Hypothetically speaking

[ArchAngelCD]

I have a snubby that had trouble hitting the side of the barn. I tried load after load, based on book data and personal recommendations, and could never dial it in.

Finally, I tried IMR 4227 with 158 gr Keith SWC and now she shoots quite well. That is a published load.

With a snub nose revolver trigger control is paramount. Any slight movement will pull the bullet off target.

Short story:
I got my first J frame. I went to the range, loaded up 5 rounds and shot from 10 yards. I went up to the target to see how tight the group was, well, not 1 hole in the target, not one! I knew I needed a lot of work...

Dry firing cured the problem. I bought a set of snap caps and pulled the trigger hundreds of times. Since there is no recoil you can see exactly what the revolver is doing when you pull the trigger. During every commercial on the TV I took aim at the thermostat on the wall and practiced trigger control. It's amazing how much I was moving the revolver in the beginning.

MANDATORY RULE! Never ever any live ammo in the same room when dry firing. Also, always shoot double action to practice true trigger control.

You end up shooting very well after a while and the added benefit, a smother trigger because of all the trigger pulls lol.

Good luck, be safe and have fun...

 

[rosewood]

My thinking in posting this thread is, using a slower burning powder in a longer barrel would produce higher muzzle velocities with not a necessarily higher chamber pressure. It sounds like this fits with some of your experiences.

This is a true statement where "pistol/rifle" powders ranges overlap. When you get to even slower rifle powders, you get to a point that even with a full case of powder, your pressure will be too low to be useful and you may end up with squib loads.

I too have used powders on the slower end of a given cartridge specifically for pistol cartridges in longer barrels and you sometimes get better velocity. I also have done the reverse and specifically chose faster burning powders for a given cartridge to reduce muzzle blast and flash in shorter barrels (i.e. TC contender). However, those were all published loads for the given cartridge. This is the beauty of handloading. You can tailor make your loads that the factory doesn't make.

Rosewood

 

[rosewood]

With a snub nose revolver trigger control is paramount. Any slight movement will pull the bullet off target.

Short story:
I got my first J frame. I went to the range, loaded up 5 rounds and shot from 10 yards. I went up to the target to see how tight the group was, well, not 1 hole in the target, not one! I knew I needed a lot of work...

Dry firing cured the problem. I bought a set of snap caps and pulled the trigger hundreds of times. Since there is no recoil you can see exactly what the revolver is doing when you pull the trigger. During every commercial on the TV I took aim at the thermostat on the wall and practiced trigger control. It's amazing how much I was moving the revolver in the beginning.

MANDATORY RULE! Never ever any live ammo in the same room when dry firing. Also, always shoot double action to practice true trigger control.

You end up shooting very well after a while and the added benefit, a smother trigger because of all the trigger pulls lol.

Good luck, be safe and have fun...

No telling how many times I have killed my thermostat and my alarm motion detector in the living room.

 

[Jaco1234]

imr4227 is an example of what I am asking.
Universal and unique are at about 36 on a powder burn rate chart.
Imr4227 is at 89. While not a quantitative reference it does means it is considerably slower.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

No telling how many times I have killed my thermostat and my alarm motion detector in the living room.

I have found that certain spotlight bulbs are excellent targets for dry fire practice with a laser sight: you can readily see how your trigger pull can draw your sights off the target (or, not?), as well as practice shooting from other than normal alignment (i.e., from the waist without using the front or rear sight, etc.).

Much le$$ expen$ive than other commercial laser targeting products!

Cheers!

 

[ArchAngelCD]

OK, since we are talking trigger control, the ultimate test is placing a nickel on the top of the revolver and pulling the trigger double action. When the nickel no longer falls off the revolver you are an "expert."

BTW, it's harder than it sounds.
Remember... Never any live ammo in the same room when you do dry fire practice. Snap caps work very well and are inexpensive.