[unregistered41671]

I thought this was good idea to use a Lee Loader and to scavenge powders and parts and use in a .38/.357 in a survival situation. Click on the link below for entire article.

http://www.alloutdoor.com/2013/07/23...kly+Newsletter


"Why 38 Special/.357 Magnum

I have espoused many times my belief that the .38 Special/.357 Magnum round is “the” ultimate survival cartridge. The main reason is its flexibility.
Let’s say in a survival situation, you stumble on a cache of 9mm, .40 S&W, and .380ACP rounds, but you need .38 Special round. The .38 Special and .357 round can accept any small or magnum handgun primer salvaged from nearly any handgun cartridge, and if tested cautiously can reuse nearly any reclaimed powder. So you can just knock out the primer and harvest the powder from those found rounds.
At that point, all you need is a lightweight Lee mold and you can re-cast any reclaimed lead, giving you the ability to complete a round from salvage. No other round offers this flexibility. The flexibility is due to the longer length of the case, which gives a lot of options on what powders it can use. Furthermore, the non-semiauto actions of this round are not picky about getting the right velocities."

 

[1shotwade]

I like the concept of the lee loader and think it would be fine for cartridges but I have some misgivings about it's use with shot shells.I go ahold of one in 410 years ago and could not get a crimp on the casing without bulging it. It may be specific to the 410 or could be the same for shot shells in general but my experience with this has kept me away from them ever since.

Wade

 

[Muleman]

I understand the versatility of the 38/357, but I have never really spent much time with the cartridge in a rifle, for a handgun and most situations I think it is just fine. There are other cartridges which can use different primers also. 45acp cases are available in both large and small primer pockets as an example. The 30-30 can be loaded way down to rabbit loads with very light lead bullets for the application. Most of the older calibers (the hyphenated ones) have large cases, which can be filled with small amounts of various powder and be made into lighter rounds.
But you are correct in that there are a wide range of options for the 38/357. A person just needs to become familiar with whatever they have, and what are alternatives and work it out now, not when the time comes it is needed. The problem we have today is too many choices. No one really becomes intimately knowledgeable with their firearm anymore. We switch from one to the other, as the latest whizbang super turbo magnum cartridge comes along, then quickly trade for the next "Big Thing". Hunters of yesteryear had in many ways inferior firearms and means of loading ammunition. They still managed to wipe out the entire buffalo herds, while making ammunition on the prairie with nothing more than a camp fire and a few basic tools. None of them had electronic powder scales, or progressive presses! What they had, that we do not, is an intimate knowledge of their firearm, as it was probably the only one they had ever used. We would do well, to imitate their actions and pick one firearm and get to know its characteristics well.

 

[unregistered41671]

Yep, but like the writer said in the article, you might run up on .380, 9mm etc and be able to make cartridges from those components. I don't care much for .38/.357 either but if not stocked with the ammo of your choice, it may be a pretty wise decision to get keep one around.

 

[Muleman]

Yep, you are right about that. I have heard stories of people with enough ammo and components to last for quite a while, but I do not really know anybody like that myself. So might be good advice for the rest of us who don't keep much of that stuff around.

 

[elkhound]

them lee loaders,lead and a mold and a few versatile powders can crank out rounds.


i like them old rounds that were original blackpowder....you can load them with ease so any ways..45lc,30-30,38-55,45-70,45-110 eyc etc etc.


2 more years and my momma says i can go from slingshot to a bb gun...i cant wait...the buffalo are going to suffer here on the homestead....lol

 

[elkhound]

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sp...preparedness/495565-how-feed-your-bb-gun.html



great minds...hmmm.....roflmao....!!!!!!!!

 

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I load 120gr cast in 38spl with 2.5 gr of tight wad typically a shot gun powder , actually about that of any shotgun powder would be a good start and work up from there , from an ounce and an eighth of shot you can cast 3 2/3 of the 120 gr bullets and 4 of the 105gr swc 30 some gr of shot gun powder in a shot shell would go a long ways to making 38spl rounds , if you load for 38 and put them in a 357 you have a added saftey , (of course you should really know what powder your working with for safety but a true survival situation )


it really doesn't take much in powder to make a lot of 38spl loads at 2.5gr tightwad or bulls eye or clays your talking 2800 rounds to the pound that is 42 pounds of lead with 105 gr swc

round balls are another option 000 buck is .360 and can be loaded with a small charge in 38 or 357 cases

44 can also be loaded with .440 round balls for a 45 muzzle loader very easily

 

[moonwolf]

In my late teens before I could afford much store ammo,
I used a hand lee loader for my waterfowl hunting passion
reloading duck and goose loads up to 4 buckshot.
Worked quite well actually. Some casings made better crimps
than others, but for having a handy simple device for
reloading it will do.

 

[planzman]

http://youtu.be/3duhNVjAu6E

Method for those the need to know.