Just for fun.... I have a Bond Arms Derringer (these are High Quality guns & made in USA).

Looking for a recipie for a mild .357 load with a HUGE FIREBALL.

3-Inch Barrel in the derringer

I already reload "normal" .38 & .357 loads, just want something to play with that makes a big flash.

Thanks in advance & I"ll try and post some pictures after I make some up and shoot them.

Try some H-110.

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SWCA#2288
SWHF#407

2400 is always fun at dawn & dusk.

mild does not a huge fireball make.
here, I think you want a light jacketed or plated bullet over H110
The lube of cast tends to quench some of the fireball so its out.
I'd work with a 110G of some form and gun for glory

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it just needs more voltage

Especially in a 3" barrel. I've never really evaluated the flash, I just know if it's there or not. My wife did express surprise when I was loading light bullets with 2400. One thing about 2400 is that it will leave a lot of unburned powder in and around your gun when not loaded to the highest pressures.

Not sure about fireball but Power Pistol is a lot of flash. Not sure what that would do in a super shorty.

Light bullets, full loads of H110/W296 will get you something like this:

Picture of a picture, that's why there is such a glare.

^^^
See? I told you guys reloading could be lots of fun instead of drudgery!

Your bullet with some DGL BP lube, enough Goex FFF black powder to compress about 1/10" under that bullet, a magnum primer, and don't shoot it if your standing on a bed of dry leaves...

You mean like this?Those were some old factory loads head stamped
S&W 125 gr.hollowpoints.Haven't been able to duplicate that same effect with reloads yet.

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I'm just here for the guns.

Bob, beat me to it. Power Pistol.

H110 is the best but you can not down load it. So be a man and fire that derringer with a full house load.

Be sure and post pictures of your trigger finger after.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Fill it full of powder and put a piece of cork in place of the bullet. . That way ya wont hurt your fanger.

Powerpistol delivers

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The American dream is alive

About 30 years ago I was playing with Blue Dot and light bullets. I can't remember the load, but it resulted in real fireballs. We were camping down in the national forest, and one of our guys was having a bowel problem. He'd gone in the bushes enough and wanted to go into London, the nearest town, for some genuine porcelain and TP. He left camp. About an hour later we heard his little Toyota buzzing as it returned the 4 miles or so on the trail. So I got out the M19 (I know, not the gun to use with hot light bullets) and walked over behind a tree. As he passed I touched one off up in the air. It was a fireball to behold. All the guys in camp were falling down laughing. They said it was the biggest fireball they'd ever seen out of a handgun.

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Dick Burg

Yes, Blue Dot will do a good job as will W296/H110, 2400, 4227 and all the other slow "magnum" powders. The short barrel will aid in creating the fireball too.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

You could try my load that I use in my Model 27. A 125 grain Hornady XTP with 16.5 grains of 2400. A bit of a flash comes from that gun, I bet out of that Bond Arms you will think someone just took your picture, no matter what end of it you are on.

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Vaya con Dios

Something a little easier on the hand and will still turn peoples heads is a load of.....................


Black Powder !!

Orange or White.............
but there is something about the smell of BP in the morning.

Power Pistol

296 does a good job there. a full load with a light bullet.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Just at dusk, I went to the back ditch for the first test.

Bond Arms 3-Inch .357 Mag Barrel
Grips are the longer wood (Snake Slayer IV grips)

All bullets were older Hornady 110 Grain SJHP.

Load 1: 21.4 grains H110 - Impressive fireball and report.
Load 2: 14.0 grains Blue Dot - Almost as good.
Load 3: 10.0 grains Power Pistol - Smaller flash and smaller report

Firing was done without gloves, one handed. I lined up on the target then looked sideways to see the flash. I'm a recoil junkie, so the recoil was not bad to me.

My wife is getting a digital video camera for her birthday, next time I'll have to video and pull off some still shots.

On a side note: Wife was outside calling for the dog. I didn't hear her calling with my muffs on. I was at least 150 yards away from the house over a rise, shooting into a ditch. She wasn't happy I did tell her ahead of time I would be conducting a test. Next time I'll either wear my electronic muffs or make sure she isn't home.

If you can find it, try putting a pinch of aluminum (or even better, magnesium) powder in with the smokeless. Don't use much.

This is a big reason for LE loads with flash retardant powders - the so called low flash loads. Big ball of flame does not help night vision, nor does it mix well with active meth labs. Fun to watch, though!!

Ditto on the WW296, I switched to this powder for my magnums many years ago and haven't looked back. Great powder for M1 Carbine also.

Muzzle flash is caused by powder that is still burning after it leaves the barrel.
If you have some fast rifle powder like 1680 or 4198 try filling up the case with it under a normal weight bullet.
With a magnum pistol powder like 296/110 try NOT crimping the case to reduce the efficiency.
Obviously these should be fired one at a time. Use magnum primers for all this.

I got a huge sheet of flame out of my Dan Wesson 445 using W680
when I didn't use enough bullet pull in new cases. The cases didn't
blow out and there was crud all over. Range dude wanted to know
if I had a howitzer license.

<Standard disclaimer, YMMV, I didn't do it, etc>

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Nemo

Well, there's WW296............



Also known as H-110.........



