RDub
Member
Hello
Well I got inspired to do another study on .38 Special 158gr Lead Roundnose, factory vs. handloads, using the same powders as last time, with the addition of a few more. All rounds got a fairly firm crimp. Shooting was done from a 4" 686 off the bench at a 25 yard target. The circles are the same size as the 'black' on a standard 25 yard slow fire pistol target, 5½". Velocities were recorded from an Oehler Model 33 chronograph. Sky screens were centered 10' from the muzzle.
Temps recorded on the targets.
RH 65%.
Elevation 2700'
There is some information about the factory loads in the previous studies, so if you would like to catch up, you can do so here;
38 Spcl Factory Dup. phase 2
.38 Special Factory Duplication phase 3
This time I used some Magtech 158gr LRN bullets, Winchester nickel brass, WSP primers. The Magtech bullets were seated to 1.510" C.O.L. I wanted to see if the Magtechs would shoot a bit faster than the Speer LRN.
The Magtech bullet is on the right, the Speer on the left.
Something interesting about the Remington UMC loads that I didn't notice last time.. The COL were not very consistent.. I found the longest at 1.532" and the shortest 1.503".
https://s20.postimg.cc/61ei725b1/DSC00956-sized.jpg
https://s20.postimg.cc/tsdvp5xsd/DSC00958-sized.jpg
The Winchester and Federal rounds were fairly consistent, within .002" of each other.
The loads that were shot this time , six rounds each;
3.5grs Bullseye
3.7grs Bulleye
4.0grs 700-X
3.9grs Titegroup
3.9grs Red Dot
4.0grs Green Dot
4.0grs AA #2
4.2grs ZIP
4.1grs HP-38
4.5grs W231
4.5grs Universal
4.6grs SR7625
4.7grs UNIQUE
4.7grs N-320
5.2grs HERCO
5.4grs SR4756
5.4grs Power Pistol
5.7grs 800-X
6.1grs Blue Dot
6.2grs AA #5
6.1grs 3N37
And of course, the Rem UMC, Win, and American Eagle factory loads.
Ok, now the shootin.. Here is what I came up with.
An Oops on #1.. Got one off before I was ready. Sorry about that..
Well the load I was most pleased with was #21, 5.7grs 800-X at 804fps and quite fast and accurate. This is a keeper. Too bad 800-X is such a pain in the A.. to work with..
#17, 4.7grs N-320 was the fastest. Fairly accurate as well.. Consistent with last time.
Titegroup at 3.9grs was right in there with the UMC load. I should re-shoot this with some different primers and see if I can't get that group smaller.
W231, N-320, Herco, Power Pistol, and 800-X were the only ones to challenge or exceed the UMC velocity. Remember, Remington is getting 770fps with only 4.0grs of something..
Others easily matched the other factory velocities including 3.7grs Bullseye. The standout here was #10, 4.0grs AA #2.. the tightest group today. The 3.5gr Bullseye load did not make it with this bullet.
Last time, I was most puzzled why SR7625 and SR4756, as I am this time, didn't make a better showing with the Roundnose bullets.. I've seen them do much better with SWC bullets. Hmm.
5.2grs Herco; I thought it weird that this load would have such a high velocity spread. So, I loaded up six more and shot them the next day, again at 25 yards. It was slightly cooler.
Well this time the spread was even worse.. Apparently Herco is going to work well with this combination, at least as far as spread goes.
I had a handful of the Speers left over, so I loaded some up at 1.510" C.O.L . The same length that Speer tested.
The loads are;
3.5grs Bullseye
3.7grs Bullseye
4.0grs 700-X
4.5grs W231
4.7grs N-320
Well, the average velocities are a bit lower with the Speer bullet, but they did shoot better!.. at least with this sample..
Well, I think I have beat this horse enough.. my curiosity is satisfied with this subject.. I found some nice loads for my gun and that's really all I was after.
Hope this is helpful for someone.. Lots of fun.
