Need Recommendation .38 Light Load

[BigDog58]

I'm about to load some .38 Spcl. for my wife's S&W 642 Airweight and want to know if anyone has worked up a "Light Load"? I have 125 gr. plated and 157 gr. cast boolits and wadcutters. I'm planning to use Bullseye powder. I also have Power Pistol, Lil-Gun available. I want something that isn't going to hammer her like her self defense ammo does. She needs a load for Plinking.

Thanks

BD58

[FJ540]

I thought .38spc was already the light load. :p

[rugersol]

Alliant .pdf shows 2.8gr fer 125gr, and 3.0gr fer 140gr... of bullseye... both cast bullets... right around 700fps fer both!

[BigDog58]

Thanks. I'm sort of committed to using the Bullseye due to the fact I have a Full 4# can that was obtained for $20 along with many other cheap items. All thanks to Armslist and Craigslist.

The 125's I have are Plated from Berry's so should I consider their loads as lead? I also have many 158 gr, wadcutters, semi-wadcutters and some jacketed Soft Hollow points. Jacket goes about half way up then the rest is exposed lead.

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm tryin to get my wife to shoot her .38 more instead of shooting a few then start shooting my Glock 17, because the .38 hammers her. She even likes shooting my G-30 says it's recoil is less?

I really want to surprise her at the range and give her a safe light recoil shooting session.

[TTS]

Thanks. I'm sort of committed to using the Bullseye due to the fact I have a Full 4# can that was obtained for $20 along with many other cheap items. All thanks to Armslist and Craigslist.

The 125's I have are Plated from Berry's so should I consider their loads as lead? I also have many 158 gr, wadcutters, semi-wadcutters and some jacketed Soft Hollow points. Jacket goes about half way up then the rest is exposed lead.

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm tryin to get my wife to shoot her .38 more instead of shooting a few then start shooting my Glock 17, because the .38 hammers her. She even likes shooting my G-30 says it's recoil is less?

I really want to surprise her at the range and give her a safe light recoil shooting session.

Get her a Glock and you won't have to worry

[goett047]

I can see her thinking the recoil is less. The 642 is a pretty small gun. The 30 is the best shooting Glock IMO and has more of a firm push than a snap like a snubbie

[rugersol]

The 125's I have are Plated from Berry's so should I consider their loads as lead? I also have many 158 gr, wadcutters, semi-wadcutters and some jacketed Soft Hollow points. Jacket goes about half way up then the rest is exposed lead.

I wouldn't even consider power pistol or Lil gun!

At this end of the spectrum, the biggest concern is a squib... not the end of the world... if ya know it, fore ya shoot nother!

IMO, cast bullets have less resistance, in the bore... with nearly any other type of load, all else bein equal, jacketed bullets require more powder, fer the same fps! At which, I wouldn't try the semi-jacketed bullets!

Plated ain't nearly as much reason fer concern... maybe start with 3.0gr fer the 125's?!

As both loads are gonna net the same fps, the 125's will feel considerably "lighter" ... so I'd stick with them!

Nothin wrong with a carry gun that ain't left at home!... but the 642 ain't meant to be shot, a lot! ... if ya can find an old S&W model 10 that still locks up good, that'd make a great complementary range gun!... otherwise, I'd consider switching to a P238!

[Seismic Sam]

Yeah, the 2.8 grs. of Bullseye sounds about right. And FWIW, Bullseye is a very good powder for 38 Special loads, so it's not like you're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. The good news/bad news is that with 4 pounds of Bullseye with such a tiny little charge, it will take you 10,000 loads even to use up the powder! That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how much you want to shoot and/or how long you want to be able to shoot without having to buy more powder.