And my personal favorite powder, Power Pistol. Not as bright, but even milder charges will blind you!



Indoor ranges make the flash even more pronounced!



BTW...........We WILL Need Pictures.

YOU PROBABLY WON'T TRY THIS BUT IF A BIG FLASH IS WANTED MIX FFF BLACK POWDER ( PYRODEX WON'T WORK) AND THE CONTENTS OF AN OLD FASHIONED FLASH BULB IN THE CASE. TOP IT OFF WITH A CIGARETTE FILTER AND LET 'ER RIP.

I thought that 7.9 grains of Unique under a 185 gn. 45 caliber bullet was a high flash load until I saw what some of you all are doing. I now realize that I'm not just an amateur, I'm not even in the same state.

BTW, I would NOT advise mixing either powdered aluminum or powdered magnesium into any charge. Because both of these metals burn at extremely high temperatures and the most likely result of this type of experiment would be some rather severe erosion in the barrel.

Using W296 in a low light indoor range gets everyone's attention.

Try blue dot

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Rob

Flash is achieved by using:

1.) Lightweight jacketed bullets

2.) H110/W296

3.) Maximum loads

You can thank me later.

He can thank you later when the blindness passes so he can see his computer.

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Oh well, what the hell.

160 gr bullet @ 15 gr of 2400
or a full power 357 mag load using 296.... buckle up and hang on.

Contact a Gunner's Mate who served on any of the Iowa class battleships.



They used a powder "slightly" slower than 296/H110.

Man, that looks like some serious +P!

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Oh well, what the hell.

Well I WAS going to post some flash from a 105 that's on the cover
of A-Square's reloading book, but yours kind of takes the cake.
You do have to like a reloading manual that includes data for the 105.

Unless someone has a pic of the Musashi broadsiding, that is one of
the largest muzzle flashes in history.

Look closely and you can see the whole ship move sideways several feet under the recoil.

Think about what it would be like if one of those barrels let go.
It has happened. I can't find the pix now but somewhere I have some
of a 12" barrel lying on the deck after it blew off a gun of the original Iowa BB4 in 1903.

---
Nemo

Attached Images

AnyShotYouWant-ASQUARE.jpg (22.1 KB, 67 views)

LOL!

You got THAT right!

I fired some 357 rounds using 100gr bullets and 20gr of H110 one time that literally made a 2 or 3 foot wide fireball... barrel length was 2"

Wish I had a picture of a test load from a few years ago. Max load of 4227 under a 110 gn. jacketed HP in a 357 Maximum (7 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk). Covered outdoor range. The ROs said the flash was impressive, not to mention the blast. This load crono'd just over 2000 FPS. Ah, such fun with reloading.

bidgedp51


Thanks for the great images!
The second one clearly shows why a battleship could not fire to both sides at once. The recoil would tear the gun mounts off of the ship!
Note the water near the bow. You can easily see the way the ship was pushed to the side by the recoil.

We used to cruise with the Missouri and the Gunners said a full broadside would move the ship 16' sideways!

Yeah I was going to mention Blue Dot too. I am a Blue Dot fan for 357 and have seen some spectacular fireballs from it but not in the lighter loads. Usually when I push it a little too far. But with a very light bullet you might not have to push too hard to get what you are after. Have fun and post some pics.

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Jason Adams

I was disinvited from an indoor range because of the blast, flame and concussion of mid range .357s loaded with PB. Sorry, I no longer recite loads from memory. Good Luck

I've always had good luck with slow burning powders; 2400, H110, Accurate #9, Blue Dot, or WW296.
You may want to wear a shooting glove and attach a lanyard so you don't have to look for your derringer.

Here's my Sec 6:





But to me fireball equals my 44 snubbie!

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NRA Certified Instructor

The second photo ought to carry a caption of "How to parallel park a battle wagon" (while simultaneously lobbing the equivalent of nine Volkswagens through the air)

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

I thought I used to get pretty good fireballs out of my short barrel 686 and SP101s with Blue Dot handloads. They were impressive.

But I bought a 10" TC Contender barrel in .223 and fired it with factory white box Winchester (it seemed like a good idea at the time). Now *that* was an impressive fireball! I've been trying to top it with 45-70 loads in the 12" barrel.

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" I said, good DAY! "

"BTW, I would NOT advise mixing either powdered aluminum or powdered magnesium into any charge. Because both of these metals burn at extremely high temperatures and the most likely result of this type of experiment would be some rather severe erosion in the barrel."

Aluminum or magnesium powder will not burn until it leaves the barrel and contacts oxygen in the air. That's why the flash occurs, just like a flashbulb.

Blue Dot it is. In spades!

Get a 1978 edition of the Sierra manual. Get a box of Sierra 110 grain JHPs. Work up to the maximum (not mild) listed load for the .357 Magnum with Blue Dot with the 110 grain bullet seated per suggested cartridge overall length. Fire in 4-inch barrel or shorter. Immediately after firing, snuff out the laces in your shoes which have just been ignited by the fire ball.

I second this, and do not shoot it if you`re in a sawmill either!
You probably do not need a magnum primer either, my BP loads work just fine with regular pistol primers. Large or small. With a BP load it is important to pack the powder with at least a small amount of compression.