HELP

I have realized it will take a solar year for Hornady to get my free bullets to me, mostly because I screwed up the application process, so I am trying to figure out what I should order from someone else to tide me over. Help me out.

My three favorite handgun calibers are .38 Super, .45 ACP, and .357 Magnum. So that’s what I’m looking at right now. Going by the Speer book, it appears that I can get what I want from all three with a single powder identified as “Blue Dot.” Is there any reason I should avoid this stuff? I know nothing about it. I want a fairly hot .38 Super load, a typical .45 load, and a hot .357 load, at 125, 230, and 125 grains, respectively. Blue Dot appears to fill the bill. But some people on the web say Blue Dot is too slow for a .45. And dirty.

Also, do I have to find different tables if I use lead bullets? The stuff in the book is mostly jacketed. I would assume that for pistol velocities, the weight is important and the jacketing isn’t. I don’t think a lead bullet will screw up at 1300 fps.

It appears that Hornady wants me to use 9mm bullets that are .355″ in diameter, but the .38 Super is really .356″, and Laser Cast sells .356″ 124-grain 9mm lead bullets, which ought to be perfect. Is that correct, or will the gun blow up and kill me and everyone near me? My research suggests to me that you don’t want a bullet too much smaller than the barrel. If these will work, I can use the same bullets for the 9mm and the .38 Super.

They also have .358″ rounds for the .357.

The book doesn’t tell me what primers to use. What’s up with that? Am I supposed to guess? Oh, wait. I found it. CCI 500 for the smaller calibers; CCI 300 for the .45.

Here is what I want. For the .38 Super, I want 125 grains and 1200-1300 fps. For the .357, 125 grains and 1300-1400. For the .45, 230 and 850-1000. Those are figures typical of good defense loads, so they’re what I want to get used to. I want good accuracy, but I don’t want to water the loads down to the point where shooting isn’t realistic. Or maybe I could make a certain number of wimpy loads for accuracy and make the rest normal, to keep me used to the recoil.

It seems like it’s taking an eternity just to get to the point where I know what ingredients to use. I have to start gathering stuff and get to work, or I’ll never get anywhere. Reading will only get me so far.

More advice I need: I have been trying to get used to concealed carry, with the Glock 26. At first I kept a round in the chamber, but then I got nervous and removed it. Since then, I have been acutely aware that if I needed to use the gun in a hurry, especially with one hand, I would be screwed. I know cops carry Glocks ready to fire. If you’re attacked in your car, you may have to use your left hand to shut the window or shield yourself. You may be unable to use it to rack the slide. Then you die from being too cautious. What’s your opinion?

I’m inclined to go back to keeping a round chambered. You would really have to work at it to shoot yourself. When you carry, you are constantly aware of the danger, so you don’t make stupid mistakes. Unless you’re a vice cop giving a lecture in front of a classroom full of kids. But enough mean references to famous Youtube videos.

Actually, some people do make stupid mistakes. I remember going into a store to buy shoes and finding a gun pouch on a bench next to me, where some genius had left it. But I’m really good about treating the gun with respect. Mostly because I dread the embarrassment of shooting myself. Not the pain. Not the injury itself. The embarrassment.

I can’t believe people carry 1911s cocked with rounds in the chambers. Seems like the 1911 safety would be very easy to bump into the “fire” position. I guess you have to have a super-safe holster.

Give me your handloading info, so I can load at least one cartridge before I die.