Handgun load development

[FrogFire7]

Hey All,

One of my friends and I are planning a day of fun hunting this winter. We are going for small game and are going to (tentatively) use reduced 38 special loads. (Because it will come up... I've heard about detonation concerns, throw those in and how to avoid them, if you want. I'm assuming the simplest way is to use Trail Boss).

I've loaded a fair amount of handgun rounds, but never really did any load development. Just kind of picked a powder charge that gave me the book velocity I wanted.

How do YOU go about working up accuracy loads for your revolver? I've got a rifle load work up regimen that works well for me, but not sure if most of that applies to handguns / revolvers.

Thanks in advance!

 

[K22]

You're in luck regarding reduced loads for the 38 special for small game. No load development required.

The 148 grain swaged, hollow base waddcutter is an extremely accurate, the most accurate by far, of any bullet that I've ever shot in the 38 Special. With this bullet you need to use a fast burning powder. I've had excellent results with 231 powder. Just stay within the limits of published data for this bullet and powder. The Speer HBWC is the best one I've used. Red Dot, Bullseye, H-38, and AA2 are other powders that work well with this bullet.

Velocities range about 750 to 800 f/s in a 6" revolver. Besides the exceptional accuracy in a quality revolver, this load does not destroy a lot of mean on small game and is idea for rabbits and squirrels.

One summer a friend of mine and me did some extensive testing using an S&W K38, Model 14 revolver using this load. The testing was done off a Ransom Rest to eliminate human error. This combo consistently held a X ring at 50 yards (about 1.7" in diameter).

I believe the issue of denotation with these loads was never verified by extensive testing conducted by some distinguished ballistics lab but my memory is sketching on the details. If you stay with the limits of published data you won't have any problems. The one issue you do need to pay very close attention to is avoiding double charges with fast burning powder. Accordingly you need to have a fail safe method of charging cases to ensure you don't double charge a case.

 

[Outrider27]

We have done this for years, doing exactly as K22 recommends, right down to the brand of HB wad cutter with excellent results, using Bullseye and occasionally 231. With regards to double charging, a very real concern, we conducted an experiment and discovered that if you look down carefully at the charge in all the cartridges in the loading block after the charging step, a double charge sticks out like a sore thumb. The specific charge in this experiment was 2.6 grains of Bullseye, although our normal load for many years has been 2.8 grains.

 

[SSL]

I believe the detonation issue you mentioned was with light loads of Bullseye in .357 cases. Normal charges in your .38 Special cases should be no problem.

 

[Intheshop]

Revos......bwahaha

Wheely's...... dang

Seriously,revolvers "can", which means exactly that,exhibit a very distinguishable like or dislike for specific bullets. One of the reasons they "may" need development. Do yourself a favor and check cylinder throats. As long as they're above groove diameter.... that's a big plus. Next,check for any constriction where the barrel threads are. Those "seem" to be the biggest hurdles for manufacturing?

Now for killing. I only shoot cast,and do quite well with varmint,rifle rigs.... and handguns. Obviously small game is more a test of accuracy than any terminal ballistics but,it still needs to be referred to. The sharper you can keep any foward facing edges on a cast,or swaged bullet.... the better your killing power is going to be,especially as the velocity slows down.

Yes,a RN 38 between the eyes is gonna stop a charge from any rabbit or squirrel,just sayin..... keep those edges sharp. You never know when you might be stretching the range out to 50-75yds. That little bit extra whack afforded makes for a better bullet.

So,gun details first... then really look at the bullet. Lube isn't the issue most folks "want" it to be.... it's the relationship between bullet and barrel. Good luck with your project.