait until next week when i can go to this local place and see what they have. Looks like i have a few options now which is nice.
 
Several powders work well with 148 grain wadcutters in the 38 Special. Yes, Bullseye does well, but other powders do too. A recent article in Shooting Times looked at this.
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Yep. Sierra manual and Hornady (9 different ones) have lists of powders that are suitable.

Anyone will do what you want. While I have powders I like, all of them work.

As for over charges? Yes you need to know the basics of over charge but loading pistol rounds, you always inspect the fill as virtually all the powders will double charge.

I would never trust a progressive loader though many do.

If you can't handle the basics you should not be reloading.
 
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