Starting point for .38 special for ICORE

[Mcfoto]

Been shooting my Smith 66 in ICORE and tired of paying for factory ammo. Looking into hand loading. When I use the Googles on beginner revolver loads, seems to point more toward Cowboy shooters with wadcutters and Trail Boss. I know for speedloader reloads, wadcutters are a bad idea. Also there seems to be a debate on whether to start with a single stage to learn hand-loading or cry once and go progressive. I shoot around 8 ICORE matches a year (to give you the idea of how much volume I'll need) - not crazy enough to shoot revolver in USPSA until I upgrade to an 8-shot. Also, wonder if roll crimping lead is advantageous over taper with FMJ. I do have a Wolf spring set in my revolver but the retainer screw is still all the way down.

 

Any thoughts on direction would be appreciated.

Edited June 27, 2018 by Mcfoto

[4n2t0]

I'm not an ICORE guy but wouldn't you want to shoot SC for speed? Also, I think the minimum PF for ICORE is 120. You should choose a press that will meet your goals. Starting on a single stage press is completely unnecessary unless that's the press you want based on your goals. Personally, pistol + volume = progressive.

[Mcfoto]

1 minute ago, 4n2t0 said:

I'm not an ICORE guy but wouldn't you want to shoot SC for speed? Also, I think the minimum PF for ICORE is 120. You should choose a press that will meet your goals. Starting on a single stage press is completely unnecessary unless that's the press you want based on your goals. Personally, pistol + volume = progressive.

 

Re: SC, yes eventually but have a healthy supply of special brass on hand, once fired (by me).

[4n2t0]

1 minute ago, Mcfoto said:

 

Re: SC, yes eventually but have a healthy supply of special brass on hand, once fired (by me).

 

Which means you have a lot of SC's waiting to be made, lol.

[Mcfoto]

Just now, 4n2t0 said:

 

Which means you have a lot of SC's waiting to be made, lol.

 

Good point but I'm still trying to wrap my brain around basic re-loading and don't want to tackle extreme brass trimming right out the gate.

[4n2t0]

Just now, Mcfoto said:

 

Good point but I'm still trying to wrap my brain around basic re-loading and don't want to tackle extreme brass trimming right out the gate.

 

Fair enough.

 

Good luck with the decision making, I'm sure more experienced ICOREers will jump in shortly and provide you with better information.

 

Cheers!

[radny97]

I’ve gone through your exact process in the last two years. If I were you I would plan on eventually moving to 38 short colt if you like it enough. But for now stick with 38 special.  Have a couple thousand brass casings around. As the starting press I would recommend the lee classic turret. It allows you to have the advantages of learning kind of like single stage but it’s a lot faster. About 150 rounds an hour. I experimented a lot with plated bullets but ultimately found that I preferred coated bullets. Bayou bullets cater specifically ICORE and has the right taper on their bullets for fast reloads In revolver. But there are lots of good bullet makers. Use taper crimp with coated bullets. 

Lots of powders work. You want something super clean, not temperature or case position sensitive, not prone to double charge (ie no titegroup), and fast burning (for the lower recoil). I tried WW231 and it was temperature sensitive and i eventually got some flakes under the ejector star, causing a stoppage. Bullseye was better. VV320 is perfect but a little expensive. I eventually settled on American Select (which is great as long as you can get it to meter right.) 

good luck

Edited June 27, 2018 by radny97

[2tuf4u]

Radny97  What bullet weight did you use to hit the 120 pf with least recoil chara ?.

[radny97]

Right now I’m running 135 gn bayou over 3.7 grains of American Select in 38 Short Colts. Makes 130 pf. Before i made the switch to 38 Short Colt i was running 160 gn bayous over 4.0 gn of American Select in 38 special. Also made 130 pf. Good for both ICORE and USPSA. 

