Well I'm selling all my 357mag and 38spl factory loaded ammo to take advantage of the china virus panic. So I better get off my ass and reload the pile of 38 and 357 brass I rediscovered while digging for ammo to resell so I have some bang-bangs for teotwawki after all the factory stuff is gone. When I reload 38spl I just can't resist filling the case up at least half way. I do that to make a double charge impossible, loading with slightly slower burning powder like "unique" burns cleaner than loading them with say 3 grains of super fast burning "clays" or "bullseye" powder. Yeah loading them with 3 grains of shit to 38spl level is cheaper than hot loading with say 7 grains of something else, until you accidentally double charge one and blow your gun up. Typically I load 38 specials and 357mag with unique as it burns fairly clean and often hot loads in the 38 and full power 357 loads take up more than half of the case volume. I have shorter barrel guns so loading them with H110 or AA9 doesn't give me any advantage, just a bigger fireball. A lot of times the hot 38spl load will be about 1 grain more than the recommended 38spl+p max load and a full grain under the starting load for a 357mag. You could easy fit a 357 load in a 38spl shell with some modern high density faster powder like AA5. The extra length of the 357mag really helps when loading big bullets like 158 and 180 grain ones. For 110 and 125, not so much. 38spl is loaded to 17,000psi. 38spl+p is 21,000psi I think. 357mag is 35,000psi. The start loads on 357mag usually put you around 28,000 to 30,000psi. These real hot 38spl loads should be some where around 25,000psi. What shall I call these 38spl shells loaded to quasi 357 level? 38spl+p+ 38magnum 357spl I only ever had 357mag guns only will ever buy 357mag guns. I would like to ask this over on the high road dot org but they would freak the shit out and delete my post, any of the reloading rookies would be like "it will blow your gunz up" and I would be like "I said I taint got no 38spl gunz" and they would go off on some wild hypothetical tangent "if some one stole the ammo and put it in a 38 and tried to assassinate micky mouse in china and it was during during a lunar eclipse Hitlers suicide would be your fault" and I would have to agree with them. Caveat emptor. (If I ever sold reloads that would be stamped on the box)
I'd just call it .38 Spl HOT. I have loads like that for the .44 Mag Ruger carbine. I could shoot them in a handgun, but I wouldn't want to. Same goes for stuff that's a little light out of respect for 100 year old revolvers. I just mark the box with the revolver models it was intended for. It'll cycle a 1911, but it's gentle on the old revolver frames. Have I told you about my .42 Special? (Fire formed and un-bottle necked 10.4 Italian Ordnance)
This is a funny one for me, as I only run full zoot .357 Mag revolvers, and full zoot Magnum ammo, so it really wouldn't matter to me, as I wouldn't have any .38 around to mess things up! Pretty much the same with .44 Mag, and .45 Colt, ( And don't get me started on the Super Magnums) I don't confuse things with the interchangeable ammo ( Except for my .454 which can take all sorts of neat-O loads) So, If it were me, I would loose all the .38 and keep after the .357 loads! The only area things get tricky is loads for RIFLE are only for rifle, where loads for pistol can be used in both, so...................... Those I keep separate in special marked boxes, and they rims get a distinct mark that I can actually feel with my fingers, so I don't screw up and blow up a nice revolver, and blow my hand up! As far as what to name it, I went with Aloha SnackBar!
I have loads like this for 44 special too. They are a little above 44spl max load but way below the starting load for 44mag. I have never even seen a small frame 44spl for sale with my own eyes, I know they're out there. But everyone seems scared to death of 357mag in a 38spl skin. I have some rifle only 44 mags. They're 300gr they would be perfectly safe in my super Redhawk but I don't want to handle that kind of recoil. They are tame in a 44 rifle, not even as bad as a 12 gauge slug from a full size pump shot gun.
I went with the +p+ since there is no specific pressure designated, just that it is loaded to higher pressure than SAAMI +p Kinda a legal loophole to fall back on if something goes wrong. ...or you could call it .38 really kinda special
Kinda funny, Off topic slightly, but My Ruger Old Army has proven about equal to full zoot hot .44 mag! The sweet spot seems to be a 270 gr flat point over 52 gr. swiss powder and CCI Magnum primers! Not quite rifle spec .45 Colt loads, but pushing thing! My Mateba Auto Revolver in .454 Casull takes care of any need beyond the Colt loads! I also have a pair of Ruger Super Black Hawks,, one in .44 Super Magnum ( Ruger Magnum) and one in .45 Super ( The Auto Mag Chambering) and those are more fun then any one should be allowed to have! LOL, Punishing to shoot, but when life requires, it's sure comforting to know you have that kind of power in a holster on the hip! Seriously, I do like the .357 Mag loads, in a Red Hawk Alaskan, I can really push them hard, almost to the point of seriously competing with .41 mag, which is kind of pointless!
