I shot 200 rounds today with my 686 with the 3" barrel using 3.5 gr powder behind 125 gr coated lead. No residue on the outside of the pistol and no lead inside. Plus it's kick was very light compared to full load with 158 gr bullets. Was fun to shoot. I will be loading 800 more rounds of that. Those will be used for targets, gongs, tin cans, and training my grandchildren to shoot that pistol.

I have 200 pieces of brass tumbling in my dryer now.

Mike

my pistol was a breeze to clean tonight. Light loads, clean burning powder, or coated bullets. Probably a combination of all three. One patch of Birchwood Casey's did the bore. Last time, shooting full loads, it looked like the inside of a stove pipe, inside and outside. Took 5 patches just for the barrel.

Glad you have found a friend in Trail Boss. I like clean burning loads, but the minor sooting with Bullseye, 231, or Unique, plus the sensory satisfaction of traditional gunsmoke aroma and Hoppe's No. 9 out-weigh the stench of a sweaty locker room emanating from a Trail Boss combustion.

Were your bullets the Missouri companies Hi-Tek Extreme ones?

I was just looking at them today and plan on buying 2k. Seems like all the benefits of plated bullets with the cost advantage of lead. Don't see how one can go wrong.

Clean burning but smells funny.

Canned Cowboy farts

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Still Running Against the Wind

If you want clean, try Clays. It's the cleanest powder I've ever used. Partially because it really is clean burning but also because so little of it it used...less material burning. That latter quality also makes many tome more economical than trail boss. To date my most accurate plinking loads in .357 and .44 have been plated bullets over Hodgdon Clays.

I have Trail Boss and like it, but it's not as clean as Clays, and no where near as economical.

I don't understand the whole "clean burning" powder thing....all powders are going to leave residue, you usually clean the gun anyway, so what is it that makes some people near obsessive with "clean burning".

Seems to me if you want clean or no residue shoot an air gun.

Randy

PS. I happen to enjoy shooting real blackpowder in SASS...clean up is not the big deal so many make it out to be.....

Well I guess it's a luxury to those of use who prefer to spend as little time as possible cleaning guns.

When I get more experience with loading I will branch out to different powders. I selected TB, for one, because it is impossible to overcharge. Plus I wanted to fill up the cavity as much as possible. Somewhere down the road I'll try max load of TB in 357. Right now I have plenty of factory loads for carry.

Look under coated bullets. 125 gr, coated, for 38 Spl/ 357 mag.

MY own experience with trail boss was that the accuracy dropped off past about 25-30 yds . Others don't seem to have that problem , guess it's up to the individual .
On this " clean shooting thing " , Winchester Super Target is doing a great job for me , and very accurate too . I use it in lower pressure calibers , 45acp , 38spl , 44spl etc . It meters very well for consistent loads .

I was looking at the Hodgdon data and saw that they have a load for 45 acp. I had some primed cases ready, so I tried a couple of loads and they were quite pleasant to shoot out of my M&P 45c. And yes, Trail Boss does seem to burn cleanly. Recovered cases had very little soot in them.

I like TB for plinking loads in 38 special and 357 MBC Missouri Bullet Co. and 44 special 240 g. MBC coated. My accuracy was poor in 44 mag. I load just a tad below full below the seated bullet. Good accuracy and low recoil.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

When a student,I got a part time job at cleaning chicken houses.The smell of amoniac when I touch off a round loaded with TB reminds me such days!I also found accuracy inconsistancies past 20yds.My last can of TB;I replaced it with 700X.
Qc

I found TB to be at its best when loading starting loads for target use
with minimum recoil. It will get up to factory lead bullet speeds with a full load but I don't see why it is needed in my 38 special loads or loads
for my 6" 686, since I can get accuracy with the light loads and save powder.

I also like how it fills the case. A great safety item.

TB is fun and it burns up completely, a nice feature. I'll wager the coated bullet was a big factor in being a clean load too.
Even Unique 'burns cleaner' when it's under a coated or plated bullet.

In 357 TB can be lack luster in accuracy unless it's near 100 density. Seems to better in 38 spl and 30-30. In 30-30 you can brew up some really fun and accurate plinkers with TB and light lead/coated lead bullets.

I don't see anything wrong with enjoying the benefits of modern bullets. It's amazing how the dirty old powders like Unique and Bullseye clean up with coated and plated bullets.

My standard load is a Rainier plated 158 grain FP in 357 brass over 6.5 grains Unique. I can go many range sessions before it needs a cleaning.

Ten years ago my standard load was a 158 LSWC over 5.5 grains Universal. I had to clean each time I shot.

I don't miss the scrubbing at all, not one little bit.

Lately I have been using Trail boss in my .45/70 Marlin guide gun. 16.0 gr. and a 300gr. cast bullet give a little over 1200 fps and is a lot of fun to shoot. I have only shot it a 100 yards so far but it seems fairly accurate.
GavinLee

For me , cleaning a gun is just part of the fun of shooting and owning them.

Not just clean but very accurate. Try 4.3~4.5g TB w/125g lead. It will be even cleaner because this load will expand the case way more than 3.5g. BTW 3.5g Bullseye w/125g is a very accurate load too.