.38 Short Colts for Competition Revolver... Anyone?

[JayW]

I would like to try out USPSA shooting. I recently purchased a S&W 686 SSR. A guy at my club competes. He told me he loads .38 Short Colts with a 200 Grain Bullet using 2 grains of Bullseye. Sounds pretty odd and I cannot find a lot about it online except for the British doing something similar with .38 S&W a hundred years ago. Does anyone know anything about this type of load?

I was told it helps with recoil... obviously. I was also told it help with extracting and reloading the cylinder with a speedloader. Any truth to that statement?

I am considering cutting down some .38 Special cases and giving it a try.

 

[M1911]

I was told it helps with recoil... obviously. I was also told it help with extracting and reloading the cylinder with a speedloader. Any truth to that statement?

Shorter cartridges are easier to get into the cylinder.

 

[*chris*]

PM eisenhow, I think he uses long colt trimmed for some reason. I do have a few hundred short colt, but I never got around to loading them.

Chris

 

[alohadoug]

Look up Josh Lentz online or on Facebook. He uses those rounds in his competition (USPSA) though I think he's switching to 929 like the rest of S&W shooter.

Aloha

 

[M1911]

Look up Josh Lentz online or on Facebook. He uses those rounds in his competition (USPSA) though I think he's switching to 929 like the rest of S&W shooter. Aloha

Have they fixed all the bugs in the 929?

 

[alohadoug]

According to his Facebook, his are worked over by the Performance Center and Apex Tactical.

 

[Cuz]

There are more than a few people shooting 38 short colts in their S&W 627's up at Wallum Lake. They are great for shooting steel. I bet you'd have a tough time making minor with them if you shot USPSA.

 

[M1911]

There are more than a few people shooting 38 short colts in their S&W 627's up at Wallum Lake. They are great for shooting steel. I bet you'd have a tough time making minor with them if you shot USPSA.

Eisenhow shoots them in USPSA and I assume that he makes minor.

 

[eisenhow]

I shoot "mid-colt" which are .38 spl cut down to 38 super length (0.900"). I got the idea from Dave P (10mmDave). Cutting them down is a huge PITA. I've got 3-4k Federal and Remington .38spl cut down. You can buy starline 38 short colt which are close to 9mm length. You can use 9mm loads as a starting point for your loads. You can also use 38 long colt which are between short colt and 38 spl length. If you are reloading on the clock the most important thing is the fit between the moonclip and the brass. The SAAMI spec does not specify the dimensions of the brass that are important to moonclip fit so every brass manufacturer does it differently. The cost of the brass is a non-issue because you get it all back. The cost of the moonclips vary widely. I use the stamped .025" thick nickel ones from revolver supply. These fit Federal and Remington brass almost as well as Hertco + starline. If you buy them in quantity they are <$2 each where the wire EDM ones from Herthco are $6-8 each. It's nice to have 50-100 clips so you can go to a match and not have demoon and remoon all day. Contact George at revolver supply and he'll send you some samples to try with your brass.

IIRC M1911 I think I chrono'd ~137PF at A7. BTW, I've also read if you use fast powders with heavy bullets (>=147) in short colts you may run into pressure problems. You can get sticky extraction and shorter case life.

 

[bill o]

Yup, do what Eisenhow recommends. You can also get solid advice on the Brian Enos forums.

 

[JayW]

Thank you eisenhow for this information. I will check this out.

- - - Updated - - -

Yup, do what Eisenhow recommends. You can also get solid advice on the Brian Enos forums.

Never heard of Brian Enos forum. Thanks.

 

[saltydude]

Some of the fastest reloads I've ever witnessed next to Dave P's reloads with his 610 or 625 was done with .38 colts. Can't remember exactly what the dudes name was now. Sallztimers.

 

[eisenhow]

Some of the fastest reloads I've ever witnessed next to Dave P's reloads with his 610 or 625 was done with .38 colts. Can't remember exactly what the dudes name was now. Sallztimers.

Dave is the man. If it was a 6 shot it was a 610 with 40 S&W. If was an 8-shot it was a 627 with 38 super or 38 mid-colt.

 

[saltydude]

Dave is the man.

Yup. Only dude I've ever seen touch off an entire cylinder of hot bowling pin loads in a blink of an eye and see all the targets simultaneously spinning and flying off the table a once. A sight to whiteness indeed.

 

[peterthefish]

One thing I'll say - not sure I've ever seen anyone shooting a 200 GR bullet in 38 SC. 160 or 165 seems to be be the high end commonly loaded - I shoot 147s. No problem making minor. Heck I have some loads with 3N38 that make major.

Shorter cartridges not only go in easier but come out easier to (less likely to snag or the extractor or grips).

 

[JayW]

I just bought a 160 grn mold (Lyman #358311) from Outback Arms. That place is great BTW. The amount of reloading items they have in MA cannot be beat. Anyway, I found some 38 short colt cases my father had and did not want. I will try and load them up and see how they shoot.

 

[Dnotarianni]

What a nice neat idea with the can. I was using Tupperware. Stealing this idea.

Back to original poster, 38 SC works well but I have seen the big poppers be stubborn with short colts unless your doing head shots.
Dave