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200 gr 38 S&W load
5mmgunguy
Member Posts: 3,853
Anyone have a load and seating depth (OAL) for a Lyman 358430 bullet in the 38 S&W case?
Comments
Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" identified 3 "favorite" loads with Markell 200g bullets: 1 duplicated Brit service and he chrono'ed it at 610 with 2.0g Bullseye. The other 2: 702 with 2.5g of 700-X, and 784 with 3.6g of Herco. COL was 1.19" in all cases. He considered case expansion to be moderate for the Brit-equivalent load and maximum for the other two.
He also liked a Lyman 358315 at 711 achieved with 3.3g of Herco, and a COL of 1.37". He described case expansion as normal.
Granted, he used a Ruger that was built for India, but he stated explicitly that he considered these loads UNSAFE in top-breaks, but OK for use in Webley; Enfield; S&W Victory, Regulation Police, and Terrier; and Colt Police Positive, Detective Special, and Banker's Special.
I tend to be a bit more conservative, in line with a PM sent me by Ed Harris almost exactly a year ago, on 4 JAN 10: "NEI #161A flatnose weighs about 190 grains in soft alloy. In .38 S&W size bullets .360 or load as-cast and unsized. Seat bullets out to crimp in the top lubricating groove, rather than using the crimp groove. Correct charge is 3.5 grs. of Unique, 3.2 grs. of W231 or 3.0 of Bullseye. These are max for the J-frame, about 700 f.p.s. Reduce 10% in No. 2 Enfield top break guns."
I key on his statement that about 700fps is max for J frames, and he also recommends a 10% reduction for Enfields.
When all is said and done, both Waters and Harris agree that 650-ish works for Brit revolvers, 700 for J frames, and Waters has even hotter loads.