In the before times starline brass would put anything that would fit on cases for for a custom head stamp. I forget what the minimum order was but maybe when things return to normal I could do a run of "38spl+p+" or "38alla-ackbar". I'm thinking 38allaackbar could be a full 357mag load in a 38spl package. Or get 38s&w and stamp them 38powderpuff, load the lightest .357" lead bullet I can find over like 3 grains of the fastest burning smokeless I can get.
Actually it's not. I can't sell my reloads with out a class 6 FFL, it would probably be a good idea to have some insurance that covers that kind of thing. Let's say my dad reloaded a ton of ammo and I inherited it, I could sell them since I didn't reload them. I could trade my reloads for something that wasn't recognized money, such as a chicken. I can resell factory ammo. I can resell "cheaper than dirt" brand commercial reloads. I could even reload ammo for someone else as long as they bring me most of the components, mainly their used casings and charge that person a fee to assemble the ammo.
ammo accidents happen with factory loads >>> NOOOOOOOO way in hell should you be in the re-loading biz without all kinds of legal & financial separation from your private life .... had a local guy go to the grave chasing Winchester over his trap gun blowing up in his face - Winchester could have paid him off with a few $1Ms and saved $1Ms in legal fees >> but settling creates a bigger problem had a local Catholic priest that had God on his side - his trap gun blew up and a huge spear chunk of gunstock came back and stuck in the crown of his Tyrolian hat .... I personally had a reload accident - primer fell out while chambering the shell - fell back into the rear of the chamber >> primer went off when I tried to pump out the dead shell - blew out the entire left side of the handgrip area of the gunstock ....
The Liability Insurance costs have gone thru the roof in the past couple of years... This has caused most of the small Class 6 outfits to leave the biz... One of the reasons I got out of the biz back in ‘91...
You are splitting hairs yes you can get a license to sell reloads. And the ATF probably won't come knocking at the door for making up loads for a friend but let something go wrong and some lawyer will bring them with him to serve you
Well yeah. You should have insurance selling reloads. I have heard that euro made shot shells use "209 primers" but euro 209 primers are a hair bigger and when euro shells are reloaded with US made 209 primers they go in loose, some times falling out.
Most cheap bulk shotgun shells have primer pockets that are loose enough to seat primers by finger pressure. And you are usually only able to get a decent crimp one reload
In fact, it is not splitting hairs at all. It is pointing out the error of your flat statement in post 8 above that it is illegal. You will lose a lot of arguments and credibility trying to defend an indefensible statement. Graceful acceptance of the correction was the correct step to take. Please be more careful and civil with your posts, and try to stick with the topic. Now, it might be worth your time and effort to go to the new members forum and introduce yourself properly after reviewing the CoC.
All my 38spl ammo goes in factory boxes with sharpie written on the box describing the primer, propellant, amount of propellant, projectile and they are marked "for 357mag only". I don't think I have ever reloaded a 38spl to actual 38spl saami specs. I don't ever even think I loaded any to within +p specs.
I'm rebuilding my 38 spl ammo hord. Bought a bunch of old school federal empty 38 special ammo boxes on ebay for about $3 each. Sold all the rando 38spl ammo, FMJs, HPs, plus peas, reg 38spl, everything 110 to 158gr. Just a mixed cluster phuck. Most of it had price tags still on the boxes, other ammo that didnt I have a pretty good idea what it cost, paid around $150 for it all. Cleared about $350 on 400 rounds. Time to restore the 38 pile, 500 rounds all in magtech brass. Bring back as 200-250 rounds of 110gr hollow soft point loaded in my signature 38spl+p+ load and the remainder as 125gr cast lead loaded to plus pee. Bought the once fired magtech brass last night for $40 shipped to my door. Bought 500 cast lead 125gr for $42 last night (ass is a little sore after that one but oh well) and bought the 1,000 pack of blemish 110gr Remington HSP bullets last year for like 5 cents each. So for like $100 I get 500 rounds in 2 different loadings.
