38 s&w

[joeyj]

A friend asked me to reload some 38 S&w for him. He had all the stuff and when I looked in the Lyman reloading book it said it didn't recommend reloading this cartridge because top break guns are old and weak. He has Webley Mark 4, 5 or 6, I don't remember which, but they seem to be pretty hefty pistols. Being a little new at this reloading, the first thing he came to my mind is why do they publish all the data for it, if they don't recommend reloading it. Second thing is, how much of a reduction in powder do you use, just to shoot tin cans. I appreciate any info you fellows can give me.

[SuperVel]

I believe the manual is referring to poor quality revolvers made in the late 1800's for the civilian market that are not very strong and may have been abused over the years.

The Webley revolvers are pretty tough and military issue for years. I think the .38 S&W cartridge was called the .38/200 by the British, after a 200 gr bullet at a modest velocity.

I wouldn't load ammo for anyone else, especially if you are just starting out, but if you insist I would stick to starting loads, and keep in mind that many surplus firearms are tired and may have damage you can't see easily

[bamboomaster]

A friend asked me to reload some 38 S&w for him. He had all the stuff and when I looked in the Lyman reloading book it said it didn't recommend reloading this cartridge because top break guns are old and weak. He has Webley Mark 4, 5 or 6, I don't remember which, but they seem to be pretty hefty pistols. Being a little new at this reloading, the first thing he came to my mind is why do they publish all the data for it, if they don't recommend reloading it. Second thing is, how much of a reduction in powder do you use, just to shoot tin cans. I appreciate any info you fellows can give me.

Step away from the press and show me your hands....

It is a very bad idea to even consider reloading for folks with pistols in "unable to verify" conditionl.

[Guns N'at]

I reload for my MK4, .38 S&W, and really enjoy it. Ironic, I can use 9mm Mak dies, and they work perfectly for the S&W! It can be tough at times to find the defacto .361/.362/.363" diameter lead bullets, so I have used .358" soft swaged LSWC and WC's... Even use hard cast with good results to my surprise. Did try some Lee 125 grain as cast around .360", and the results were just OK.

I was amused at how wimpy WW factory ammo was:

WW Factory .38 S&W 146 grain LRN
594 588 601 606 AV 597 ES 18 SD 7

I load a little bit more snappy, but entirely safe in my situation:

2.5 grains WW231 Speer 158 LSWCHP CCI 500 primers
689 719 696 723 699 AV 705 ES 34 SD 14

And wadcutters:

2.5gr Bullseye CCI 500 148 grain Hornady BBWC WW cases seated 1.015”
690 721 691 687 670 AV 691 ES 51 SD 18

2.8 gr Red Dot CCI 500 148 grain Hornady BBWC WW cases seated 1.015”
797 759 812 796 768 AV 786 ES 53 SD 22

Please work up as appropriate for your situation.

BTW, here is what the WC's look like; these two stoked with 2.8 gr of WW231. Never have tested them for speed, but figure low 700's.


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[knight0334]

The Webley's are strong breaktops. If you load to .38/200 specs or lower you'll be ok so long as the gun is in good condition. .38/200 is pretty much the hottest .38S&W spec(by the book of course).


If it were an old S&W, H&R, Iver Johnson, M&H, etc - you'd have to load to the appropriate standard (black powder or smokeless) first. Then you'd have to load to the appropriate pressure for smokeless(if it was a smokeless gun). In the non-Webley guns you DO NOT want large bearing surface bullets like wadcutters, jacketed bullets, or bullets above 150grs.

150gr+ bullets, jacketed bullets and bullets with large bear surfaces cause too much breech thrust and would break open the gun or just plain old break the gun by stretching it. Webley's though can handle such bullets.

[Dave_n]

I have a fair number of 38 S&Ws (ten plus) in M&P, Webley Mk IV and Pistol No 2 Mk 1, 1* and 1** (Enfields from 1936 +). I load 180 grain truncated cone bullets (Roger's better bullets from King's Shooter's Supply) that Roger sizes to 0.360 for me over 2.4 grains of Clays International with an OL of 1.200. These mimic my diminishing stock of 178 grain 380 ZZ rounds and are effectively equivalent to the 380/200 or Colt New Police round with POA at 7 to 10 metres. Dave_n