Loading Mistake on 38-Special 158XTP instead of 125XTP w/HS6

[muddocktor]

Mike, sounds like you have made a good tasting lemonade out of the lemons you originally brewed up. Any time you spend learning new things about reloading is both informative and interesting to me. I'm glad you learned from this experience and also learned some new things in reloading.

 

[BC38]

Some bad advice here! An overloaded .38 special is NOT a .357 mag! It is an OVERLOADED .38 special! The smaller case will generate much more pressure with those charges. DO NOT fire them! The results may be a damaged gun or MUCH worse. Pull em and start over.

Sorry, but you are simply wrong. Your statements sound like panic and hyperbole.

As I stated in an earlier post, the 38 special case is 1/8 inch shorter than the 357 magnum case - which is about a 10% reduction in case volume. That is the only practical difference between the two cases. The 38 special is a low pressure cartridge with a SAAMI pressure rating of 17,000 psi. Therefore the effect of that 10% reduction in case volume is going to be negligible. Especially if the cartridge is being fired in a 357 - which per SAAMI specs is rated for 35,000 psi. A slightly over charged 38 special case with far less powder than what would be used in a 357 under the same bullet is not going to DOUBLE the pressure due to a 10% reduction in case volume - so it is still going to be under the pressure that a 357 is designed to handle.

If we were talking about a small case volume, high pressure round, like the 9mm that same 1/8 would reduce the case volume by more like 25%. That would have a HUGE effect on pressure. Assuming the round would already be loaded with enough powder to approach the 9mm SAAMI pressure spec of 35,000 psi, a 25% reduction in case volume would put it WAY over pressure.

Per 3rdgeargrndrr's post #54 above, the Quickload ballistics calculator program has already shown that the pressure for these loads wouldn't even be above 38 special +P SAAMI spec of 18,500 psi. Naturally that is way, WAY below the 35,000 psi that a 357 is rated for.

So your statements just aren't logical if you really look at and understand the physics of the situation. Sorry, but you're getting all lathered up over nothing.

HorizontalMike, glad you feel good about your decision to salvage the components by breaking them down - and about having learned something in the process. I think unloading them with your 686 would have been a lot more fun, but different strokes as they say.

One other little trick I can suggest for you. Get yourself a Lee Hand Press. Works really great with a collet puller - and you can pick one up on eBay for dirt cheap. It will work with your regular shell plate, and being hand-held it makes putting the rounds into it really easy. Also, since it is single-stage, there are no alignment issues, and you won't have to remove one of your dies from your turret to use it. Controlled pulling of bullets is one of the main things I use mine for.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Some bad advice here! An overloaded .38 special is NOT a .357 mag! It is an OVERLOADED .38 special! The smaller case will generate much more pressure with those charges. DO NOT fire them! The results may be a damaged gun or MUCH worse. Pull em and start over.

Sorry but you Sir are the one giving bad and inaccurate advice. Everything you said was a paranoid guess on your part and totally wrong. There is nothing at all dangerous with shooting those loads in any .357 Magnum revolver, especially a M686.

Since the OP has already pulled them it's a moot point.

 

[Newtire]

Shoot them in any .357 and you'll be fine. According to the Hodgdon's website using that exact same bullet in .357 the start is 8 grains and max is 9.5 grains. You are 10% below the starting load and 30% below the max load. Your gun doesn't know the difference between a +P+ .38 Special and a weak .357.

You need to be careful when reloading but a little common sense is also useful.

On a related - I'm pretty sure all bullet manufacturers use the exact same looking boxes for their wares.

Big difference in using the same data in shorter vs longer case. The mistake you made is not safe to correct by shooting the loads in a .357. It's like deep seating .357 loads. Deep seating causes dangerously high pressures. It's really not that much work to pull 100 loads with your impact puller. Put a piece of foam in the bottom to save the bullets from damage and toss the powder into a container to reuse. Not that big of a deal really. I also have collet pullers but sometimes, they dont get a good enough grip and are about next to useless on cast bullets. I wind up using my whack-a-mole puller most of the time. The only impact puller that didn't work for me is the all plastic RCBS one. I snapped the handle off of 2 of those on the first hit. The FA puller has worked well for me.

 

[Skyhunter]

If you decide to break them down - regardless of the type of bullet puller - you'll find it easier if you seat the bullets slightly deeper to "break" the crimp. I've found that this holds true for any ammo with crimped bullets.
FYI - I have and use both types of pullers. If I need to pull less than 10, I use the inertia puller. More than that, then I use my RCBS collet puller.

WYT-P
Skyhunter

 

[John Patrick]

Pull them!

 

[LostintheOzone]

Just buy a collet puller and dismiss the destructive testing experts. $40 and you have a tool for the next screw up. I bought one a long long time ago and have used it at least a dozen times on every cartridge I shoot and a few more. I even tore down a bunch 308 rounds a guy at the range gave me because his AR wouldn't ignite the hand loads.

I've always bought the right tool for the job and used it way more than I thought I would.

But then I'm a tool junkie.

 

[glenwolde]

I'd pull them with my Ruger NM Blackhawk.

 

[Tu_S]

I use a RCBS bullet puller, P/N 9440, with the appropriate collet these days.

Of course I have used a cheap kinetic type puller to pull a hundred rounds at a time in the past so it can be done, it just takes some time.

 

[maxfam]

Be smart, pull the bullets, I GUARANTEE your gun won’t blow up!! Can anyone else make that guarantee?

 

[reddog81]

Big difference in using the same data in shorter vs longer case. The mistake you made is not safe to correct by shooting the loads in a .357. It's like deep seating .357 loads. Deep seating causes dangerously high pressures. It's really not that much work to pull 100 loads with your impact puller. Put a piece of foam in the bottom to save the bullets from damage and toss the powder into a container to reuse. Not that big of a deal really. I also have collet pullers but sometimes, they dont get a good enough grip and are about next to useless on cast bullets. I wind up using my whack-a-mole puller most of the time. The only impact puller that didn't work for me is the all plastic RCBS one. I snapped the handle off of 2 of those on the first hit. The FA puller has worked well for me.

Why do people post this on 4 year old posts? Do you really think he was waiting 4 years for your incorrect advice?

 

[BC38]

Why do people post this on 4 year old posts? Do you really think he was waiting 4 years for your incorrect advice?

Exactly! 100% correct on ALL counts.
The OP posted that he pulled down these rounds more than 4 years ago.
Yet here we are, reading the illogical, uninformed opinions of the "reloading is rocket surgery" crowd. Again.
READ THE WHOLE THREAD BEFORE POSTING PEOPLE!
What a waste of bandwidth.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

This thread is 4.5 years old and the OP figured out what he was going to do and already pulled the bullets. There is no reason to bring back a thread from the Abyss after 4.5 years especially since there is nothing to add.