38Sp. Shoot Shell ?

[GameHauler]

Finally getting around to loading up some
shoot shells in some 38 cases.
If I used a OAL of 1.550 over top of
5.5grs of Unique it would be a compress load.
Anyone see a problem with that?
Thanks

[41 mag]

I have loaded a ton of them in various forms. Can't actually say what the actual OAL was but the load is dead on with what I used.

They are a ton fun and I have taken a wide variety of small game including a few birds on the wing through the years.

I always used the 38 cases for snakes, and the .357's for everything bigger. Shot size is important depending on your objective. For game like rabbits or similar size, use #4, for everything else #8 or 9 is decent, but 12 is better. However it isn't worth buying 12 simply for these. It is also good to slightly shake the capsules when loading them to settle the shot, and weighing it out helps keep them more consistent.

Good luck and have fun.

[Savage]

If I get close enough to reliably kill small game with a .357 shot load out of a rifled barrel, I'll knock them in the head and save the powder! Great for snakes up close tho.
Savage

[Sweetwater]

If you are using the Speer shot capsules, fit the over all length to your cylinder. They wouldn't tell you to load 5.5gr of Unique if it wouldn't fit properly. You should be fine.

I've taken grouse at some pretty good shotgun distances with 357mag shotshells, though closer is better. Made me a believer many years ago. My brother in law used to say it wasn't fair that he carried a 12ga pump and all I had to carry was a little revolver, and he never got to shoot because the revolver came up too quick.

Later, I read Elmer Keith's method of building shotshells for those who don't have factory shotshells available. My Dad had the same reaction as a lot of folks. "Might as well throw a shovel full of sand at them!" was his sommentary, until "that day". We were deer hunting and about noon I spied a grouse, which became a covey of grouse by the time I saw all of them. I had my 41Mag Ruger Blackhawk loaded up with #4's and a charge of Unique. By the time the gun was empty, I had my daily limit.
Made a believer of him, also.

Load and enjoy.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[GameHauler]

I had just received a Speer manual and had not looked at it yet
so I check for shoot shells and sure enough there were more choices
in it for them.
I ended up using Bullseye at 4.5gr.
Still a compressed load but near as much as Unique.
The Unique load looked like it would be compressed by about 30%.
Just did not feel comfortable with it.
Thanks for the replies.

[Savage]

GameHauler,
From my experience with the Speer shot shell capsules in .38/.357, I had better patterns with a lighter charge. I seem to recall using about 3.5 grs of BE. The faster the capsule goes down the bore, the faster it spins. That leads to doughnut  shaped patterns. The doughnut effect seems to become more pronounced as barrel length increases. 4" revolvers worked the best for me.
Savage

[GameHauler]

Thanks Savage.
I have not loaded them before so I just went with Speers recommendations.
Would not hurt my feelings to drop the charge by a grain.
Thats like getting the every 5th one free
Not trying to do anything but snake shoot for me, Family and friends.
I also read where they open up at higher velocity.