Please school me on 357 Short Barrel Loads

[HarryPottar]

Hi All,

Once again I'm back to lean on the brain trust that is NES.

I treated myself to an 8 shot, Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 627, with a 2.625 barrel length.

I'm already reloading both 38 Special and 357 Magnum for my 8 shot, 5 inch barreled Smith & Wesson Model 327 TRR8

I see that there is ammoniation made specifically for shot barrels, what makes a short barrel load? I assume just less powder or is it different powder (faster burning).

I use Titegroup on my 38 Specials and Lil' Gun on the 357 Magnum loads currently for the TRR8, apart from the tight group being a little dirty it works out quite well.

What can you expect from a short barrel load vs normal load and is it worth making separate loads?

Thanks in advance.

Harry

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

From all of my reading they use faster powders to get a proper burn. That being said faster powders won't give top velocities especially with heavier bullets.
Federal has a new deep seated HST 38 Special +P. Looks like they took a 38 cal HST with a big ol hollow point and seated it flush with the case mouth ala wadcutter. They claim is gives a better burn which makes sense. That's some tricky territory though. Deep setting can cause some serious pressure spikes real fast.
Another issue is most of the modern manuals don't list a lot of the faster powders for magnum loads. Not that they won't work but they're not optimal for it. I would check back on some older manuals for some Bullseye loads to see what you can work up to.
A chrono would be a great tool to see if you're getting the speed you need/want. Also remember that expanding bullets are meant to work at certain speeds and if you don't hit those speeds you might as well use a FMJ.
So I guess it all comes down to the intended use. Are you hitting paper and just want a big fireball and some recoil? Or do you want accuracy?

 

[browncoat]

From all of my reading they use faster powders to get a proper burn. That being said faster powders won't give top velocities especially with heavier bullets.
Federal has a new deep seated HST 38 Special +P. Looks like they took a 38 cal HST with a big ol hollow point and seated it flush with the case mouth ala wadcutter. They claim is gives a better burn which makes sense. That's some tricky territory though. Deep setting can cause some serious pressure spikes real fast.
Another issue is most of the modern manuals don't list a lot of the faster powders for magnum loads. Not that they won't work but they're not optimal for it. I would check back on some older manuals for some Bullseye loads to see what you can work up to.
A chrono would be a great tool to see if you're getting the speed you need/want. Also remember that expanding bullets are meant to work at certain speeds and if you don't hit those speeds you might as well use a FMJ.
So I guess it all comes down to the intended use. Are you hitting paper and just want a big fireball and some recoil? Or do you want accuracy?

Given all these factors, how much can you push a .357 snub past a .38 +P snub?

 

[rep308]

Given all these factors, how much can you push a .357 snub past a .38 +P snub?

Not enough to compensate for the recoil in my opinion but I look forward to learn more.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Hi All,

Once again I'm back to lean on the brain trust that is NES.

I treated myself to an 8 shot, Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 627, with a 2.625 barrel length.

I'm already reloading both 38 Special and 357 Magnum for my 8 shot, 5 inch barreled Smith & Wesson Model 327 TRR8

I see that there is ammoniation made specifically for shot barrels, what makes a short barrel load? I assume just less powder or is it different powder (faster burning).

I use Titegroup on my 38 Specials and Lil' Gun on the 357 Magnum loads currently for the TRR8, apart from the tight group being a little dirty it works out quite well.

What can you expect from a short barrel load vs normal load and is it worth making separate loads?

Thanks in advance.

Harry

It's mostly a gimmick to get people with short-barrel revolvers to buy their ammo over other brands. But they do use powder with chemicals to reduce the flash.

The only things that matter w/r/t performance is bullet weight and velocity. Compare yours (or anyone's) to the "special" ammo. Who cares how much powder is burned when if the results are the same?

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

This might give you an idea of what velocity loss you could expect. I'm not sure if any of these cartridges are specific to short barrel loads but I bet you can find more up to date info. I think lucky gunner did an article on it too.

 

[HarryPottar]

Thanks, I will buy some retail short barrel ammo and chronograph that against my normal loads next weekend through the 2.625 barrel and see what it yields.

I did find this on 44 specials short barrel vs long.


Harry