38 Special Rifle Loads - The Firearms Forum

gsewell · 11-03-2009, 07:43 PM

I am thinking about buying a new rifle that is setup for 357 Mag/38 Special. I have looked through all of my reloading manuals and all that I can come up with are rifle loads designed for the 357 Mag. I can get brass for 357, but I have a lot of 38 Special brass. Any ideas on loads?

Gary

woolleyworm · 11-03-2009, 08:44 PM

My idea is to get the 357 brass and load'em up! Are you hunting, CAS or just plinking with it?

res45 · 11-03-2009, 09:13 PM

38 Spec.+P loads should work fine,test a few before you load up a bunch,clean the chamber before you load any .357 cases in the rifle to remove the carbon or lead fouling buildup at the end of the chamber.

Also mark your case around the primer with a sharpie so you know there rifle rds. You wouldn't want to get some +P 38 ammo mixed up in a non+P handgun. If you use cast bullets RN or RNFP will feed the best.

Alpo · 11-04-2009, 09:08 AM

If you just want to shoot 38s in your gun, go for it. I do, all the time. Same load as I use in my pistols. The reason there are no loads for 38 in the "rifle" section of loading manuals is because there are very few rifles chambered for 38. You may notice they have 44 magnum loads in the rifle section, but no 44 Special loads. Same thing.

I wouldn't load anything special for the rifle. Having different ammo for the rifle and pistol takes away the advantage of having both guns chambered for the same ammo.

If you want to shoot hot loads in the rifle, get 357 brass.

budman46 · 11-05-2009, 06:37 AM

gsewell,

years ago, when .357 brass was very scarce, i copied the late skeeter skelton's method of loading the .38 spec. casing to about 90% of .357 specs and seating the bullet to the same overall length as a .357 round.

in my "almost" .357 load i use .38 brass, lee's 158 gr round-nosed, flat-point cast bullet and 6.5 gr of ww-231, which gives me 1000 fps (chrono'd) and excellent accuracy from a 6" revolver, but anyone's cast bullet design should do well at similar velocities; feeding from a lever-action rifle should be smooth.

budman

11-03-2009, 07:43 PM	#1
gsewell Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 10	38 Special Rifle Loads I am thinking about buying a new rifle that is setup for 357 Mag/38 Special. I have looked through all of my reloading manuals and all that I can come up with are rifle loads designed for the 357 Mag. I can get brass for 357, but I have a lot of 38 Special brass. Any ideas on loads? Gary -->

11-03-2009, 08:44 PM	#2
woolleyworm TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SW Fort Worth Contributor Posts: 4,883	Re: 38 Special Rifle Loads My idea is to get the 357 brass and load'em up! Are you hunting, CAS or just plinking with it? __________________ . What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death? -- (on Sigourney Weaver's worry about Guns in Aliens) "Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands." "I carry a small gun to compensate for my huge Blue press." .

11-03-2009, 09:13 PM	#3
res45 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 182	Re: 38 Special Rifle Loads 38 Spec.+P loads should work fine,test a few before you load up a bunch,clean the chamber before you load any .357 cases in the rifle to remove the carbon or lead fouling buildup at the end of the chamber. Also mark your case around the primer with a sharpie so you know there rifle rds. You wouldn't want to get some +P 38 ammo mixed up in a non+P handgun. If you use cast bullets RN or RNFP will feed the best. Last edited by res45; 11-03-2009 at 09:14 PM..

11-04-2009, 09:08 AM	#4
Alpo Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 8,662	Re: 38 Special Rifle Loads If you just want to shoot 38s in your gun, go for it. I do, all the time. Same load as I use in my pistols. The reason there are no loads for 38 in the "rifle" section of loading manuals is because there are very few rifles chambered for 38. You may notice they have 44 magnum loads in the rifle section, but no 44 Special loads. Same thing. I wouldn't load anything special for the rifle. Having different ammo for the rifle and pistol takes away the advantage of having both guns chambered for the same ammo. If you want to shoot hot loads in the rifle, get 357 brass. __________________ Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste good with catsup - George of Lod, Year of Our Lord 297 I always take precautions. Beware the Evil Bullet Fairies.

11-05-2009, 06:37 AM	#5
budman46 Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 29	Re: 38 Special Rifle Loads gsewell, years ago, when .357 brass was very scarce, i copied the late skeeter skelton's method of loading the .38 spec. casing to about 90% of .357 specs and seating the bullet to the same overall length as a .357 round. in my "almost" .357 load i use .38 brass, lee's 158 gr round-nosed, flat-point cast bullet and 6.5 gr of ww-231, which gives me 1000 fps (chrono'd) and excellent accuracy from a 6" revolver, but anyone's cast bullet design should do well at similar velocities; feeding from a lever-action rifle should be smooth. budman