Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Amazingly I read the original post as ".357 Mag". I suppose I did that because I can't see a really good reason to load heavier than 158 gr. bullets in the .38 Special for most uses.
However there are some specific reasons such as not having any 158 gr. bullets or trying to duplicate for personal experience, the 200 gr. Super Police loads. I have also loaded the 205 gr. cast over 2.5 gr. Bullseye for use as a "silent" load in my .357 MAXimum rifle. Works a treat there but is anything but silent in a revolver.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
WHY DO YOU WANT SUCH DATA ??? WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOURCES OF DATA AND THERE IS LITTLE TO NONE IT IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT SIGN THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO MAY NOT BE SUCH A SMART IDEA.
PERSONALLY I CAN THINK OF FEW LOADS ANY MORE SILLY THAT WASTING 180gr JHP/JSP BULLETS IN A 38SPL. THESE BULLETS WERE SPECICALLY DESIGNED FOR 357MAG USE IN WHICH YOU CAN GET THEM UP TO THE SPEEDS THEY WERE DESIGNED TO OPERATE IN EFFECTIVELY.
PLEASE NOTE ALSO : THESE 38 CALIBER 180grJHP/JSP BULLETS WERE DESIGNED STRICTLY AND SPECICALLY FOR HUNTING AND THEIR USE IN A GUN FOR SELF DEFENSE IS UNCALLED FOR, A BAD IDEA OF THE FIRST WATER.
AND SO IT GOES...
Good point, Terry, but I assumed maybe he's wanting to load the 180 grain bullets in .38 Special cases so they will feed better in a levergun since you can keep the overall length a bit shorter and still use the crimp groove. I'd be using .38 special data vs. .357 data if I tried that, due to the reduced case capacity, even if I were still going to "+P" them significantly.
Dunno if that was his intent, but that's what I assumed...
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
I can see no reason other than lack of other bullets to load 180 gr. JACKETED in the .38 Special. To have a longer load one could use a cheaper CAST bullet or .357 Mag cases (unless shooting the .38 Special Marlin Cowboy).
We need more info as to goals.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
Hey, lets step back a minute and take a look at the OP's question. Seems that everyone responding is assuming that he is asking for pistol loads and criticizing his choice. Have any of you thought that he might be asking for a rifle load??
Remember, this is leverguns.com not revolvers.com. I use 158 grn and 180grn bullets in my hot, long loaded 38spl cases in both my Rossis for range work and plinking. The heavier bullets have a better BC and are more accurate at longer ranges but I don't need the full power of a .357mag charge.
I do load some .357mag ammo for hunting and/or my longest range shooting.However, I use 38spl cases over .357 cases in my everyday shooting for three reasons. The first is availability. I can find 38spl once fired cases fairly easily even now and many people are willing to trade for other brass.
The second is cost. Once fired .357mag cases are much more expensive when you can find them than the more plentiful 38spls. And the third is magazine capacity. My 20" Rossi carbine will hold 10+1 .357mag rounds but will hold 12+1 of my long loaded 38spls. My 24" Rossi rifle will hold 12+1 .357mag rounds but will hold 14+1 of my long loaded 38spls.
I load my 38spl cases at 1.500" - 1.510" which is far longer than the 1.450" max recommended because the rounds cycle much better in our leverguns designed for .357mag rounds. This allows me to load the 38spls much hotter than even a +P load, but still less than a full .357mag load and it also allows me to load more rounds in my rifles.
Steve Retired and Living the Good Life No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
I just bought a Marlin 1894C Cowboy. I have read that heavy bullets in 357 cases can be to long for the action when load to the groove. I have a bunch of 38 cases, but very few 357 cases...
I don't know about the heavy bullet limitations with the Marlin; hopefully somebody else here has some information. But if there is not really a problem, then you might be able to use our classified section to swap your .38 cases for somebody's .357's to get the full benefit of the rifle's barrel length and bullet combination. You can always load the .357 down.
As for putting a heavier jacketed bullet in the .38 case:
Do you have a particular 180 gr. jacketed bullet in mind? If so, which one?
If you have just the bullets and don't know the nomenclature - can you accurately measure the overall length of the bullet itself?
There are no heavy bullet limitations. One is limited by the case construction (including length) and the firearm's characteristics. Again, since you have lots of .38 cases, don't (apparently) want to invest in .357 Mag cases, don't currently have the bullets and want to shoot a lot, I think you should get a bunch of cast 158 gr. and have at it. The .38 Special feeds in my 1894C but yours might be different.
As to 180s in .357 cases, yes one might have to make minor adjustments. It is called attention to detail and is no great burden. For me it was a matter of proper trimming and seating and seating so that the crimp rolled into the top of the cannelure instead of the bottom or center.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
Only a couple things to say as I don't currently load for a lever gun in .357.
If you use 38 cases for heavy 357 loads MARK THEM BLATANTLY so there is no chance of slipping them into a .38 revolver. That could be an unpleasant experience.
I don't understand those who say .357 brass is hard to find. Or is less available than 38 brass. When I go to the indoor ranges I frequent, or even the outdoor range, I see .357 brass everywhere. If I root through the brass buckets, which I do when the owner isn't watching, I run into scads of .357 brass.
It's everywhere. Do a bit of research and buy the proper case for the task. 357 brass is meant for heavy loads and 38 spcl isn't.
JMHO
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
Rimfire McNutjob wrote:A lot of interest for a thread that ended last year ... or so we thought.
It's Hobie's fault, he brought it back up the front.
If I checked the original post date for every thread I looked at, I'd loose interest. Besides, you never know when it might be fun and enjoyable to look at something over again.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
Yikes, easy there fellas he asked a simple question not insulted your sister's honor. Like COsteve stated and we later found out from the OP, these loads are indeed for use in a lever gun. I think that a heavy weight bullet like a 180 to 200gr bullets make a lot of sense still today. Especially if all one has is a .38 SPL gun (rifle or revolver) and can't afford a new firearm due to the strangle hold the economy has on many Americans today. A good 180gr - 200gr bullet would be a lot better than any 158gr bullet in the penetration department, and a heck of a lot better than a sharp stick. Or someone may like to take a trip back in time and re-create the old 200gr Super Police loading. IMHO though I feel cast bullets would be a better option than jacketed bullets.
TB here is some data for you. However it is from an older Lyman manual so as always be careful and work your way up slowly. I know a older gentleman who has been using the 2400 data for his S&W 4" M10 for about 850fps with a 200gr cast bullet for over 30 years. He even used that loading tocollect a nice TX white tail deer. My whole point for mentioning this is that even though this data is old it is still safe. Otherwise his 1972 S&W M10-6 (which he still uses religosly still today) would have been reduced to a mere paper weight a long time ago. Here is a link to some really good chrono work that he did with the .38 SPL, sorry there is no rifle data. http://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/14459 ... tests.html
Now there is a page I've spent many hours looking at and referring to. That was the first loading manual I bought back in 1970 and the .38 spl and .357 mag pages are pretty dog eared! It's still in the pile of books next to the "Throne"!
Hobie wrote:I guess it is my fault. I feel terrible for reviving an on topic topic...
Why? I hadn't seen it. I can't think of a reason I'd want 180 grain boolits in a .38Spl... but was interested in everyones responses... and gee... maybe I'll think of a good enough reason to buy some!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
I read the original post as ".357 Mag". I suppose I did that because I can't see a really good reason to load heavier than 158 gr. bullets in the .38 Special for most uses. 
