Did I buy the wrong bullets?

[HangEmHigh]

I bought a bag of Winchester bullets to load .38 Specials. The bag is labeled:

Mfg Item Num: WB38MC130
Bullet Type :Full Metal Jacket
Caliber :38 Cal.
Weight :130 gr
Quantity :100 Per Bag

I realized that something was wrong when I couldnt find any recipes for 130 grain .38 Special loads in my reloading manuals or online. I looked up the item number on Winchester's site and saw that they were .356 not .357.

Im assuming that I bought a bag of .38 Super bullets and not .38 Special bullets. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Scrivener]

Weight and diameter suggest that they are indeed .38 Super bullets.

Which may or may not work acceptably in your .357 / .38 Special.

 

[WILDCATT]

bullets??

Thats the 38 super weight.why buy jacketed bullets,are you just plinking.I have not bought jacket for a pistol yet.I use 148 gr hbwc[Hornady]reverse and they make hell of hole.course I belong to club with reloading room and cast bullet equipment.I own about 30 moulds 6 and 4 cavity.

 

[HangEmHigh]

Thats the 38 super weight.why buy jacketed bullets,are you just plinking.I have not bought jacket for a pistol yet.I use 148 gr hbwc[Hornady]reverse and they make hell of hole.course I belong to club with reloading room and cast bullet equipment.I own about 30 moulds 6 and 4 cavity.

I just picked up some 148gr wadcutters. Im still not sure what sort of crimp I am going to need. Ive been told to seat them flush with the end of the case. What kind of crimp are you using on your loads?

 

[rscalzo]

Depends where you shoot. Our club will not allow lead on the indoor range except for 22lr. Jacketed or plated are mandatory.

 

[Dick]

I just picked up some 148gr wadcutters. Im still not sure what sort of crimp I am going to need. Ive been told to seat them flush with the end of the case. What kind of crimp are you using on your loads?

Seat them flush with, or just a tad below, the end of the case and apply a light roll crimp. That's what I've been doing with my .38 and .357 target loads for many, many years with no problems.

 

[Scrivener]

I realized that something was wrong when I couldnt find any recipes for 130 grain .38 Special loads in my reloading manuals or online. I looked up the item number on Winchester's site and saw that they were .356 not .357.

Im assuming that I bought a bag of .38 Super bullets and not .38 Special bullets. Can anyone confirm?

Yes. You have made a horrible, and nearly fatal, mistake. Thank your lucky stars I arrived in time to save you.

Send them to me, immediately, for safe disposal of this hazardous ordnance. I will neutralize them - one at at time - through my SVI, which has been specially crafted for this specific purpose.

The life you save may be your own!

 

[Patriot]

I just picked up some 148gr wadcutters. Im still not sure what sort of crimp I am going to need. Ive been told to seat them flush with the end of the case. What kind of crimp are you using on your loads?

Are these what you bought?

If so, the correct length that is specified in the reloading manual ought to have them seated
just about at the end of the outer most groove. I just reloaded a bunch of these and all that
was left showing was just the end of the bullet, no grooves. I was using AA #2, 3.5gns in
a .357 case.

 

[HangEmHigh]

Yes. You have made a horrible, and nearly fatal, mistake. Thank your lucky stars I arrived in time to save you.

Any chance you'd like to trade them for 9mm, 38 or .223 bullets?

 

[HangEmHigh]

Are these what you bought?

They very similar, but they have only one lube channel instead of the two in your picture.

 

[HangEmHigh]

If so, the correct length that is specified in the reloading manual ought to have them seated
just about at the end of the outer most groove. I just reloaded a bunch of these and all that
was left showing was just the end of the bullet, no grooves. I was using AA #2, 3.5gns in
a .357 case.

Did you use a crimp or just seat them?

The dies I am using are the Lee Carbide 3-Die Set. This set does not come with the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Im assuming Ill need another separate die if I find I need to roll crimp.

 

[Patriot]

Did you use a crimp or just seat them?

The dies I am using are the Lee Carbide 3-Die Set. This set does not come with the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Im assuming Ill need another separate die if I find I need to roll crimp.

Hi elw,

I just looked up the measurement for the .38 special and the cartridge OAL is 1.252" with
the 148gn DEWC (like in the picture I posted). Since the case length is 1.155" there will be
just about a tenth of an inch of bullet showing on a .38spl reload. I'm using a Dillon die set
and I didn't feel the need to roll crimp them as using the Dillon crimp die I crimp to just
slightly over the nominal diameter of the case (personal preference) with these bullets.
They seat nice and tight so there is no issue with retention. You need to get the case
mouth size down after you expand it to seat the bullet so crimping is necessary. I try to
keep the case mouth expansion to the minimum possible when expanding. This is so that I
do not stress it (the case mouth) too much. I think I am possibly extending case life since
a lot of case failures that happen are at the case mouth but I have no clue if this is so.

If you are going to roll crimp I would set the bullets a bit higher in the case and roll the
crimp into the outer groove.

TBP

 

[Scrivener]

Any chance you'd like to trade them for 9mm, 38 or .223 bullets?

Thanks for the offer, but it isn't worth working up a load for only 100 bullets.