I've been casting & shooting for many years. I have found two excellent bullets in the .38 caliber with the same nose profile that are easy to cast and are accurate in all my .38 Caliber pistols. The first is the Lee 358-105-SWC. It is far better than you would imagine in the .38 Special. A load of 3.5 grains of Bullseye gives me velocities from 1,040 to 1,090 in my 4" and 6" barreled revolvers. They are also very accurate almost as good as any 148 grain WC. 1 Lb of powder will load 2,000 rounds and the light bullet gives you 67 bullets to the pound. I started using this load when there was a powder & .22 RF shortage. One can use a 402 Lyman Top Punch to size/lube & a 402 seating stem (that comes in the Lyman 9mm Luger die sets).
Next...I have found the 105's "Big Brother" also an excellent bullet in both the .38 Spl and .357 Magnums. It is the Lee 358-140-SWC. Again this bullet has the same nose as the 105's. I have found for most medium .357 Magnum loads it is every bit as good as any 158 grain SWC cast bullet. I use a 4.5 grains of Bullseye load that gives me a velocity of around 1,100 FPS. Plenty good enough for almost all my shooting and is very accurate.... Again you use less powder and you can get 50 bullets out of 1 pound of powder.
As both loads use light powder charges that do not fill the cases, one has to be careful not to double charge. I charge manually and place all loaded cases on a loading block and then check levels with a flashlight . I have also used Hodgdon's Titewad powder with both loads with excellent results.
I use Lee Double Cavity bullet molds...they area dream to use as they are light and I can cast up 400 bullets in an hour with them.
Next...I have found the 105's "Big Brother" also an excellent bullet in both the .38 Spl and .357 Magnums. It is the Lee 358-140-SWC. Again this bullet has the same nose as the 105's. I have found for most medium .357 Magnum loads it is every bit as good as any 158 grain SWC cast bullet. I use a 4.5 grains of Bullseye load that gives me a velocity of around 1,100 FPS. Plenty good enough for almost all my shooting and is very accurate.... Again you use less powder and you can get 50 bullets out of 1 pound of powder.
As both loads use light powder charges that do not fill the cases, one has to be careful not to double charge. I charge manually and place all loaded cases on a loading block and then check levels with a flashlight . I have also used Hodgdon's Titewad powder with both loads with excellent results.
I use Lee Double Cavity bullet molds...they area dream to use as they are light and I can cast up 400 bullets in an hour with them.
