Reloading 38-40 & 10 MM
Have a Ruger Blackhawk with 10mm and 38-40 cylinders. Don't want to be foolish but would like to work up a good deer load. Hunting from a stand, shots within 50 yards. Question is which cylinder to use for best load. I'm assuming 10 mm brass is stronger, but 38.40 has greater capacity and Starline brass should be reasonably strong. I'm thinking that a 200 grain jacketed bullet should be able to be safely driven to around 1,200 fps but all data I've been able to find is either for the semi-auto's (10mm) or older single actions like the colt (38-40). Nothing like what should be reasonable in the Ruger S.A.
Any general thoughts or load suggestions greatly appreciated.
Rob
Rob
Any general thoughts or load suggestions greatly appreciated.
Rob
Rob
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Your wasting your time fooling around reloading 38-40 brass. Go with 10mm.
Here is a reloading forum specifically for 10mm. It will give you all the data you need, including all the hot loads your looking for.
http://www.glocktalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=2eb70a1d0603a155d4c7d483c66250fe&forumid=67
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Hello Rob,
In your Ruger, you can load the 38-40 cartridge fairly hot (close to 44 Mag levels). Use Winchester brass, and have at it. Your Ruger will easily digest just about any load you want to try.
For what it is worth, I own an original Winchester Model 1885 Single-shot (high-wall) chambered for this cartridge, and I load it with 19.5 grains of 2400 behind a 200 JSP. It is quite deadly & accurate out to 150 yards (but I have a 30" full octagon barrel). Winchester many years ago used to load a special high velocity loading (W.H.V.) specifically for the Model 1892 (and its sibling Models 53 & 65), and for the WInchester Single-Shot. It pushed a 180 JSP @1775 fps out of a 24" barrel. That loading will easily take a deer at 50 yards with good shot placement.
Bert H.
Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!0 -
quote:Originally posted by rufe-snow
Your wasting your time fooling around reloading 38-40 brass. Go with 10mm.
rufe-snow...
I will respectfully disagree with you above statement. The Winchester 38-40 (38 W.C.F.) cartridge is more than capable of delivering some fairly impresssive ballistics in the right gun. It has a reputation as being weak soley because all of the current factory loads are kept quite anemic so that the idiots out there can't blow up their old Winchester Model 1873s rifles and old Colt pistols.
Bert H.
Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!0 -
Bert,
Thanks for the comments on the 38-40. As for your "real men" line, it reminds me of something my dad told me when I first took to the woods with a Ruger #1. "If there were more single shots going into the woods, there'd be more deer coming out of the woods."
Regards,
Rob
Rob0 -
I know you're wanting reloading information, but you might check out this site (http://doubletapammo.com/main_site/index.html) for an indication of what the 10mm can do performance-wise and still be within original specs. This stuff is powerful, I use thier lighter loads (135's-165's) for CCW and home defense.
For instance, one of his loads for defense is a 135 grain bullet that flies at 1,600 fps and has over 750 ft. lbs. or energy and his 200 grain hunting bullet flies at 1250fps and has 694 ft. lbs. of energy.
I would get a few boxes of his ammo (he's a GREAT guy to do business with and even though he's a business man, he might even give you some good tips on loading the 10mm too - he's a major 10mm fan). Try out his ammo, it'll at least give you a reference point to try to acheive with your own loadings. From all the research I've done he's fairly conservative on his advertised velocity and energy ratings.
I'll email you (if you've got it set up here on GB) how you can contact him about the 10mm loads through another forum if you desire. He's a wealth of information...0 -
I believe Mike/bambihunter should be getting some money from doubletapammo for his referals to doubletapammo. I must admit it is very good ammo. [8D]
Greg
Former Marine
A N G L I C O0 -
I too have a Ruger in 38-40, had an old model 3-screw converted by Clements. My one and only load for it is a 180 gr Hornady XTP 10 mm bullet over 18.0 gr 2400 in starline brass. I haven't chronographed it but according to an article by John Taffin, I'm guessing it's in the 1200-1250 fps range (http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm). This load works great in my gun, can't say for yours, but you can certainly load up to it, watch for pressure signs, and back off from there.
Here's another article, written by a friend of mine who's also into the 38 WCF. Should give you some more info: http://free.hostdepartment.com/c/cas45reamer/38-40Magnum.html
Have fun with it, it's a grand old cartridge!!!
BB45C0 -
BB45C,
Thanks for the load data and article reference. I'll check it out tonight. Sounds like the direction I'm heading.
Rob
Rob0 -
If I may act as a bit of an arbiter here, the way I read rufe's post is as a criticism of the brass rather than the cartridge? If that is the case, then I would submit he has a valid point since the .38 WCF casings, as a genre, have a history of being more prone to damage than most designs in the reloading process. I've not loaded any in years and I have a good opinion of Starline's brass, so this may well be the product to lay this "common knowledge" to rest, but I do think he has a point.
As to the capability of the cartridge . . . hey, in a strong action, loaded to realize its potential, it is a fine round within the inherent limitations of this cartridge capacity.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals / demoMAGGOTS" (me)0 -
Iconoclast,
Only problem I've encountered to date with brass is the thing neck that the .38-40 shares with the .32.20 and 44.40. Almost sold an Old Colt Bisley because I was tired of buckled necks, etc. Fortunately I discovered that the Lee Factory Crimping die completely eliminated that problem.
Rob
Rob0
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