Does anyone have a pet load or an original factory duplicate load for the old .38/44? I have a 1934 Outdoorsman that I’ve unfortunately only had to the range once. I had some pretty stout loads with 2400 and 358429’s out of an older Lyman manual. Did some reading recently and found an article by Mike Venturino and his recommendation was a couple grains less than what I’d shot before! I’m just plinking with it so I guess I don’t need top end power but I’d like to load it a little warmer than standard .38’s. The one time I’ve had it out it wasn’t super impressive at 25 yards (probably my fault) but I was able to keep it on steel at a hundred yards about 5 of 6 shots.

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Dave Scovill's "Loading the Peacemaker - Colt's Model P" in which he references ".38-44 High Velocity".

I have used his data in my H-D's and (factoring in my "skill") seemed to work well.

I HAVE CUT MY "KEITH lOADS" BY ONE GRAIN OF #2400

I completely forgot I had that book! I pulled it off the shelf last night and did a quick scan. Looks like his load suggestions are in line with Mike V’s article. And that is pretty close to what I’ve loaded up to try this time.

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Sounds reasonable. I’ve read many times that newer 240p is a bit warmer than teh old stuff. Plus we have more scientific means of testing pressure and velocity than Mr Keith did back in the day!

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Same here. Not just in this cartridge, but across the board.

My most used load is 5 gr of Unique under that 170+ grain bullet.

It shoots great in just about any .38 or .357 I own. It is not a barn burner, but it is a bit more than the manuals show as maximum these days. It will kill pigs though and that bullet seems to stay stable over longer distances.

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No

Great to see you here compadre.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

printed off the pages I use and put them in a 3 ring binder.

http://sixguns.com/tests/index.html

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Thanks for that Rob! I have many printed but seem to struggle with finding more. Bookmarked this time.