Can this 38 Special factory Load be duplicated?

Question

Remington 38 Special 125 grain SJHP +P ammo shoots real nice out of my gun. It’s very accurate. Does anyone know what powder charge would best duplicate this factory load with the same brass and projectile? I disassembled one round and it has 6.6 grains of a flake powder.

With ammo prices rising, I have to start rolling my own. Any help on replicating this load is appreciated.

I should have mention that I have a complete reloading bench, dies, pres, scale, etc. The performance of the Remington 125 gr. SJHP is great and the load is accurate at the factory velocity from my gun. I can get the Rem bullets, Rem primers from MidwayUSA and have Rem brass. I'm just looking for a recipe & powder to duplicate the factory velocity. Thanks for the replies so far. I really appreciate it.

Answer 1

According to Sportsman's Guide, that Remington load has a muzzle-velocity of around 945 ft/sec.

First off, get a good reloading manual, like Lyman's 48th Edition Reloading Handbook, available at any gun-shop that carries reloading supplies. They have tried and proven recipies, often complete with pressure-testing data. They will give you a safe range of charge and bullet combinations in which you can experiment, to find the best loads for your gun. So will any of the component manufacturer's reloading manuals from the likes of Speer, Hornady, Sierra, and others.

With that being said, if you're willing to forego the jacketed stuff, you can easily duplicate this load using cast-lead bullets. I recommend Oregon Trail's Laser-Cast. They're harder than some other brands, so they don't experience quite the problem with leading as other brands might. You could also consider a copper-washed lead bullet, like West Coast, X-Treme or Berry's, if you don't like producing lots of smoke when you pull the trigger.

Don't use Winchester 296 in .38 Special. It's the sort of slow pistol/fast rifle powder you put in .357 Magnum and can generate extreme pressure spikes outside its working range. Quick-burning Winchester 231 is a much better powder for .38 Special. According to Oregon Trail's reloadng manual, a maximum standard load with a 125 grain cast lead bullet with W231 will produce 974 ft/sec. According to Lyman's 48th Edition Reloading Handbook, a +P load with a 125 grain lead bullet will produce 1036 ft/sec.

Another good choice for powder in this, and a great many other calibers, is Alliant's Unique. Both these powders will meter accurately and consistently from charge to charge and produce consistent results. Both of which are very desirable traits.

ADDENDUM:

In that case . . . go to data.hodgdon.com. For .38 Special load with a 125 grain JHP, Hodgdon suggests the following recipies:

Starting loads:
4.3 grains of Titegroup generates 953 ft/sec.
6.5 grains of HS-6 generates 931 ft/sec.

If you go to Alliant's website and consult their loading guide, the maximum load for Unique on a 125 grain bullet is thus:

5.3 grains of Unique generates 1015 ft/sec out of a 5.5" barrel.
Start out at around 4.9 grains and that should get you pretty close.

Answer 2

Bound's hubby here:

First and foremost, you will have to do some experimenting. The major ammunition manufacturers (i.e.: Remington, Winchester, Federal, etc.) generally use cannister powders ... blends that are typically not available to the reloader. Since you found a flake powder, chances are good that you could find either an IMR or Alliant powder that would come close to replicating this round. I would lean more toward the IMR, since IMR powders had been a duPont product, the same as Remington.

Now, personally ... I doubt that Winchester 296 would be a good powder here ... since it is a ball powder and generally reserved for use in Magnum ammunition. Personally, I have had good results using Winchester 231 in my .38 Special, .41 Magnum (light loads), and .45 ACP Match loads. Winchester 231 is a much cleaner-burning, modern ball-powder that has an accuracy potential comparable to Bulls-eye.

If you want to reduce the cost of your daily ammo, try to shy away from your jacketed ammo ... that will really drive up the costs! If you want to reduce the cost, try casting. I cast many of my own handgun bullets. I can load a box of 50 cast wadcutters, with 3.1 grains of Winchester 231 for about $0.75!

By the way, the Techs at Sierra (1-800-223-8799) are great for providing reliable information and replication recipes!

Good luck!

Answer 3

I would say to save money and have a lot more bang for your buck $$.
Reloading will save you a lot, but if you combine casting your own bullets as so you will pay for the tooling quick.
I cast for 357 Mag, 9 MM, 45 ACP, 44 Mag, 30 cal for my 30-30 and 45-70 all so.
I will cast several 100 to 1000 bullets at a time and do my casting when I am not shooting.
Just one more option you may wish to consider.
The savings are worth the effort.
But you can use your reloading tools to build a better and more accurate load then the factory load you so favor.
Just do some experimenting with several powders listed in your manual and start at the lowest charge and increase by ½ grain till you find the most accurate load for your weapon.
Never to exceed the maximum load out lined in your reloading manual.
It takes time but once you find it, you will se that your loads can and will be better then factory.
I my self for the 38 Special and 357 Magnum have found that Unique powder gives me the best results.

Links attached to help on this subject.




http://www.reloadammo.com/38loads.htm

(Insert from link above)

125 grain JHP or JSP (Jacketed Hollow or Soft Point)
Bullseye 4.4 gr. 1,000 FPS
Unique 5.3 gr. 1,015
Universal 5.2 gr. 1,019
Clays 3.5 gr. 895
HP38 4.8 gr. 914
No. 2 5.3 gr. 990
No. 5 6.8 gr. 860
231 (+P) 5.3 gr. 935
540 (+P) 8.2 gr. 1,000

http://www.reloadammo.com/relcast.htm

http://www.reloadammo.com/

Answer 4

There are numerous powders that should allow you to duplicate the velocity of the factory loads. Be careful and work your way up to them from reduced starting loads.

Check in any of several reloading manuals such as those from Lynman, Nosler and others.

I've had very good luck with Power Pistol a powder that was used by ammo companies for many years before it became available to the public. It meters very consistatnly, is bulky enoug so that I don't worry about double charging a case and it burns pretty clean. Nothing fancy but dependable and consistant.

Answer 5

Winchester 296 is a good high energy powder. You'd have to consult a reloading table from their guide for that specific caliber and weight.

Finding their exact projectile near you might be a challenge. Sierra makes a lot of nice rounds, as I shoot jacketed stuff almost exclusively.

If Remington posts the ballistics on their website, you should have no problem dialing in Winchester 296 to the velocity you want to best replicate that load.

Answer 6

In a single word, "YES". ANY .357 Magnum gun is tested for pressures far above those generated by any available loading for the .38 Special. It's safe. If you are shooting .38 Specials of any loading in a .357, make sure you clean the gun thoroughly before shooting it with .357 ammo. This goes double if you are shooting lead bullets. What happens is that you get fouling up at the front of the chambers and this can interfere with loading full-length .357 rounds. Usually this problem doesn't arise, but it's just something to watch for.

Answer 7

Go purchase the basic reloading press, powder measure, scale, and dies. You can get this all from Lee or another manufacturer for under $100. You will get your money out of the investment during the first year of reloading. I will not recommend the charge, but the Hornady reloading manual will have the bullet and powder specification. There are other on-line sources as well. Happy shooting Brother!

Answer 8

38 Special Reloading Data

Answer 9

Winchester 231 Load Data

Answer 10

Haven't tried it, but it's tempting to suggest 6.4 gr of Power Pistol. But I've never heard of a 38 Spl that didn't like Unique, and 6.0 gr of Unique would be what I'd expect you'll wind up with.