Hello....

[jamesgpobog]

75y.o. disabled 'Nam vet (USN), returning to shooting after previous obsessive/compulsive of hobby building electric guitars.

First gun @ age 8, Remington 514. Current inventory long guns, handguns, and shottys, 30+.

Hate to admit it but I have a TC G2, (.22, .357MAX, and .30-30 Ackley Improved) that I've never fired, hence some of my questions.

But right now, this is where my brain is going.... One of my favorites is my Rossi Puma, .357 mag, 16" bbl. I'm starting to think of and research an alternate load for .38spls in that gun. It is one that I designate as a "outside" defensive weapon, and therefore, one of the things I consider is capacity. IIRC it holds one more 38 than 357. Not much, but one is one more than zero.

I want to use a longer, heavier bullet, so things can add up fast.

Before I learned about levers being OAL sensitive, I had experimented with 140-158gr in 38S&W cases which turned out to not work. I am aware of the 38S&W-200 load.

So I'm thinking about 38 Long Colt brass (I have 100 new Starline). Here's my goal. A load more than a pipsqueak in the 38LC, but with a heavier and longer bullet than a 158, but with OAL LONGER than 38LC, so it will not chamber in old guns, but short enough (1.140- 1.145 OAL) to keep in the 'sweet spot' without being longer than 38SPL (1.1550) and losing 1 or two rounds capacity. I'm looking at cast GC's, 175-ish up to 200gr, HP's and flat nose.

Thoughts?

 

[Keith Hansley in NC]

welcome and thankyou for your service

 

[M-61]

Welcome to the site.
And as they say to us now , way too late, “Welcome home.” Best intentions I guess.
Enjoy the site.

 

[ISS]

Yes, welcome from a fellow RVN party goer from 69-71. Army Ranger, Chu Lai and then Danang.

You will enjoy your time here. Any question you might ask there are dozens of members qualified to answer from personal experience...

ISS

 

[kelbro]

Does it feed 357 wadcutters? My Marlin did.

That should give you at least one more in the magazine and the wadcutters make quite an impression in ballistic gel..

 

[jamesgpobog]

Does it feed 357 wadcutters? My Marlin did.

That should give you at least one more in the magazine and the wadcutters make quite an impression in ballistic gel..

Haven't tried that yet.

 

[dellet]

Your overall length is the limiting factor, not the length of the brass. Depending on the bullet shape, you should be able to load tha same bullet to the same length and essentially the same powder charge in each cartridge . The difference will be how much bullet is supported by the case.

What you don’t want to do is trade capacity for lethality. One more round round that won’t make a hole isn’t much help. So it partly depends on if your outside defense strategy is against rabbits, wild dogs, mountain lions or worse.

Adding
Have you checked to make sure the 38 LC will even feed and chamber? The diameter is just enough larger that it might not feed reliably. Trimming 38 special might work better.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Welcome to Accurate Shooter. Enjoy and thank you for your service.

 

[jamesgpobog]

Yes, welcome from a fellow RVN party goer from 69-71. Army Ranger, Chu Lai and then Danang.

You will enjoy your time here. Any question you might ask there are dozens of members qualified to answer from personal experience...

ISS

'Yankee Station/DMZ " a lot of the time. Travels took us from 90 miles south of Haiphong, to the Cambodian border. We drank Agent Orange for almost a year.

 

[nmkid]

Welcome to the mad house!

 

[std7mag]

Welcome to the forum, and Thank You for your service!!

Are you looking at doing this to reduce recoil?
Or just to get another 2 rounds capacity?

Personally, I would keep reloading 357 Mag for it.
The extra velocity over the 38SPCL to me would make the 357 Mag more appealing.
More velocity means more kinetic energy on target.

I would (and do) load 125gr bullets in my 357 revolvers.
The less weight will increase velocity and reduce recoil.

You also switch powders for the 357 to get more velocity.
If you can find it, Alliant PP300MR has produced good speeds while remaining acceptable in recoil levels.

Again, all of my experience has been in revolvers, not carbines.

 

[PBking51]

Just wanted to make sure you know it takes 38 short colt. Im personally no sure of what a 38 long colt looks like, but I have a lot of experience running 38 short colt in revolvers. Making sure your brass is the right stuff for the gun. Good luck and thanks for your service!