American Select and Cast Bullets

[Strike Eagle]

A Cowboy Action Shooter told me that American Select powder and cast lead bullets in .38 special has very low smoke characteristics and it fills up the case better than other powders.

Anybody have opinions and experience with American Select and .38 Special cast lead??

 

[Andy Griffith]

I've tried American Select with cast lead, but in .32 W.C.F.

Worked very well with 115gr. cast out of a couple of 5" M&P's, low smoke any very clean, and shot to P.O.A.

 

[tennexplorer]

I've been using it with a 125 cast. It is pretty clean and very accurate. My Model 15 really likes it.

 

[Big Fred]

I'm a Cowboy Action Shooter and American Select is all I use in .38 special loads. I've tried a lot of different powders and, to me, American Select is the cleanest burning, lowest smoking, and lightest recoiling powder I've tried.

I load 3.2 gr. with a standard Federal primer and top it off with a 125 gr. TC cast by Penn Bullets.

This load runs around 750 fps out of my 5 1/2" second gen.Colts, and runs close to 1000 fps out of my tuned Uberti 1873 rifle.

American Select is a flake powder and you can get a little variance in some measures. I load on a Dillon 650 and found that if you tape an aquarium air pump to the powder hopper the vibration will level off the charges keeping them at 3.2 gr.

Good Luck.

 

[TSQUARED]

I use either American Select or WST for many of my lead bullet loads and for some jacketeed and plated bullet loads. Both are clean burning but American Select is less dense and fills up the case more than WST.

 

[jazzman452]

I have been using titegroup for my 38 loads but it does not fill the case very much. I have also tried trail boss which I like. I will try American Select, thanks for the tip,

Jazzman

 

[Amici]

Want to reduce the smoke even more?

Use a poly-coated lead bullet. For a slight increase over the cost of those crayon-lubed lead bullets, you'll get jacketed cleanliness.