When shooting cast with the 38 special cartridge will the accuracy be greater in a pistol chambered for the 38 special or the 357 mag? Does the mag chamber reduce the accuracy of the special ? The reason I ask is because I have a hankerin' for a cowboy gun and like the 38 special loads but if the 357 chamber is detrimental to the accuracy of the special then I will just have to pay more and get a pistol chambered expressly for the special instead of the easier to find 357 mag. I have no interest in the mag cartridge, I am way more interested in the decreased recoil of the special. I know you can download the 357 to 38 velocity but that leaves too much annular space in the case. I prefer a case at least 60% full and more if possible. Regards...g
38 special revolvers with cast
- 12K Views
- Last Post 18 October 2015
I shoot the Lyman 358495 with excellent results.
Lyman's clone of the H&G #50, a good bullet!
I loaded up about 50 for a friend at the Rod & Gun club. After shooting them and seeing their accuracy he announced that he had a newfound respect for the “wadcutter". LOL
If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.
Attached Files
Shot many thousands of them in the 1970's, always reliable.
Attached Files
I shoot the Lyman 358495 with excellent results.
Lyman's clone of the H&G #50, a good bullet!
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
Attached Files
I shoot the Lyman 358495 with excellent results.
If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.
Attached Files
I always meant to ask you Ed, what are your opinions on the heavyweight wadcutter designs like 358432 for general utility and perhaps even bullseye use? Since they're not terribly popular, I'm guessing that they don't offer enough advantages to outweigh the increased recoil.
These days general utility means volume production, and I never had a Lyman gang mold for 358432, and felt that I needed a pair of gang molds to run .38 wadcutters in the 100-pound batches which my buddies and I used. We needed a bullet suitable for either PPC revolvers or target autoloaders, so I gravitated towards the double-enders, because loading them sprue cutoff forward gave more consistent accuracy for us.
I shot tens of thousands of H&G #50 and they were excellent, but that bullet favored harder, more expensive alloy to ensure perfect bases, which were necessary for Bullseye work.
Recoil wasn't a factor, but stability of the longer, heavier bullets in the S&W 18-3/4” twist certainly was. The 146-grain double-enders like the Saeco #348 always gave us fine results whether shot in a Colt OM,Gold CUP NM, Python, S&W models 27 or 52, or Hammerli 240.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
Attached Files
I always meant to ask you Ed, what are your opinions on the heavyweight wadcutter designs like 358432 for general utility and perhaps even bullseye use? Since they're not terribly popular, I'm guessing that they don't offer enough advantages to outweigh the increased recoil.
Attached Files
Tubing micrometer doesn't lie! Set up collet stop in lathe, expand sized cases to ring fit over lightly oiled .356 arbor to support case wall, then outside neck turn to uniform 0.010 wall thickness to 1/2” from case mouth stop surface. Tool should have 0.02 radius to avoid putting stress riser at end of cut. Clean cases in Dawn detergent to degrease then when dry, prime and load.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
Attached Files
Well, not really. We know that WW and Win wadcutter ammo had two cannulas, but what about everything else?
Attached Files
Tom Dugas' article will 'splain everything for you Mitch: http://www.hensleygibbs.com/TCD/articles/75000wadcutters.htm
Attached Files
Ed, how can one recognize wadcutter brass among assorted empty brass? Seems to me I remember frequently it has grooves or cannelures along the body of the brass, while “ball” ammo brass has these only near the case mouth. Maybe if I want a good set of brass for wadcutter ammo, it makes sense to break down and buy a box of factory loads (Lord knows they are good and accurate, just a bit costly) and keep those empties as a set? I have been loading 148 Hornady HBWC in Starline brass (with Hp-38 powder) for my 1996 vintage K-38 HB, and it is amazingly accurate. I am curious about WC brass, now. Is is only available as part of the factory loads?
All my wadcutter brass was saved from once-fired factory stuff. Years ago you used to be able to buy it from Winchester and Remington, but no more.
Attached Files
I have fired many thousand 38 Special in 357 Magnum sixguns over the last 50 years. I have always read how the short cases didn't produce the same level of accuracy as the longer case.
But, you can't prove that by me. I have never used any kind of machine rest and shooting on my two hind legs, they all shot as well as I could.
Attached Files
Said a mouth full Dave, “with a safe and scientific bent” will always win the day. Ric
Attached Files
I agree that some guns do not care what cases you use, my 6” mod. 28 likes loads in both magnum cases and .38 spl. cases,{ my favorite .38 spl load is a “magnum only” 9.9gr. #2400/WSPM/173gr.Keith SWC, in win. and Lake City Military cases}, I have a 2” Taurus that does not like .357 loads as well as .38 special cased loads, I don't know if I have just not found a preferred .357 cased load or if it just likes the .38s better, but, testing with a safe and scientific bent should get a body where they want to be.