I have large hands so the snappiness of the lighter bullets doesn’t really affect me that much. I tend to prefer it over the push of a heavier bullet (to some degree) because with the snap of the light bullet I can return to target very quickly 

[jcc7x7]

Dillon 550 or higher

160 bayou rn

Clay dot, E3, type powder

Federal primers for lightest action work ignition

Chrono load to 128ish so it is usable for uspsa and always makes Chrono at icore

[Hi-Power Jack]

If you'll be loading only .38, the SDB for $400 is PERFECT.

 

Preference for lighter or heavier bullets is very personal,

and best tested individually.

 

If you have a powerful grip, you'll probably prefer the lighter

bullets.  If you don't have a powerful grip (like me) you'll

probably prefer the heavier bullets     

 

Learning to reload .38 is about as simple as it can get -

I'd look at past postings on Reloading .38 right here on

BE Forums.

[practical_man]

McFoto

 

lots of good advice here already. 

 

Dont start with single stage stage press for pistol. It will aggravate you to no end. In the old days that’s all we had but Dillon changed it for the better. Buy a 550 or 650 and don’t look back. 

 

I have an SDB. It’s a great press but a little hard to get big fingers in those small places. I upgraded to a 550 and haven’t looked back. The SDB stays set up for 45 ball ammo. Everything else is loaded on the 550. 

 

Bayou Bullets are pretty consistent. I like them for action games. Penn Bullets are decent for Precision Pistol when not shooting jacketed. 

 

Federal or Winchester Primers. 

 

Powder. Fast powder works great in 38. There are so many choices. I like 231 and Bullseye.  I use Clays and TiteGroup when I have them on the shelf. I have in times of powder shortage used Universal, Unique, and Red Dot with good result in 38 Special. The moral of that story is just pick a fast shotgun or pistol powder that you can get locally and get to work. 38 Special is very forgiving. Don’t get hung up on ball vs flake powder metering. It’s a minor factor here; not like you’re trying to chop up Varget stick powder for 308 Win. loads

 

Taper crimp gives better accuracy for me in light loads. I do roll crimp magnum loads with lead bullets, but that’s a different game. 

 

If if you buy Dillon dies they will produce good ammo after you adjust them. Less crimp is almost always better for pistol ammo. 

 

Enjoy the hobby. Don’t over think it. A 550 will pay for itself in short order compared to buying factory ammo. 

Edited June 27, 2018 by practical_man
Correct spelling

[1986s4]

I've been using a Dillon SQDB since 1996. I don't think there's an original part on it due to Dillon's excellent warranty. I use coated bullets, currently using 147 gr, .357 with VV N320. Makes PF and clean burning. 

[Gersh78]

On 6/27/2018 at 6:29 PM, 1986s4 said:

I've been using a Dillon SQDB since 1996. I don't think there's an original part on it due to Dillon's excellent warranty. I use coated bullets, currently using 147 gr, .357 with VV N320. Makes PF and clean burning. 

I could NOT get VV N320 to work with 158gr LRN for my .38 Special! It worked with lighter 128 grain and also VERY well with 115 HAP in 9mm!  So darn clean.  110 round count match last sunday and pistol was clean in about 2 minutes!

After N320 not working, I loaded with Win 231; it made PF on my first estimated load. 

[Hi-Power Jack]

1 hour ago, Gersh78 said:

 

After N320 not working, I loaded with Win 231; 

 

That's my load for 147's.   

 

BUT, what wouldn't work with the N320 ?

[4n2t0]

21 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

BUT, what wouldn't work with the N320 ?

 

I'm curious as well because my 4.0gr load of N320 works well in my 66.

Edited July 5, 2018 by 4n2t0

[Mcfoto]

Thanks for all the input. I'm starting with HP-38, Winchester primers (although my 66 can set off CCI), and some speer FMJ just because they are all locally readily available and in the load data book I have. Based on the above, I've also ordered some Bayou 160 RN as I think that's what's going to be best for competition (power factor plus ease of load). Not trying to overthink but since I'm new to this: Hodson doesn't list 160 gr on their load data but a 158 cast so probably close enough to begin at the starting point. But how does one extrapolate COL? Does it really matter on a revolver since they give you the crimp line to get to?

 

Thanks again for all the input.