Can you use black powder in .38 special casings?

Like to load into a modern .38/.357 revolver? Would the modern round and weapon work fine with black powder? And how much should be sued?Can you use black powder in .38 special casings?
Yes, you could use black powder in 38 specials. 38 special was designed to use black powder from the very beginning. This is the reason why their case is ';oversized'; compare to smokeless cartridges such as 9mm Luger.





Loading black powder cartridges is a little different from loading smokeless cartridges. Black powder is a low grade explosive and it burns a lot faster than smokeless powder. You CAN NOT have ANY air space in the cartridge because air (ie: oxygen) will speed up the already fast burning rate of black powder and the combination could be explosive! You could eliminate air spaces in the powder by using a drop tube. As a rule of thumb, you always fill the case with enough black powder so the powder is compressed once the bullet is seated; this will further reduce the chance of having air spaces inside the cartridge. Many use a wad (optional) between powder and the bullet to protect bullet base, reduce leading and prevent direct contact between bullet lube and powder. You could cut the wads out of cardboard with wad cutter punches or you could buy commercial wads for your caliber.





The pressure build up with smokeless powder is gradual. Black powder will burn almost instantaneously once ignited and it will create a sudden pressure spike. Use ONLY lead bullets in black powder cartridges. Jacketed bullets will create more resistance inside a barrel and cause the pressure to build up to dangerous levels.





Hard bullet lubes designed for smokeless powder will not work with black powder because they melt at higher temperature. Many people make their own bullet lube at home. Mixes such as bee wax and lard or bee wax and alox is common. The woman in the house will kill me if I mix those in her kitchen so I was limited to commercially made SPG lube and a heating element in my corner inside the garage. I apply the lube by melting the lube in a small pan and stand cast bullets base first in the lube. I use a deprimed spent case to cut the bullets out of the lube. Then I push the bullet out by poking a bent paper clip through the primer hole.





You can use black powder cartridges in both single action and double action revolvers. Just remember to clean your gun properly because black powder is corrosive. If you leave black powder residue on your gun long enough, the residue will damage metal surfaces and damage your gun's blue finish. Be sure to clean ALL metal parts and scrub between all gaps. I'm sure your gun won't mind a warm bath. LOL





I recommend that you get a book on black powder cartridge reloading before you do anything. The book will give you more information. Also, there are companies that sell black powder cowboy cast lead bullets. I'm pretty sure you won't have any problem finding them online. Just in case you didn't know, most indoor shooting ranges don't allow black powder. Have fun reloading and make lot's of white smoke.Can you use black powder in .38 special casings?
Here is the deal Max.





You can certainly use blackpowder in a .38 SPL case. The first .38 SPL cartridges were factory loaded with blackpowder.





I do not recommend you use blackpowder cartridges in a double-action revolver due to corrosion and powder fouling issues.





Using blackpowder in a Colt-style single-action revolver is not as much problem. Detail stripping a Peacemaker or copy thereof is not that difficult, and if you shoot blackpowder, you need to detail strip and clean it after every range session. Detail stripping a double-action revolver is a pain in the butt!!!!





And you use different reloading procedures with blackpowder than you do smokeless powder.





For one thing, you don't use the same powder measure you use with smokeless powder, the static electricity that builds up on the polycarbonate body of the powder hopper can cause blackpowder to explode. Most folks use a volumetric powder measure to measure the powder charges rather than weighing each charge.





Another difference is that you need a drop tube, at least 20'; long and 24'; preferred. The drop tube needs to be made of copper, brass, aluminum might do as well. It needs to be a material that won't spark if it strikes metal, and that won't build up static electricity charges. Using the drop tube allows the powder granules to align themselves and allows you to get more powder into the cartridge case.





Speaking of powder, you will have to experiment to find out how much powder you need. All blackpowder charges need to fill the case to the point that seating the bullet compresses the powder charge by 1/16'; to 1/8';. And there needs to be a wad between powder and bullet. Some folks make a wafer of lube, others use a cardboard overpowder wad cut from the thing cardboard like what comes in shirts, or even business cards. This overpowder wad protects the base of the bullet from distortion by the powder gases, which improves accuracy.