Attached Files
When I was at Ruger in the mid-1980s we did Ransom Rest tests using .38 Special wadcutter ammunition of the major brands, Federal, Remington and Winchester, using GP100 revolvers with 6” barrels, firing first with .357 cylinders, and then refitting the same group of ten revolvers with .38 Special cylinders.
The .38 Special cylinders did shoot better, averaging about 2-1/2” vs. 3” at 50 yards, pooling the averages of all three ammos in ten guns. The difference is measureable, but not significant.
However, I must note that the .357 cylinders used had a more gradual 6 degree transition from the .379” diameter at the case mouth into the cylinder throats, vs. 15 degrees for the standard SAAMI and CIP chamber, which when tested previously in the earlier Security Six revolvers averaged 4 inches at 50 yards in .357 vs. 3” for .38 Special. This in firing one 12-shot group with each manufacturer of .38 wadcutter ammunition, or three brands totalling 36 rounds each gun times ten guns.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
Attached Files
I find my ruger gp100 doesn,t give a care which round goes down It,s barrel. A well assembled round with bullet powder combo and right shooter and gun I believe the combo must line up.
Attached Files
From what I see in the catalogs, the Lyman version is a costly , in the white, engraved version of what I have,
I had simpler sights too.
I changed the simple , no windage regulation rear peep sight with a Soule peep ,marketed by Armi Pedersoli.
I had to raise the simple sourdough front sight and put a complex target sight..
I have shot a couple of times from the bench rest and directly shot the one hundred meters cowboy match. They had lousy benches and bags of gravel on the benches..
Yesterday I have shot from offhand at 55 meters hiiting consistently 6 inch gongs.
Quite a feat for me.
I use a 250 plain base slug from a 5 cavity aluminum mould ,made by ACCURATEMOLDS. .
As I do not like too heavy rifles and bench rest shooting I love this light and very strong Chiappa rifles..
The only defect is a light hammer blow ,I have to use Winchester Large Magnum pistol primrrs.
Mr. Rino Chiappa has told me he got some stronger springs ,and am waiting fot them.
Attached Files
Giorgio, How do you like the little Sharps 38-55? Is that the same one being marketed by Lyman? I'm tempted.
Attached Files
And please do not forget Johann Sebastian or Scottish Pipes and Drums.
I am very thin &slim.
This year I shot buckets full of cast bullets ,in cowboy revolvers and leverguns,not to forget the 911 and a Chiappa little Sharps in 38-55 at 100 meters.
Here you can see the wid bunch posse at a four day event in the plain between Padua and Venice.
Your room on Mount Athos is always ready.
Attached Files
Giorgio is very much thinner and more fit today than when the above pictures were taken. During my visit to Italy last year we walked everywhere in the little hilly walled towns of Tuscany and I lost weight in my month there keeping up with him.
I also shot both of his long barreled .38 single-actions in a cowboy match, and also on 50 meter hanging gongs at his home range, and found the cowboy loads both satisfying and accurate.
I cast him some bullets before I left, but I am quite certain they are long since downrange.
I need to make the trip back to cast him some more. We need to complete our scientific study as to whether bullet production is best listening to Vivaldi or bluegrass and Irish hornpipe and fiddle music.....
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
Attached Files
Categories
- All Categories
- General Polls
- Contact Us w/ Forum Issues
- Welcome to The Cast Bullet Association Forum
- General
- Bullet Casting
-
Guns and Shooting
- AR Platform
- TC Contenders & Other Single Shot Handguns
- Shotguns
- Informal Matches & Other Shooting Events
- Gunsmithing Tips
- Gun Cleaning & Maintenance
- Optics
- Benchrest Cast Bullet Shooting
- Military Bench Rest Cast Bullet Shooting
- Silhouette Shooting
- Postal Match Cast Bullet Shooting
- Factory Guns
- Black Powder Cartridge
- Hand Guns
- Lever Guns
- Single Shot Rifles
- Bolt Action Rifles
- Military Surplus Rifles
- Plinkers Hollow
- Muzzleloaders
- Hunting
- Reloading
- Buy, Sell or Trade
- Other Information & Reference
Search
This Weeks High Earners
-
Aaron
9
-
linoww
8
-
John Carlson 4
-
fc60 2
-
John Alexander
2
-
Wilderness
2
-
2frogs
1
-
.22-10-45 1
