Due to the death of an ol' reloader, his wife brought, and is still bringing, his reloading gear by our gun store for disposal. Makes sense; she doesn't know what to do with it. Along with a bunch of RCBS reloading dies also came .45-cal bullets, .38-cal full wadcutters, thousands of primers (yippee!)...and a Sierra Reloading Manual from 1971.

I compared some of the loads in there, especially .38/357 and .44 Spl/Mag, to the loads for the same cartridges in today's manuals. There is a noticeable difference. For example, they list not one, but two .44 Special load with a 240gr JHP hustling along at 1100 fps! The powder charges are 18.5gr of H-110 and 16.3gr of 2400...out of a 4" barrel, specifically the S&W Model 1950 Target revolver. 13.5gr 2400 at 723 ft/sec.

The .38 Special gets a similar treatment. Sierra's book (surprisingly) doesn't list Bullseye, the traditional powder especially for target .38 Spl loads, but here's some of what they do list with the 158gr JSP, using a 6" bbl S&W K38 revolver as the test gun.

Unique: 6.4gr, 950 fps
Accurate #5: 8.0gr, 1000 fps
Accurate #7: 9.0gr, 1100 fps (!!)

Compare this to Lyman's 51st Edition, which lists the following loads for .38 Special with the 158gr JHP, using a 4" bbl Universal Receiver.

Unique: 5.2gr, 761 fps
Accurate #5: 5.8gr, 821 fps
(no Accurate #7 loads listed)

The .357M and .44M cartridges get a similar lawyering-down. Hornady's 8th Edition book has similarly lowered loads, BTW.

Note that the ".38 Special +P" wasn't a thing in 1971; not yet. That didn't come out until 1974, so these loads are--yes--for standard .38 Special guns!

Yes, I was surprised by reading this older reloading book.

As the companies who make such data have switched to pizeo-electric pressure testing, they're finding their old published data was a good deal higher pressure than they originally thought. So many loads have been taken down a few notches. Also consider, that powder does change over time. Don't expect a load using Unique from 1922 is going to work well today.

1922, I would expect that. 1971, though, I would expect to be pretty much the same. I do know that powder lots vary, but the powder companies blend things for canister-grade, i. e. "consumer-grade" powder for consistency. I have some older Unique from about 1980 that I've tried in .45 Colt, and it's a little dirtier than the newer Unique, but the velocity is the same as the current stuff.

This is why I have Rugers. I agree that the new method of pressure testing likely is more accurate. When we work up loads, it is always prudent to start low and move up slowly, always checking for pressure signs.

Something interesting about .38 special is my 1975 Hornady manual for the 158gr JHP (not JSP, but I would say they're the same friction component) stops at 5.9 gr Unique for 900 fps. Already it appears they were beginning to back off. It does, however, say beneath this section that "these loads may be used with the .38cal Flat Point."

CDFingers

Indeed. I've read from several sources that they started backing down the loads for .357 Magnum due to the S&W K-frame. The N-frame, the Registered Magnum and the original .357 Magnum, had no trouble taking those loads. That continues today with the S&W Models 27 and 28 Classic.

BTW, yes, Rugers are built like tanks. I would trust the older loads in my Security-Six, or a GP-100. Matter of fact, I intend to try them out, working up gradually and using magnum primers for their increased cup strength. It is possible that I might also use a somewhat harder alloy for those hotter loads, depending on how well BHN 12 does. If it shows signs of getting squashed too much, then I'll try the BHN 15-16 alloy that I had originally tried in the .45 Colt Magnum loading. That alloy begins to obturate properly at about 30,000 PSI or so.

It would be interesting to find out what the actual pressures were, even though they were using CUP back then, for those older 1971-era loads, wouldn't it? Sadly, Sierra's book doesn't list their pressure readings.