38 Super Loads

Pulled out a 38 Super I had built back in the 90s.  Full bullseye job on an old pre series 70 Colt.  Used a Kart barrel.  Never even worked up a load.   Wrote Allen Fulford's load down somewhere.  Best I remember it was the Nosler 115 JHP with enough Vit to run it around 950 FPS.  This morning I loaded a few Hornady  115 grain XTPs with a 4.0 grains WW 231, RP nickel brass, Remington 1 1/2 primers.  Using a 10 pound recoil spring.   Gun shot decent but either not quite enough 231 or too much recoil spring.  May load some Vit to try next.  Got some Sierra bullets too.  Any of you guys got 38 Super info to share?

Ordered a 9 pound recoil spring.  Would have ordered an 8 pound spring too but they were out of stock.  The 9 will take another day or two to get there.  While waiting for the new spring I loaded a few with about 1/2 grain more powder.   Have got to be close.  The gun was trapping the brass on the last round only.  I'll be back on the range testing today.

Hello Axehandle,

I got the following load from Joe Chambers and it has proven itself to be very accurate in several different tuned pistols....

Starline cases
Winchester primers
4.0 grains Bullseye
125 grains Hornady XTP

Good luck.

Jim

121gn Zero .38 Super JHP and 4.7-5.7gn 231/HP38 (sweet spot around 4.8-5.3gn). Same bullet and 4.7gn AA2 or 4.3gn Solo 1000 is excellent.

Swapped some nosler 135 10mm JHPs for some Zero 115 JHPs.  I'll be back at the loading bench today putting a few together.  Put the 9 pound recoil spring in the gun and functioning was 100%.

Two rotors later and I'm still not happy with this Zero JHP and 231 in this 38 Super.  Haven't quite reach the level listed a couple of posts above.  Did stumble upon a note about a load using VV N350 that was developed by Allen Fulford.   Thinking this week I'll load a few with a slightly heavier charge of 231 and some with VV N350.

Old lead load I did back in the 90's.  Meister 150 SSWC, 3.0 452AA, winchester primer and don't remember the case. Shot 1.25 x 1.25 at 50. 710 FPS with no recoil at all.

Trying to keep the slide speed fairly quick.  Never did shoot the 38 WC guns well.   I could shoot them well enough but during sustained fire that feeling the slide hit both ends just mucked up my head.  The gun was an X ring gun.  I was lucky to stay in the black.  The 900 FPSish stuff from the Super gets me out of that groove. 

Jumped up two rotors and the gun shoots better and actually throws the brass in the catcher.  Book says I should be running around 1000FPS.  Hope to find time to drag out the chrono and make more notes soon.

It may not be universally true, but I find that 9x19 and .38 Super do best at velocities over 900 fps. I would "expect" this not to be true, but this is what my guns keep going with.
.38 Super has done really well with powders ranging from Red Dot to True Blue, while 9x19 has done best with Power Pistol, Silhouette, and True Blue (and nothing any faster than AA5).

Set up my new Dillon SDB and loaded a few.  Should be running right at 1100 FPS with my 231 and 115 JHP load.   Way more muzzle flash than I remember.   Don't think it is anything you would see outside.  Going to get to the outdoor range with the chrono to see what the bullet is actually clocking and what it will do at 50 yards.   May load a few with Bullseye...