which powders

[jstahl]

I am looking to start reloading here soon for .38 special .380 auto and probably .357 mag at some point. i was wondering what powders you guys suggest for each of the calibers. also any bullet recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

[DucatiRon]

As for the .38 Special and 357 I use 2400. Nice burning powder. This also produced the best pattern and least if any unburnt powder in my Dan Wesson. Mind you this was all done in an 8" barrel. Your results may vary if a shorter barrel is used. I also only load 125 or 128 grain hollow points. This allows me with my particular recipes to shoot either 38 or 357 and at 10 yards the point of impact does not change. The best thing you can do is get some opinions then buy a bunch of different powders and experiment. Look for 8oz containers and get a few. I am a firm believer that there is a "magic" recipe for almost every firearm to make it shoot better than the person operating it. Took me about 75 rounds of different recipes to find what I shot the best with. For example in my DW the groups went from 2.5" across with Unique to about 1" with the 2400.

[rwilson452]

I don't do 357. As for the rest I'm partial to W 231.

[Tim Ault]

To make things simple you would be fine with Unique in all three. But if you have different powders already I would break it down like this.

380/38 spl.=Bullseye,W231,700X,Reddot, AA2,AA5

357 mag. Unique(lighter loads) stout loads,2400 AA9, W296,H110

Ofcourse There are other factors such as what your intended purposes are and what bullets your using.


Bullets For the 380 for just target work go with a plated or jacketed 90/95 gr RN or FP

For the 38/357 for target work get a good cast 158 gr RN or SWC just get them sized big enough to fit your cylinder mouths well.If you dont want to deal with that theres everything from 110 gr to 200 gr jacketed bullets to choose from in HP,SP versions Pick one that suits what your needs are.



Tim

[dk99358]

I run Unique and 158 gr LSWC in the 38 Sp. I settled on that a long time ago and haven't felt the need to change. I like that Unique is so bulky, a double charge is obvious.

There may be some of the newer Hodgdon stuff that works as well or better.

I don't load for the 380 or 357 but I do run Win 296 in full house 44 Mags, that's where I would start with the 357.

Dale

[Iron Sights]

I like RedDot for .380. Slower burning powders leave a lot of partially burned powder.

[Rundownfid]

Welcome aboard Jstahl, (I see this is your first post)!

We could give you better advice if you could tell us what guns and what use you will be using the reloads for.

[jstahl]

the 38 and 357 are for a ruger gp100 and the 380 is for a ruger lcp

[Buckster]

I use speer 135gr gold dot short barrel HP for 38spl and 357mag. As for powder I tried the H110 which gave more recoil than I will ever be willing to practice with again. Power Pistol had much less recoil and grouped better from my taurus snubbie. 2400 will be the next load I try.

[Bama Man]

I use Red Dot in every pistol load from 9mm to my .45 Colt. I have never seen any reason to change.
It burns fast, and burns clean.