357 load in 38 Special case for 357 Mag Handi - Just asking

[Land_Owner]

I am new to 357 Mag.  45-70 got me into a pretty little Handi and I am wondering if low 357 Mag loads can be achieved in 38 Special cases and shot through the Handi?  I have a ton of 38 Special brass.

[Default]

I would say look into your +P 38 spcl data ..

 I see a 170 gr bullet +P for a pistol with a max charge of H 4227 you'll get 950 fps which will have similar energy numbers to that of a 45 acp , now if you gain 150 fps from the rifle barrel your energy jumps to 544 ft.lbs. at 1200 fps .. Which gives you 357 mag energy

  Hope that was what you were looking for brother,


   Default

[spruce]

Skeeter Skelton wrote about doing that back in the 70's.  It was one of his favorite loads for his .357 revolvers.

He used cast bullets and seated them out farther in the case to give him close to .357 case capacity in a .38 case.  I don't believe it quite equals .357 mag performance, but it comes close.

Sorry, I don't remember the specifics nor can I tell you where you might find one of his old articles.

[Land_Owner]

Heck yeah!  That's the ticket.  I have plenty of 357 brass for hotter loads.  I was just wondering what to do with a whole lot of 38 Spc brass.  I don't have a 38 Spc revolver but I do have a SST Ruger SP101 in 357 Mag (that bites the hand that feeds it).  So I don't have to worry about +P or hotter in a 38 handgun.

[jeepmann1948]

Here is a link for articles by Skeeter Skelton really good reading

http://www.darkcanyon.net/skeeter_skelton.htm

[Lucky Joe]

Land_Owner,

Here are a couple of links that should help you for sure.

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellSkeetersBullets.htm

http://www.lasc.us/38SWC.htm

While I shoot everything from .22 to the .454 Casull the .358 is my favorite caliber and has done everything I ever needed to do. It is a great caliber with many variables, I cast and can cast a bullet from .74 gr. to 214gr. I have quite a few moulds especially for this .38/357 round. A lot of potential in what you are looking at.

Have fun.

[LaOtto222]

Get yourself some Hornady Hollow base wad cutters, and some Bullseye powder. I am using 2.6 grains of Bullseye, small pistol primer and the HBWC in a 38 Special case. I get around 770 fps out of my Handi. It does real good out to 50 yards, then it starts dropping like a rock. When I seat the bullet I leave it out about 1/4" with no crimp for my Handi. This is a fun round. A plinking round. It is cheap shooting and accurate too. You can do lots of shooting for little money. The bullets are some where around .10 - .11 cents each. The primers are where you can find them, but I paid about $27/1000 for Rem 1 1/2. And I paid $20 for a pound of Bullseye. At 2.6 grains you can get well over 2500 rounds out of a pound. If you cast bullets, you can shoot even cheaper. Even buying bullets your cost is some where around 14 or 15 cents each or $7.50/box - that is pretty cheap now days about the same as premium 22 rim fire - less than 22 Magnum and 17 HMR. Since I do not crimp, the cases last a long time. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[mechanic]

Land Owner,  I have been experimenting with my 357 for several months now, and find it a most agreeable little gun.  I have loaded 38 cases from pop gun to plus p, and have found that the 360 DW cases can be loaded as is, and the max. cases with just a few thousands of trim.  This is without reaming to max. 

I use Bullseye in my low velocity loads, have some hotter loads with Unique, and have been loading my max. brass with H110 and 180 jsp.  All shoot well, some shoot excellent. 

Have fun.

[Halwg]

I loaded 38 spl cases with 125 gr Hornady XTP bullets over 5.4 gr of Hodgdon Universal and shot them out of my Marlin 1894C with an 18.5" barrel.  I chronographed them at 1620 fps.  I was getting about 1270 fps out of my 6" barreled 357 mag with the same load.  No problems shooting them out of either gun.

[Land_Owner]

Made and shot 15 rounds of 185 gr. hard cast 2nds (Lyman I think) that user 45-70 made and gave me and moly for barrel polishing over 4.7 gr. of 700 X that were very fun from 38 Spc cases. 

I am stoked by this Handi.  What a BLAST...literally and figuratively!!!

[kynardsj]

Although there isn't any Lil Gun data for 38's, 14 grains behind a 158 grain pill will run magnum speeds without any pressure problems. Sweet in my Contender, should be the same in your Handi.