38 s&w

[david j]

do any one load for the old 38s&w out there, i have an old victory smith&wesson in perfict shape and am looking for loads for it to hunt small game with!! all the loads iv found are for combat shooting any help would be nice.

[darkgael]

I have a WWII Webley chambered for the .38S&W or as it was called by the British, the .38/200.
I use 3.0 grains of Unique and a variety of bullets. The loads are mild and they work more or less well, depending on the bullet.
The real issue with handloading the .38 S&W is bullet choice. The proper bullets are .360-.361 diameter. I cast my own - from the Lyman 358430 mold which drops a 195 grain bullet at .360 using WW alloy. That allows me to duplicate the British service load. The three grain Unique load, by modern standards, is mild.
I also cast 140 grain LSWCs from a mold by CBE. Those bullets are also .360. I up the load to 3.5 grains, though the 3.0 grain loads works fine.
Many shooters who load for this cartridge use lead bullets meant for the .38Spl./.357 Mag cartridge. Some of those bullets work quite well, though they are undersized. I had success with 158 gr. LSWCs that were swaged - Hornady, IIRC. 148 grain Lead HBWC, seated halfway in are worth a try with mild loads of Unique or Bullseye.
Pete

[tony212]

I have been loading 2.8 grains of Unique, a CCI 500 primer and a 158 grain LSWC for 650 fps from a 4" Colt Police Positive.  It is very accurate, and very mild. I also load a hotter load using Unique and  Remington 125 grian JSP.  If you check th MD Smith reloading pages on the web he has several loads for the .38 S&W.  I know the bullets made for the .38 special are undersized for the .38 S&W but I really haven't seen any lack of performance from any of the ones I have tried.
Hope this helps.
Tony 212

[wile326]

I reload for the 38 s&w a lot, it can be a very accurate round. The 38 s&w was intorduced in 1877, it has been around a long time. There have been a wide range of guns chambered for it, some are very weak and some like the victory model very strong. The victory models were produced in 38 s&w between Oct. 1941 and May 1945. Approx. 571k were made in 38s&w or as the british called it, 38/200 British Service Revolver (S&W Caliber). I have a 5 inch victory model that is chambered in 38 s&w, i load a 200 grain bullet to duplicate the 38/200 round that it was designed for. I would recommend you slug your barrel as there can be a lot of variation. I ordered several molds from Mountain Molds, had them made to .362 then size to .361, even though it is a custom mold the price is not that bad less than $100 for a 2 cavity mold. Below is some data that I hope will help you, they are all max loads.

Bullet Make      Powder                  Charge      Muzzle      K. E. 
 & Wt. (gr)      Type                      (gr)      Vel. (fps)      (ft-lbs 
 148 Speer      Alliant/Herc Herco      3.5M      746        182 
 148 Speer      Alliant/Herc Unique      3.4M      747       183 
 148 Speer      Alliant/Herc Bullseye      2.7M      748              183 
 148 Speer      IMR SR-7625              3.1M      760              189 
 148 Speer      Alliant/Herc Red-Dot      3.0M      797       208 
 150 Alliant/Herc   Red-Dot                 3.0M      740        182 
 150 Alliant/Herc   Bullseye                      2.9M      810       218 
 150 Alliant/Herc   Unique                      4.6M      973       315 
 158 Speer      Winchester 231              2.6M      671              158 
 158 Speer      Alliant/Herc Bullseye      2.4M      693        168 
 158 Speer      Alliant/Herc Unique      3.1M      694       169 
 158 Speer      Alliant/Herc Herco      3.2M      702       172 
 158 Cast Perfor… Accurate Nitro 100      2.3M      722       182 
 158                      Alliant/Herc Red-Dot      2.6M      751       197 
 158 Speer      IMR SR-7625             2.9M      752       198 
 158 Cast Perfor… Accurate AA-2              2.8M      754       199 
 158 Alliant/Herc   Bullseye                  2.5M      763              204 
 158 Speer      Alliant/Herc Red-Dot      2.7M      765              205 
 158 Cast Perfor… Accurate AA-5              3.7M      767              206 
 158 lead              Alliant/Herc Bullseye      2.5+P      800              224 
 158 Cast         Ramshot Zip              2.9+P      800              224 
 158                      Alliant/Herc Unique      4.0M      892       279 
 195 Mount      Accurate AA-5              3.0M      613       162 
 195 Mount      Accurate AA-2              2.3M      653              184 
 205 Lyman mold   IMR 700-X             2.3M      625              177 
 205 Lyman mold   Alliant/Herc Bullseye      2.3M      625              177