Recommendations on bullet for 38 super

[abigger04]

I just started reloading this season and I have been reading up on good load recipes for 38 super. So far I’ve been using Hodgdon CFE pistol since it is easily obtainable locally. Could anyone recommend a good bullet to use for loading 38 super?  

 

Based on what I’ve read, I figure I’ll be using 124 gr. bullet. 

Edited December 12, 2017 by abigger04

[RileyLV]

11 minutes ago, abigger04 said:

I just started reloading this season and I have been reading up on good load recipes for 38 super. So far I’ve been using Hodgkin CFE pistol since it is easily obtainable locally. Could anyone recommend a good bullet to use for loading 38 super?  

 

 

 

Montana Gold 124gr JHP

 

 

[CamboSoup22]

Precision delta is some good stuff too. What kind of pistol are you running it through?

[Sarge]

Montana gold bullets are really hard and often a little undersized. Hence, they typically take a little more powder to get up to speed. I have used them for years almost exclusively in 9MAJOR Open guns, but once tried some Precision Deltas and really like them a lot. They are slightly cheaper than MG as well if you buy in bulk.

[abigger04]

1 hour ago, CamboSoup22 said:

Precision delta is some good stuff too. What kind of pistol are you running it through?

 

It’s a custom built STi trubor. No poppel holes. I am the second owner.

 

It runs great with what I’ve put together for my reloads. Sierra 124 gr jhp with 7.0 grains of CFE. I think that will make major based on what I’ve read but I haven’t chrono’d it yet. 

 

I’m glad to hear that about precision delta bullets. They are nearby and I’ve purchased a lot of 9mm from them in the past. 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2017 by abigger04

[superdude]

Hornady 125 HAPs are another excellent bullet. They are one of the more consistently accurate bullets i've used.  Zero 125 JHP bullets are also excellent - both designs, the RNHP and the conical HP. 

 

By the way, it's Hodgdon, not Hodgkin.  Hodgkin is the correct spelling for Hodgkin's disease.

[abigger04]

Ha. Yeah, I think autocorrect got me on that one. 

[CamboSoup22]

Your loadout should be making major. I do it at about 6.8 of cfe and I have a 4.25 barrel with no popples. You should have a lot of flexibility in your loadout with that setup. Cfe and Autocomp is good stuff but if you’re wanting to experiment. I know some guys who use 3n38 and love it in 38sc. One of the flattest pistols I’ve ever shot. Case volume gets up there but it’s a slow powder. Also a bit of a pita to load on a press cause the case is so full.  I hear true blue from ramshot is really good too. I haven’t seen our local GM run it but he’s had many good things to say about it. Both of those powders will definitely provide lots of gas to work the comp. be prepared for a blast though. Unfortunately I don’t know they’re specific recipes since I shoot 9. 

[abigger04]

Thanks a ton for the advice. 

[Ofishl1]

I run the MGold 121 IFI..have for years proffered o st the 124...very accurate. Test some and decide.

Precision Deltas are very good too..

[RGC]

I run Zero or MG 125 JHP only......

[tomjerry1]

I'm using Hornady 125 HAP's, still working up a load. I am shooting a 38S without popple holes, 5" barrel, three port comp. Trying VV340(I know some say it is to fast, but shoots really nice, AA#7(still not there), and Lovex(the same as AA#7). I dropped my chrono the other day, and don't believe 5000fps. I will try others as they become available. I am amazed with the density of AA#7 and the Lovex, at 10 gr, the case volume is half, where the VV is up to the bullet seat depth. 

[abigger04]

I see.  I bought a box of Hornady 125 HAP last night. I’m going to give those a shot with CFE pistol. 

[tomjerry1]

How is CFE working for you? 7 gr get you to major pf? 

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by tomjerry1
Change rotation of picture

[abigger04]

CFE feels fine to me. I haven’t had a chance to visit a chronograph yet but according to what I’ve read it will make major. When I can confirm this I’ll post. 

[tcazes]

for my trubor i got better accuracy out of the montana golds than pd's. pd makes a great bullet though no doubt i just like the montana golds better. also, i used autocomp for major and preferred it over cfe. might be worth trying if you can find a locally buddy to sell you enough powder to make some test loads.

[abigger04]

2 hours ago, tcazes said:

for my trubor i got better accuracy out of the montana golds than pd's. pd makes a great bullet though no doubt i just like the montana golds better. also, i used autocomp for major and preferred it over cfe. might be worth trying if you can find a locally buddy to sell you enough powder to make some test loads.

 

How did autocomp perform differently than CFE? 

[tcazes]

4 hours ago, abigger04 said:

 

How did autocomp perform differently than CFE? 

 

 

autocomp felt like it had a little more gas. cfe seemed to burn cleaner. autocomp felt softer. 

[lee blackman]

You'll find a plethora of information if you spend the time to go waaaaaay back.  Its a lot of material to cover.  I've been there done that, spent a lot of time and money.  You'll see popular and common loads and where they shift, mostly for component availability.  Open division really has nothing new, and really nothing very new or innovative has come about in a while. There are no new wonder powders, or changes in physics.  Frankly IMHO CFE sucks for 38super major, its actually not horrible for minor but not my first pic for anything really.  I'm reading a lot of folks using autocomp, and its works just fine, but IMHO its kinda snappy.  Autocomp is my first pick for 9mm minor open guns, because it seems to get a lot of gas to the comp for even a minor pf charge.   

 

If you can afford to shoot open, then use JHP's because the lead is to the front not the back, its the cleanest and produces the least build up in your comp.  Seriously, its the best, other stuff works, but just stick to JHP's.  Personally I recommend one of these three, Precision Delta, Zero Bullets, or Montana Gold.  Pending whoever is the cheapest bulk at the time price.  They are all of equal quality and comparable to each other.