After you drop the powder into the case, the bullet seating and crimping are the same as with smokeless powder cartridges.





Doc
Yes, you can use black powder in a .38 Special cartridge with no probllem from an over pressure standpoint. However, you must realize that black powder is very corrosive and if you don't get the gun thoroughly cleaned it will corrode up. I shoot muzzleloaders quitre a bit and immediately after getting home I clean my gun by washing it with soap and water, rinsing it with boiling water and spraying it with WD-40. Then I wipe it down with a good gun oil. Do you want to do that with your revolver?





If you decide to go ahead with shooting black powder in your modern revolver, be sure to completely fill the case with fffG black powder. Yes, that is right, FILL the case and leave only enough room at the top to get your bullet into the shell. Here is the reason: Black powder has a different burning rate than smokeless powder. Smokeless powder is a progressive burning powder. That means that as the pressure builds inside the case, the rate with which the powder burns increases. Progressive burning means that the hot gasses push the bullet out of the barrel. While the final pressure is greater than with black powder, it is reached in a more gentle manner. It may not seem like it but believe me, you gun knows the difference. Black powder will not reach as high of a pressure but will reach its maximum pressure much more quickly. Therefore, if you leave an airspace above the black powder in the case, the bullet will seem to the gun to be a barrel obstruction rather than a bullet and can result in the barrel being bulged or in worst cases, split open. You may think that filling the case full will cause it to be over pressured but it won't. You may also think that putting only a small bit of black powder in the case will not hurt anything. Wrong, again! Fill it up if you want to be safe. It may seem counterintuitive but it is the correct way to do it. There is a way to load light black powder loads but it is a bit more complex and requires that you put a wad over the light black powder charge and then filling the case up with something like corn meal, grits, Cream of Wheat, etc. That is how I load my cartridges for my .45-120. I put in a measured amount of black powder, put a tight fitting round card on top of the powder and press it down good and tight and then fill the rest of the cartridge up with corn meal. When you shoot, you can smell the stink of the burned black powder but you also get the smell of toasted corn meal that smells sort of like cornbread cooking.





If all of this sounds like a crock of crap, I can assure you that it is all true. If you doubt me, just ask someone who shoots black powder guns.
You can use black powder for .38 Special. Listen up! Cases must be loaded to capacity. Leaving space in the case can be dangerous. Many Cowboy shooters use black powder loadings. Their organization in S.A.S.S. not C.A.S.S. it stands for Single Action Shooting Society. Get on their forums. They can tell you what works for them. Most use some type of pre-lubed wads on top of their powder charges and seat the bullet into the case, slightly compressing the charge. I don't see you being able to get much more than 850 fps with fffg black powder. Not to mention the cleaning, black powder will be more expensive. You'll be using 25-30 grs. of black powder as opposed to 3.5 to 4.5grs. of one of the popular smokeless pistols powders. In other words, you could possibly get 8 or 9 times more rounds out of a pound of smokeless powder than you would from a pound of black powder.
WARNING*** no one is telling you a VERY important fact. If you do load black powder in a cartridge, on top of knowing how much to load to prevent over pressure, YOU MUST USE A FILLER ON TOP OF THE BLACK POWDER SO THAT IT COMPRESSES THE LOAD IN THE CASE. (I use cornmeal) Black powder is not like modern smokeless powder. smokeless powder burns at a controlled and stable rate. black powder does not. If black powder lays flat inside the cartridge with an air space above it, the entire charge can go instantly,(sometimes called ';flashover';) causing major overpressure which can rupture cases, and damage your firearm, or hurt you badly.


Aside from that, it is very corrosive and requires a very detailed cleaning of the firearm after every shooting session or it will destroy the finish. I won't even try to tell you a proper load, and you would be foolish to use someone elses load because it could be wrong and get you hurt.


I'd suggest that you not use black powder. The negatives offset any positives.
You can use the black powder in it with few problems. In Cowboy Action Shooting they do it a lot. You might want to contact the CASS and ask them about what loads they use. (CASS stands for Cowboy Action Shooting Society) You do have to clean your guns after the shooting session, and do it well or they will rust.