Well I got inspired to do another study on .38 Special 158gr Lead Roundnose, factory vs. handloads, using the same powders as last time, with the addition of a few more. All rounds got a fairly firm crimp. Shooting was done from a 4" 686 off the bench at a 25 yard target. The circles are the same size as the 'black' on a standard 25 yard slow fire pistol target, 5½". Velocities were recorded from an Oehler Model 33 chronograph. Sky screens were centered 10' from the muzzle.
Temps recorded on the targets.
RH 65%.
Elevation 2700'
There is some information about the factory loads in the previous studies, so if you would like to catch up, you can do so here;
38 Spcl Factory Dup. phase 2
.38 Special Factory Duplication phase 3
This time I used some Magtech 158gr LRN bullets, Winchester nickel brass, WSP primers. The Magtech bullets were seated to 1.510" C.O.L. I wanted to see if the Magtechs would shoot a bit faster than the Speer LRN.
The Magtech bullet is on the right, the Speer on the left.
Something interesting about the Remington UMC loads that I didn't notice last time.. The COL were not very consistent.. I found the longest at 1.532" and the shortest 1.503".
https://s20.postimg.cc/61ei725b1/DSC00956-sized.jpg
https://s20.postimg.cc/tsdvp5xsd/DSC00958-sized.jpg
The Winchester and Federal rounds were fairly consistent, within .002" of each other.
The loads that were shot this time , six rounds each;
3.5grs Bullseye
3.7grs Bulleye
4.0grs 700-X
3.9grs Titegroup
3.9grs Red Dot
4.0grs Green Dot
4.0grs AA #2
4.2grs ZIP
4.1grs HP-38
4.5grs W231
4.5grs Universal
4.6grs SR7625
4.7grs UNIQUE
4.7grs N-320
5.2grs HERCO
5.4grs SR4756
5.4grs Power Pistol
5.7grs 800-X
6.1grs Blue Dot
6.2grs AA #5
6.1grs 3N37
And of course, the Rem UMC, Win, and American Eagle factory loads.
Ok, now the shootin.. Here is what I came up with.
An Oops on #1.. Got one off before I was ready. Sorry about that..
Well the load I was most pleased with was #21, 5.7grs 800-X at 804fps and quite fast and accurate. This is a keeper. Too bad 800-X is such a pain in the A.. to work with..
#17, 4.7grs N-320 was the fastest. Fairly accurate as well.. Consistent with last time.
Titegroup at 3.9grs was right in there with the UMC load. I should re-shoot this with some different primers and see if I can't get that group smaller.
W231, N-320, Herco, Power Pistol, and 800-X were the only ones to challenge or exceed the UMC velocity. Remember, Remington is getting 770fps with only 4.0grs of something..
Others easily matched the other factory velocities including 3.7grs Bullseye. The standout here was #10, 4.0grs AA #2.. the tightest group today. The 3.5gr Bullseye load did not make it with this bullet.
Last time, I was most puzzled why SR7625 and SR4756, as I am this time, didn't make a better showing with the Roundnose bullets.. I've seen them do much better with SWC bullets. Hmm.
5.2grs Herco; I thought it weird that this load would have such a high velocity spread. So, I loaded up six more and shot them the next day, again at 25 yards. It was slightly cooler.
Well this time the spread was even worse.. Apparently Herco is going to work well with this combination, at least as far as spread goes.
I had a handful of the Speers left over, so I loaded some up at 1.510" C.O.L . The same length that Speer tested.
The loads are;
3.5grs Bullseye
3.7grs Bullseye
4.0grs 700-X
4.5grs W231
4.7grs N-320
Well, the average velocities are a bit lower with the Speer bullet, but they did shoot better!.. at least with this sample..
Well, I think I have beat this horse enough.. my curiosity is satisfied with this subject.. I found some nice loads for my gun and that's really all I was after.
Hope this is helpful for someone.. Lots of fun.
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