The 642 is going to be much more of an issue, and it's possible that just because it's small and light as air may not mean it's user friendly or inviting to shoot. I shoot a S&W 500 with stiff loads, and if you handed me one of those little Scandium beasts with 357 Mag ammo in it, I'd tell you no EFFEN thanks. As such, you may or may not be able to get your wife to shoot the gun and like it, and if you can't then it's time to trade it in for something else. If worst comes to worst, take her up to Bill's North, introduce her to Theresa, and then STFU and GTFO and go have a beer someplace for an hour or two. While the first part of carrying is to have a gun that you WILL carry all the time, that only gets you to first base, and if it's a gun that can't/won't get shot a lot, then you're stuck at first and if TSHTF, then it's game over with the home team losing.

[rugersol]

FWIW...

load up a dozen rounds... no more!... take them, the actual gun ya'll use em with, a squib rod, and a short chunk of 2x4, to the range... fer every shot, first tap the muzzle, pointed at least 45 degrees down, on the 2x4... then slowly raise the muzzle up to the target... keeping the hammer higher, all the way... and slowly squeeze the trigger... use the squib rod, after EVERY shot, to ensure the bbl's clear!... this tests yer loads with the powder about as far away from the primer as it's likely to get!... if none of them dozen squibs, it likely never will (with normal shooting)!

As always, best to use a chronograph!... at bout 500fps (shot, as described, above), I'd call it a day!

[DanM]

Even using the lightest load listed for Universal Clays in my 642, I don't enjoy shooting them. It's a great gun to carry, but it's just too light to shoot very much for fun. So I practice with light loads, then a few carry loads and that's all for that gun. My 1911 with IDPA loads is much more comfortable. I can shoot that one all day.

Found a recoil calculator on the web somewhere recently and calculated the recoil impulse for the 642 using my reload data (chrono speeds and bullet weight). Amazingly high numbers for the snub nose compared to a 1911!

[rugersol]

... it's a belly-gun!

No, it ain't comfortable to shoot ... and if ya don't practice, ya'll never hit **** with it ... at more than arm's length!

But, ya load it up with +P's, and jam it up into the bad-guy's rib-cage (presuming he ain't already jammed somethin' up into yer's! ), and squeeze the trigger ... again, and again ... 'til the problem's solved! It'll hurt! ... but ya won't miss!

All the practice that requires is drawing (from concealment), and dry-firing!

If ya got visions of a duel at 20 paces 'er such, ya might rather look into somethin' like these ... http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/235724/

... or, as I mentioned, a P238!

[Seismic Sam]

The other thing that enters into felt recoil is geometry, and the higher the gun is above the web of your hand, AND the less you have to hang onto, the more the gun will try to come up and back and make it feel very uncomfortable. Case in point: I have an EAA 38 Super running 9x23 Winchester, and a Sig P226 Stainless Elite running full power 357 Sig loads. Both guns put a 125 grain JHP out the bore at 1450 FPS, but the felt recoil from the EAA is WAAAYYYY less. While the Sig slide is sitting "high in the saddle", the EAA slide is so damn low that it almost looks like part of the frame. The 642 and its small grip don't get good grades in Geometry class...

[BigDog58]

Rugersol thank for the suggestion. I believe I will try it when we hit the gun club (after it warms up a bit..too dam cold for this Fla. Transplant to be shooting outside) . All of the suggestions here are great. I need her to get more practice with her gun because it's her Conceal Carry gun. After she gets finished with the drills we have lined up, I'll turn her loose with my Block 17 for fun time. I bought her (she picked it out) the wheel gun because I just started training her to shoot two years ago. She's an excellent learner and a very good shot, but she doesn't have the discipline to practice clearing malfunctions that can occur with a semi-auto
After I tried working with her using my Glock and me explaining my reasons she might be better off with a revolver, she agreed and we went to a gun show and picked out the 642. Of course, I had to "feminise" it a little, by putting pink grips on it...lol. I've purchased her a couple speed loaders and she does practice clearing and reloading often, using dummy rounds of course.

[DanM]

That's great that your wife shoots. I wish my wife would. Tried to get her to a Woman On Target event, but she just isn't interested. Consider yourself fortunate.

[SIGP240]

148 HBWC LEAD WITH 2.7 gr. Bullseye. Accurate, low recoil and cheap