Need a 38 special 158gr load (W231)

[JOHN_E]

Rossi Ranch Hand, 12”, SBR, threaded.

I have a bunch of Winchester 231 and 3000 158 grain JHP’s from Montana Golden Bullet. My Lyman 46, 47, 48 and 49th editions don’t cover this combination. Anyone have a pet load? Or do I have to buy another powder?

[HK91]

Rossi Ranch Hand, 12”, SBR, threaded.

I have a bunch of Winchester 231 and 3000 158 grain JHP’s from Montana Golden Bullet. My Lyman 46, 47, 48 and 49th editions don’t cover this combination. Anyone have a pet load? Or do I have to buy another powder?

I would definitely use the Win 231 and a 158gr JHP. The Hornady 9th editions starts at 3.7gr for 600 fps up to 4.9gr for 800 fps at an OAL of 1.450" using a 4" S&W K15.

I just looked at my reloading data base and found in 25 years I never loaded 158gr jacketed bullets in 38 Special cases, always 357 Mag. However, I do load 158 cast bullets in 38 Special and use 4.1gr of W231 for an avg velocity of 750 fps in my 4" Colt Diamondback. That same load gets 850 fps in my Marlin 1894C and is pretty quiet without a suppressor, seemed significantly quieter than an unsuppressed 22LR rifle. I rounded the velocities to the nearest 25 fps.

HK91

[JOHN_E]

I would like to duplicate the Sellier & Bellot factory loads I’ve been shooting. It’s a 158gr FMJ that S&B states is moving at 890 FPS.

I’ll start at 4.9gr of 231 and move up from there.

Thanks for the information!

[chrismartin]

From the winchester powder web site:
http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Bullet Weight (Gr.) Manufacturer Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
158 GR. HDY XTP Winchester 231 .357" 1.455" 3.8 661 12,600 CUP 4.3 779 15,900 CUP

your idea to START at 4.9gr is .6 grains OVER THE MAX!

Start at 3.8 and move to the max of 4.3.

[JOHN_E]

Loaded 4.3gr of 231 with an OAL of 1.455. Sounded great but I need to buy a chronograph if I’m going to figure out how many FPS I’m getting.

Digging around the dark corners of my reloading component stash, I found five pounds of TiteGroup. No idea when or why I bought it , guessing its four or five years old. So if anyone has a pet load using that powder……

ETA: All the loads I see in the Lyman book seem to be based on a 4" S&W revolver. I'm loading for a rifle, so I assume I can push the envelope a bit(?)

[chrismartin]

I'm confused...

If you want to keep things subsonic, there is no need to push the envelope.

The 4" vs the ranch hand will probably increase velocity anyway, so I don't see the desire to push anything to the limit with 38spl as you would want it subsonic.

If you want to push the envelope and don't really care about subsonic loads, you should be loading 357mag loads and forget about 38spl. The concern at this point would be the strength of the brass.

[JOHN_E]

Looking at the Hodgdon site I found this loading for 38 special +P

158 GR. HDY XTP Hodgdon Titegroup .357" 1.455" 4.3 905 fps 19,300 CUP

This comes very close to the S&B 158 grain loading that stays subsonic and hits pretty hard. I bought a chronograph the other day and will start 3.9gr which should be 798 fps and work up to the 4.3 load.

[Garrett]

Looks like I tried 3.5 gr. of 231 with a 158 gr. plated bullet, which gave 665 fps in a 6" Contender barrel.

Seems I got better accuracy using Titegroup (that might have been with a 180 gr. bullet, though).