1 12Ga = 10 .38 special??

by SW-52 Mon Apr 25, 2016 9:16 am

yesterday in the range a person speak about reloading .38 special ammo with 12Ga cartouches powder. he says the equivalent of charge of 12Ga is the same of 10 .38 special wc,this is true or the person have disney world on the brain?

by Tim:H11 Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:07 am

Shotgun powder is commonly used in pistol cartridges but to say 10 38 specials charges would equal one 12 gauge load... To be honest I don't know but that sounds like too much.

However if you ment recoil - that the combined energy from 10 38 special cartridges would equal the energy of one 12 gauge then again I don't know but I would say it's possibly close. Odd thing to compare though.

by **Wobbley** Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:52 am

Depends on the powder. But 10 38s for one 12 ga is a bit much. A typical Red Dot 38 load for a 148 WC is 2.8 gr. 12 ga target loads are 18 to 20 depending on the wad and hull. So maybe the better answer would be 6 to 7.

by dronning Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:56 am

12ga 2 3/4" AA hull with 1 1/8 shot can use 17.5 to 22.9gr of WST depending on what wad you use and how light/heavy you want the load.

That's very close to 10x the charge depends on if your talking SWC or full WC.

- Dave

by SW-52 Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:48 pm

dronning wrote:12ga 2 3/4" AA hull with 1 1/8 shot can use 17.5 to 22.9gr of WST depending on what wad you use and how light/heavy you want the load.

That's very close to 10x the charge depends on if your talking SWC or full WC.

- Dave. Full wc. For 52.

by dronning Mon Apr 25, 2016 1:05 pm

Full wc. For 52.
That would be about 8.5 38spl (2.7gr) rounds to a 12ga loaded heavy for target shooting. But if you changed the 12ga load to a field load it could be 10 to 1.

So he wasn't that far off.

- Dave

by Jerry Keefer Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:48 pm

I think he confused energy.. In police circles at one time, the incapacitation capabilities of a 12 ga. #00 Buck was thought, and suggested to be equivalent to 9 handgun (38/9mm) projectiles all at once..
Actually, a fair analogy..

by BE Mike Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:12 pm

It is a weird analogy. If one uses Red Dot in a typical load in a 12ga. one wouldn't exceed 20.5 grains. The recommended loading (from the Alliant website) would be 3.0 grains of Red Dot for a 148 grain LHBSWC in .38 SPL. I therefore think your buddy was trying to impress you with his "knowledge" of reloading. IMHO, he's just another "know-it-all" craving attention....so off to Disney World for him, so he can catch up to his brain.

by dronning Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:30 pm

BE Mike wrote:It is a weird analogy. If one uses Red Dot in a typical load in a 12ga. one wouldn't exceed 20.5 grains. The recommended loading (from the Alliant website) would be 3.0 grains of Red Dot for a 148 grain LHBSWC in .38 SPL. I therefore think your buddy was trying to impress you with his "knowledge" of reloading. IMHO, he's just another "know-it-all" craving attention....so off to Disney World for him, so he can catch up to his brain.

Yes it is a weird analogy but I wouldn't blow him off so fast. I just checked and I've been loading 2.4gr of WST for my 52-2 and if you are shooting a low recoil shotgun load that would be 7/8 oz. of lead loaded to 23.5gr of WST running around 1300 fps - it's fast but low recoil. International trap is limited to 24grams (7/8oz) of shot and all my sporting clay buddies also load to this 7/8oz load. I thought it was because they are cheap (they are) but they say their scores have actually gone up due to reduced recoil.

- Dave

by X Ring Mon Apr 25, 2016 11:46 pm

Weather a 12 ga charge is equal to 10 38 spl charges or not is irrelevant. Always follow published data for the caliber and bullet being used, and always start low and work up while checking for over pressure signs. Never guess that any fraction of any charge is safe in another cartridge.

by james r chapman Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:01 am

38 special-2.5 gr. Alliant Claydot
1 oz 12 ga-18 gr Claydot.

Red dot would probably be the best comparison. Manuals list them both.

by BEA Tue Apr 26, 2016 10:08 am

Be cautious of shooting on the point next to this person. Such blanket statements demonstrate what little in-depth knowledge he has.

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1 12Ga = 10 .38 special??

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