 

 

I've spent time working up loads for six completely different 2011 based open guns.  I started with a STI Steelmaster 9 Minor, went to an SVI IMM Open 9 Major, then to a STI Grandmaster .38super with a Trubor as a backup, then an Akai Katana, now an Akai V8.  I'm going to summarize what I learned and what works for me after all the time and money I put into it;  

 

.38super/supercomp:

 

If your running a 5" comped gun with no or just a couple small popples, use Hogdon HS-6 or AA #7 with 115gr projectiles..  Seriously this is by far the softest combination.  Get a nice traditional soft dot rise and back on target recoil impulse.  115's have less rise than 124's, plus not as much baseball bat hitting post feel in the hand.

 

If your running shorty with popples  (stroked or not) use a 124gr bullet and 3n38...  Its more of a dot shakes an a lot less rise.  

 

Go ahead and order a selection of recoil springs from 7 to 12 pounds, yup that high...  After you work powder charge up to a 172~176 power factor (pending what you and your gun likes), find the heaviest spring that doesn't nose dive the gun and go one pound lighter, and your good to go.  Shoot a buddies gun after your done with everything, and will put into perspective how great yours actually shoots, cause you kinda get numb during the process.

 

Best of luck,

Lee

 

 

 

[abigger04]

Thank you for the comprehensive explanation. CFE wasn’t my first choice naturally, it’s just what I was able to find locally without having to pay hazmat. I’ve been looking for AA#7 but all I seem to find is AA#9. 

 

So what is your load recipe with a 115 gr jhp bullet? 

[Chillywig]

5 hours ago, lee blackman said:

You'll find a plethora of information if you spend the time to go waaaaaay back.  Its a lot of material to cover.  I've been there done that, spent a lot of time and money.  You'll see popular and common loads and where they shift, mostly for component availability.  Open division really has nothing new, and really nothing very new or innovative has come about in a while. There are no new wonder powders, or changes in physics.  Frankly IMHO CFE sucks for 38super major, its actually not horrible for minor but not my first pic for anything really.  I'm reading a lot of folks using autocomp, and its works just fine, but IMHO its kinda snappy.  Autocomp is my first pick for 9mm minor open guns, because it seems to get a lot of gas to the comp for even a minor pf charge.   

 

If you can afford to shoot open, then use JHP's because the lead is to the front not the back, its the cleanest and produces the least build up in your comp.  Seriously, its the best, other stuff works, but just stick to JHP's.  Personally I recommend one of these three, Precision Delta, Zero Bullets, or Montana Gold.  Pending whoever is the cheapest bulk at the time price.  They are all of equal quality and comparable to each other.

 

 

I've spent time working up loads for six completely different 2011 based open guns.  I started with a STI Steelmaster 9 Minor, went to an SVI IMM Open 9 Major, then to a STI Grandmaster .38super with a Trubor as a backup, then an Akai Katana, now an Akai V8.  I'm going to summarize what I learned and what works for me after all the time and money I put into it;  

 

.38super/supercomp:

 

If your running a 5" comped gun with no or just a couple small popples, use Hogdon HS-6 or AA #7 with 115gr projectiles..  Seriously this is by far the softest combination.  Get a nice traditional soft dot rise and back on target recoil impulse.  115's have less rise than 124's, plus not as much baseball bat hitting post feel in the hand.

 

If your running shorty with popples  (stroked or not) use a 124gr bullet and 3n38...  Its more of a dot shakes an a lot less rise.  

 

Go ahead and order a selection of recoil springs from 7 to 12 pounds, yup that high...  After you work powder charge up to a 172~176 power factor (pending what you and your gun likes), find the heaviest spring that doesn't nose dive the gun and go one pound lighter, and your good to go.  Shoot a buddies gun after your done with everything, and will put into perspective how great yours actually shoots, cause you kinda get numb during the process.

 

Best of luck,

Lee

 

 

 

Just curious if you found these load combinations to translate into 9 major as well?

[lee blackman]

No they won't. The lack of case capacity really limits powders, especially when your running a shorty. I actually ran 124's with Autocomp to make major in 9mm out of my SVI IMM Open gun. I have heard from others that AA#7 will get you to major and run fairly flat if you have a 5" barrel and no popples, but that wasn't my case. I started open with a 9 Minor steel master, tried pushing major in it, and was just way to violent. I ran 9 Major in my IMM Open, and it worked, but I moved over to 38super then supercomp. Frankly I'd rather run an old school comp'd 5" 38super any day than an all poppled out custom 9 Major. No matter what a 9 Major will never perform as flat or be as tunable as a super. but thats just my opinion. There may be other folks with different experiences who drew different conclusions than I did.

[GrumpyOne]

Try 10.5 grains of VV N105 with a MG 115 JHP.  OAL 1.235

[WestTex]

I run a shorty with 3 big popples. My load is 11.0 gr 3n38 @1.235" with a 115 PD hp to put me right at 166pf. 11.2 gets me right at 169 pf. It is an extremely flat load in my gun but insanely loud.

I've also tried 11.3 of n105 to get me 169 pf but 3n38 is the flatter of the two for me. 

Edited December 23, 2017 by WestTex

[GrumpyOne]

6 hours ago, WestTex said:

I run a shorty with 3 big popples. My load is 11.0 gr 3n38 @1.235" with a 115 PD hp to put me right at 166pf. 11.2 gets me right at 169 pf. It is an extremely flat load in my gun but insanely loud.

I've also tried 11.3 of n105 to get me 169 pf but 3n38 is the flatter of the two for me. 

That 11.3 must fill the case up completely!