Like others, I think the 38 Special round is just the “bee's knees” to use a very dated expression fitting for a round this old. I have quite a few Colt and Smith and Wesson revolvers chambered for this rounds. Some are the target sighted sixguns of old and others are “service revolvers", and I handload for them all. The 150 +- grain full wadcutter is best in it's terminal performance on paper or flesh, blood and nerves. However I have never found any bullet that would produce smaller groups for me than the old 155-160 grain round nose. I have several old molds for this bullet but the old (1907) Lyman/Ideal 358311 is still my favorite. Sent on it's way with 3.5/Bulleye or 5.5/AA5 it will shoot to the fixed sights of service revolvers and make drink cans bounce with the best of them. Dirt clods and small sticks are in mortal danger. I have just finished up a batch with this bullet and 5.2/AA5. I reduced the charge a smidge out of respect for my 100 year old revolvers and the thicker Lake City brass. I trimmed the cases for uniform length and square mouths on my 60 year old Wilson trimmer, sized in an old Lyman shell resizer hand die, primed, expanded, seated the bullets and crimped in my old Ideal No. 3 tool. Now for the fun of emptying the cases and doing it all over again.
Old School 38 Special Reloading
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- Last Post 28 November 2014
Are those clip on's working where a rifle shooter looks? high left hand corner of the right lens? Or in the middle for pistol shooters? Ric
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I am a “Certified Old Fart” so vision problems are with me daily. I mostly shoot red dots now (using my left eye to shoot right handed) and they have given my shooting a new lease on my shooting life. I am able to score well, even at my advanced age.
When using iron sights, I often use a pair of clip on lenses. Champions Choice carry a very nice selection.
NOTE: You will benefit more from lenses that have the correction for one handed OR two handed hold (they are different). At $20.00 per pair, you can buy one of each. Champion will help you select if you call them:
http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=CategoryBody&c=OPCLMA
I have gone into the eye glass section of a local drug store where you can try various “reading” glasses for a correct choice of correction then order from Champion Shooters for the flip up lenses. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT, try to take you gun into a drugstore to check for obvious reasons. What I do is take some fine, newspaper print stuck on a stick and practice at home holding it so it is the same distance from your eyes as your revolver sights. No one will trouble you and it can be very accurate to determine what you need.
I've even used the flip up lenses in the field. Just use your regular glasses with the auxillary lenses flipped up and when you sight a sitting rabbbit flip the lenses down as you draw your pistol. It actually works!
The target will be blurred but the sights will be crystal clear. Just hold properly into the “blur” and you will score very well I(far better than trying to use blurry sights).
Just a thought or two...
Dale53
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Nice. Check out the 'new' M66 and the 5 shot L Frame .44 Magnum. Look pretty good.
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What Model is that? Is it stainless or....?
That's the barrel shape and length that I want!
Thanks!
Tom
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alas my little m15/38 spec. is out there somewhere ... paradise lost, it has found, i hope. i traded it for a security six 357 ..... kinda like trading a great female pointer for a male pit bull ...
and now i shoot 38 wadcutters in the ruger. the ruger is a great cook ... but the m15 was an object of lust ...
ken
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That is a nice looking old revolver!
I used to own a Model 25 1955 Target that I had the factory make a .45 Colt cylinder for...and you know the rest....sell it to buy what must be a better gun....HA!
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"A good pair of glasses of the right prescription make fuzzy sights sharp again" Been there already. Oh, still have a couple yet. It's still just kinda fun to hear the old beasts go “bang” once in a while. One thing though is that the beer cans last longer than they used to.
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They aren't Smith's any more
Old dogs etc,etc..........
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A good pair of glasses of the right prescription make fuzzy sights sharp again. Better living and shooting through technology. Did somebody mention the 38/44 Heavy Duty?
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The S&W Classics site shows their Model 10, blue, 4” at $739...a bit pricey and that goofy looking cly. release but....
