OK, I have a dilemma.
I have been reloading 9mm and 38spcl target (bunny fart - 2.8 bullseye/148wc) loads using bullseye, 231 and TG.
I got a rossi 92 chambered in 357 and want to shoot it - iron sight training on the cheap. So while I can shoot it with LRN at bunny fart velocities the ballistics suck - way way too much bullet drop at 100 or 200 yards (want to practice at 200 for CMP garand match -using a borrowed rifle so I have few options for practice and
really need the practice.)
I have some fiocchi 357 that chronos out at 1850 fps and is accurate at 200 yards without terrible drop. Haven't tried my bunny farts but calculators say 40 some inches of drop at 200 if sighted at 100 yrd...ugly, huh? The fiocchi numbers say 11" of drop, well within the adj range of the rifle's sights.
OK...so far so good.
I can get the velocity I want, I think, with 2400 via 357mag cases. Which I have.
However, my press isn't happy..or maybe i"m not. I have to reset too many things between 38 and 357 cases.
So I'd like to load perhaps 10gr 2400 in a 38 case. THe bullet I'm hoping to use is s 158 LRN - we'll see if the lead can take the velocity, it should, but a few rounds will tell me strait away.
I see this load for 357 and with this bullet usually at 1.61" (over the max spec of 357...but that's another issue).
I can set the bullets out to get a OAL of 1.56 - possibly longer (haven't tried yet) so the case capacity is very close to 357. I've got a lee FCD so not hitting the crimp grove isn't an issue. In the past I've seated short in my 9mm to get certain bullet shapes to feed without issues so I doubt this will be an issue here, but I"m asking just the same.
I've seen 2400 loads for 38 spcl, but they're attempting to keep the pressures with in 38spcl specs. Way back in the day Elmer Keith loaded up to 14 gr 2400 in 38s.
I know what pressure signs to watch for (learned that in 9mm due to a bad scale and luckily I blew nothing up) so I"m not too concerned.
The longer barrel should add velocity...the slower speed of 2400 vs 231 say, should help too. The fiocchi is listed on their site at 1330 fps from a pistol and I got 1800ish - as expected. The 3.6 of 231 I tried (at 1.56 vs the books min of 1.475 which is still longer than the crimp groove would suggest) came out of the rifle at a sleepy 860 fps. A local ammo reman says he uses 5.3 of 231 but he's always quoting higher than book loads.