Charley Moon Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 To all who use an older break top for "pocket pistol" matches: I want to know if you have a good smokeless load that is safe to use in an older break top in .38 smith and wesson cal. I have a hopkins and allen break top revolver (circa early 1900's) in very good condition that I have shot black powder reloads in but I would like to use smokeless. I have 140 gr. rnfp lead bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Sgt. Jake McCandless #3368 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Both of my S&W's are both older than 1900 so they are only loaded with the original powder,I would rather keep shooting both of them.Here is some data that includes data for break tops,I have no idea if it is safe I am not willing to take that risk. http://www.reloadammo.com/38sw.htm Adios Sgt. Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubious Don #56333 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Most of these were made for BP, not smokeless and they're not exactly top o the line quality. If it were me, I wouldn't even shoot BP in them. TrailBoss is a light, low pressure smokeless powder. I'd go with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Fill 'Em 67797 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Lookee here 38 S&W load info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulsey, SASS#11236 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 The 38 S&W has a larger diameter than the 38 Special, 360 vs 358. Regular 358 bullets will rattle around so to speak. A few editions back Speer had loads using the 148 HBWC bullet. The hb bullet acted like an old Mini-ball and helped seal the bullet in the barrel, They also seated the bullet out to about the regular overall length. They worked just fine. You want to consider that bullet with TB. There are some posts that talk about using the 9 mm Mar bullet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butch McGie, SASS#71758 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 You can get .361 bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. 500 for around $35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charley Moon Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 I have .360, 140 gr. bullets, those are what I was using for my BP loads. As I understand it Trail Boss powder wouldn't be advisable to use because of the small case, therefore not enough TB could fill the case to provide the bullet with enough velocity possibly producing a squib load. Have any of you used TB in a .38 S&W load? I use TB in my .45 colt loads and I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 With a .360" 158 grain bullet that I get from betterbullets.com I have two loads that I have had good luck with. The first load was with Win 231, and it gave me a round that seemed very similar to Remington factory ammo. But, wishing to have a lighter load to use in older guns, I switch to Trail Boss. I have 2 loads with TB, one using the same bullet I'd used with 231, which is a very mild load, and another load using a hollow based 150 grain .357" bullet. The latter load I developed for use in a couple of guns with oversized bores, and it works well. For the Trail Boss loads, I used the "formula" to develop them, but I'll be happy to PM you the specs if you want them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Charley, Did you get my message with the loads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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