Way better than Unique. I will be reloading approx.
1152016 Loaded with 21 grains of black powder the38 Special is still a heck of a good 19th century cartridge.
Best powder for reloading 38 special. Hodgdons Clays International Universal and HP38 are good choices. I know Power Pistol does well well in my six inch barrels but havent really tried it. Most uniform velocities and good accuracy.
4252017 The Ammo. They will make significant diameter holes and penetrate. 162021 Winchesters 231 or WSL are also good powders for the 38 special.
HP38 is a spherical powder that is great for low velocity and mid-range target loads in the38 Special44 Special and 45 ACP. 300 rounds of 38 spl. The 38 Special was originally sized for a case full of blackpowder under the bullet.
But for our purposes well want to use smokeless powder. 2 would be worth a look too. Ive used the older one and it works great except its just about the dirtiest burning powder Ive ever used.
4222017 My go-to powder is Unique. The key to those rounds in spite of their paltry muzzle velocity of something like 825 feet per second out of a snubbie is their diameter and mass. Is a nice mild load with a 158 gr.
I purchased Berrys 38357 158GR RN bullets. There are powders that work better for one or the other of them but if you just want ONE POWDER Unique is the way to go. And it works fine in all three of the calibers you named.
412012 My favorite powder for the 38 Special is W231 HP-38 and I use W296 H110 for full power 357 Magnum ammo. 182013 For 38 Special light loads I would try Hodgdons Tite Group or Clays. The Sierra manual lists several powders that produce high velocities.
It is one of the best metering powders I have tried. An online search for Red Dot brings up differing opinions - some love it some hate it for handgun loads. I inherited quite a bit of old powder from the 1990s that I know was stored in an appropriate environment.
Even Unique powder gives wider velocity ranges and Blue Dot is absolutely the worst powder for 38 Special. Modern smokeless propellants are much more energetic so a typical charge of 60 or 70 grains barely fills a quarter or so of the case volume. 12202012 My two powder choices are Titegroup and Power Pistol.
You might want to try it sometime to surprise your friends on the range. Barrel that I plan on reloading for with cast bullets. Available in 1 lb 4 lb.
For 357 the best powder is 2400. If you want a higher level of performance then Accurate No. 4182018 A word of warning is in order.
While Power Pistol has significant muzzle flash at standard 38 Special pressures I have noticed significantly reduced muzzle flash at P pressure using 158gr LSWC-HP-GC bullets. If you try to use a slower powder in the 38 Special you will have to download it so much you will get incomplete powder burns and erratic velocities. 10272017 Ive tested a few powders for 38 Special for 110 125 and 158 grain bullets.
Like Charlie posted Ive heard that the new Unique formulation is much cleaner. You must take extra care to ensure you do not inadvertently double or triple charge a case. Alliant Powder lists it as Secondary Uses.
Joined Sep 7 2007. It meters about perfect in most powder measures. I have loaded a lot of Red Dot and W-231 over the years as well.
As you can surmise Power Pistol is now my preferred over 2400 for P loads while BullsEye remains my favorite powder for STANDARD loads. I use 35 grs. This high energy powder provides economy in loading.
For a 148 gr. First 2 of 2 Go to page. 3262020 Im preparing for my 1st reloading project.
1122014 I have a 1949 Colt Official Police 38 Special 6. Naturally it was included in the test. Winchester 231 is between Bullseye and Unique for the 38 special see my personal load above.
Im leaning more towards Titegroup since its the faster of the two and might possibly offer the best performance in my 38 Specials. 682010 I only use W231 for 38 Spl. 8202015 The Vihtavuori manual lists one outstanding powder for the38 Super.
Lots of powders work very well especially Bullseye and 231. 322013 Winchester W231 and Hodgdon HP-38 are examples of highly versatile powders Image copyright 2013 Ultimate Reloader Being able to use a single powder for multiple applications is a great benefit. Modern38 Special cartridges are usually loaded with small charges of fast burning powder.
The only powder available locally is Red Dot. 40923 Posts 21 Apr 22. 6182018 Montana09 Although Unique will work you will find HP38 W-231 is the best 38 Special powder you can find.
Second its burn rate was specifically formulated for 38 Special chamber pressure. Best powder for 9mm38 Special357 Magnum. This standardization can allow you to keep your powder measure loaded with the same powder make bulk powder purchases more equitable and generally.
For example it claims to push a 124 grain bullet to 1501 fps in a 55. Both are excellent fight stoppers. The best by far has been AA2 powder using Accurate Arms data.
Unique burns too slow for 38s and too fast for 357 Mags. Handgun loads and they do list 38 Special loads. 5 Hodgdons Universal Clays Unique and HS-6 are other good ones to try.
5152020 In terms of the best stopping power for 38 Special I personally like 150 grain full wadcutters or 158 grain hollowpoint semi-wadcutters. I have read that powder. Prefer Alliant Jump to Latest Follow 21 - 25 of 25 Posts.
2212010 The 38 is a joy to reload. Randy1911 Jun 8 2010.
