Duplicating the velocity of Rem “FBI Load” in S&W HD 5 inch

[38SPL HV]

Requirement:

Duplicate the velocity of Remington’s 38 Spl +P “FBI Load” in a S&W Heavy Duty 38 Spl 5 inch revolver using 158 gr cast SWC. Remington’s factory “FBI Load” had previously performed as follows in this revolver:
Hi 976 fps
Lo 916 fps
Avg 955 fps
ES 60
SD 16

Velocity Duplicates:

Firearm used in tests: S&W Heavy Duty 5 inch barrel

Load 1:
BE-86 (10 shots)
Load: 5.0 grs BE-86
Cases: Starline 38 Spl +P
Bullet: Missouri 158 gr cast SWC
#Shot/MV
1. 942 fps
2. 937 fps
3. 963 fps
4. 958 fps
5. 963 fps
6. 964 fps
7. 963 fps
8. 923 fps
9. 945 fps
10. 970 fps

Hi 970 fps
Lo 923 fps
Avg 952 fps
ES 47
SD 14

Notes: load reminiscent of the classic 38 Spl load using 5.0 grs Unique with 158 gr cast bullet. Load shot pretty much to sights (158 gr bullets usually do as they are used by S&W to sight it’s 38 Spl revolvers).

Load 2:
VV N340 (10 shots)
Load: 5.3 grs VV N340
Cases: Starline 38 Spl +P
Bullet: 158 gr cast SWC (crimped in crimp groove)
#Shot/MV
1. 955 fps
2. 938 fps
3. 965 fps
4. 970 fps
5. 931 fps
6. 957 fps
7. 924 fps
8. 955 fps
9. 936 fps
10. 952 fps

Hi 970 fps
Lo 924 fps
Avg 948 fps
ES 46
SD 14

Notes: load developed from VV’s on line load data. Load started to behave (tighter ES/SD) beginning at 5.3 grs. I consider an ES below 50 to be good (this load is better than Remington’s in this regard). N340 has less “bark” and perceived recoil impulse compared to BE-86…BE-86 is a flash suppressed Power Pistol albeit a little faster but still has some of Power Pistol’s characteristics as loud report and recoil impulse. The N340 load was more accurate in my hands. It’s clean also…guess I have found a nice 38 Spl +P 158 gr load for my S&W HD revolver with N340 (N340 also works great in 357 Mag cases with my Ruger 4 5/8 inch Blackhawk…approx 1,100 fps with 158 gr cast SWC, and very accurate for me).

Note that I also trim my cases to length and found that this aids consistency along with using same brand of cartridge cases (Starline in these tests).

Met a friend for coffee this morning, and after solving all the world’s problems, drove over to my shooting spot to chronograph the loads. Great morning overall.

The loads above are for informational purposes only. Their use are only for my guns. Please refer to current published load data and other loading manual requirements before reloading.

 

[WR Moore]

I recall reading that BE-86 is one of many variants of Bullseye (hence the label-or maybe they're guessing that because of the label). Loading in several different cartridges seems to show a very slightly variable burn rate, may be depending upon pressure? Rather similar to Unique in burn rate (but seems a hair faster burning in 9 mm, oddly), much cleaner burning and vastly better metering. Slightly different density than Power Pistol.

In .45 ACP shows much less flash than WW 231, better velocities.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I recall reading that BE-86 is one of many variants of Bullseye (hence the label-or maybe they're guessing that because of the label). Loading in several different cartridges seems to show a very slightly variable burn rate, may be depending upon pressure? Rather similar to Unique in burn rate (but seems a hair faster burning in 9 mm, oddly), much cleaner burning and vastly better metering. Slightly different density than Power Pistol.

In .45 ACP shows much less flash than WW 231, better velocities.

I agree that W231 is a very good choice for loading the 45 ACP. I use practically nothing else in that cartridge.

 

[DWalt]

The charts show BE-86 as being very close to Unique, Power Pistol, and Hodgdon Universal. I have never used it, but for sure it seems to be somewhat slower than Bullseye.