Tom
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After having pretty much grown up with S&W revolvers, beginning in the mid sixties, I have gotten away from them when the front sights turned fuzzy. And haven't kept up with the various new models since. Don't like the new ones anyway But, just a couple of days ago, a friend showed me his stainless round butt five shot lug barreled 4” 44 special. L frame I think. After having handled that and seen the model 60-4 .38 Special shown in this thread, I am definitely rethinking my position, fuzzy sights or not.
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I once had a 3-1/2” fixed sight, round butt N-frame, .38/.44 Heavy Duty, which had been a pre-WW2 cop gun.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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If you are familiar with the Model 58, (.41 Mag) it has a 4” bull barrel, fixed sights and built on the N-frame. Does or did S&W make a revolver similar to the 58 but chambered in .38 (not .38/.357, just .38)?
Thanks S&W researchers!
Tom
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I have to admit, when Dale speaks, I listen. Thanks for sharing your nice collection and experience. My own experience with the .38 is I hit a wall, 2” at 25 yds. from a bench/sandbags is the best I've done and that seldom. My K38 probably can do better but my limitations kick in. Surprisingly my .357 M60 can almost match the larger K frames I have, depending on my shaking fuzzy focusing issues of the day. Loading .38s old school style is relaxing and a bit like a vacation. I've used my old tong tools, a Lee hammer kit, and a Junior press that uses 310 dies. If you can't do what you gotta do with a .38 get a rifle.
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My favorite revolvers, of late, are a pair of 625's in .45 ACP.
However, due to the primer shortage, I thought it a good idea to start shooting some .38 Specials instead (double my shooting fun:D).
I have a number of .38's (my daily carry is a 642) including my Model 14 with Bomar rib from my PPC days along with a number of .357 Smiths. I recently (last year) bought a Smith Model 520 (composite 4” barrel, titanium cylinder, blued steel frame, and adjustable sights chambered in .357). It is drilled and tapped for an optical sight. I have lost most of the vision in my right eye, so put Red Dots on a number of my range guns and put a Simmons Red Dot on this revolver.
I have an original four cavity H&G #50bb mould (bought on this Forum) that casts a beautiful bullet just over .358” in my alloy. I size to .358” and lube on my Star using Lars White Label Carnauba Red. This revolver will do under 1” at 25 yards (from a rest). I use Ed Harris' recommendations for wadcutter loads. My current load is 3.2 grs of Bullseye in .38 Special cases. Here is my revolver:
Here it is with the Red Dot sight:
The last range session I broke out my ol' and much used field gun in .38 Special - the 60-4:
http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/JavelinaTarget.jpg.html>
http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/HG50BB-1402_900x1200.jpg.html>
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Dale,
Have a copy of that article (a TESTFIRE report) by Gil Hebard from the 1963 annual edition of Gun Digest. and one in the same issue (I think) by Kent Bellah on “Hand loading the Smith & Wesson Model 52".
Pete
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Pete; Gil Hebard ran extensive machine rest tests with several production Model 52 Smith's. His detailed article is in his book, “The Pistol Shooter's Treasury” still available (used) from Amazon:
I believe that the 1963 Guns Digest had a review of his, too (I haven't read it recently and don't know how detailed it is).
I had a 52 Smith many years ago and when I stopped shooting Bullseye I sold it to a very good friend. Mine would do 2” at fifty yards with reloads off a Ransom Rest.
Dale53
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Tom,
Been working up loads for my S&W Mod. 52 since I got it a month ago. Using a H&G #50. I've found 2.7 or 2.8 grs. of Bullseye is working the best. Will be trying a cleaner powder as the BE really fouls the chamber ahead of the case. Cases today don't even meet trim to lengths of the older cases or the chamber of the 52's.
Also been trying different OAL's to see if I can reduce the fouling. In my gun at least (-2) I can seat the bullets out a little more than flush and still work freely in the slide. That's a must!
Pete
Will agree that the 52 is very accurate and the trigger pull at 2 pds. is as good as I've shot, including custom ones.
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