Need some solid advice here.....

[JJFlash]

Although I have been shooting for almost 35 years, I never jumped into the reloading pool......until now.

I just bought my first press (single stage) along with some dies.

I had been acquiring a small stockpile of components (bullets, powders, primers) and had been buying Unique for handgun loads.

Two days ago, a stopped into a store that had ONE pound of TiteGroup, so I bought it.

It had loads listed on the front of the bottle, so I set up my work station to begin loading 38 specials.

What I didn't notice (stupid stupid STUPID) was the small lettering under the loading chart that said "Maximum Loads, Do Not Exceed"

So being the noob that I am, I happily went about loading exactly what was on the bottle: 3.8 gr under a 158 gr hard-cast LSWC, with an overall length of 1.475". The chart showed 920fps for this load.

I have four 38 specials: 2 model 10s (1980s), 1 pre-15 (1955) and 1 Taurus model 82 (1980s)

Should I shoot these rounds, or should I toss them??

If I do shoot them, is there any of the pistols listed above that I shouldn't shoot them in??

Please be kind.....I already feel stupid enough.

 

[SMSgt]

Any reloader who hasn't done something stupid at least once can move to the head of the line!!

I, myself, would not start out reloading with Titegroup. You're better off with a higher volume powder to reduce the risk of mis-weighs or double charges.

I'm sure the S&Ws would handle the loads, but I'm not the one shooting them.

 

[Skunkhome]

throw out? Never. Pull the bullets and reload 10% less powder. You can buy a inertia bullet puller or make one with a hole drilled through a piece of hardwood and hammer on another block until the bullet pulls out. Pull over a Tupperware tub and save the powder and bullets.

 

[Nevada Ed]

The model 10's are a K frame.............go for it.

You got lucky.

 

[M29since14]

I guess it depends on how confident you are of your work. If you did everything exactly right, you should be fine. I imagine there is the usual "margin for error" between the published data and the charge weight that produces disaster.

I would probably not be too worried about it but I don't know about YOUR confidence level. If you have any doubts, why not invest in an inertia puller ($15 or so), tear a few down, and make absolutely sure you did everything right? If you can, have an experienced friend double-check for you while you watch. If all is well, you should be OK to proceed with caution.

Don't worry about the mistake. Just learn from it.

 

[scooter123]

Not really a fan of Titegroup, it's a low volume powder with a wide reputation for being double or triple charged by mistake. However, if you were careful to check each load individually for an overcharge I think that you'll be safe treating this lot of ammunition as 38 +P loads. This means that you'll be safe using them in either of your model 10's because they are late enough in production that they will be rated for +P ammunition. A bit of potential bad news is that it's likely you'll find they don't shoot to your sights but that's easy to correct for with a bit of Kentucky Windage.

What you do NOT want to shoot this ammunition in is your pre 15. The general rule of thumb concerning S&W revolvers is that only the steel framed revolvers stamped with a model number are capable of using +P ammunition without harm. I also don't know enough about Taurus revolvers to say if they are rated for +P ammunition.

 

[ken158]

A few comments from a 40 plus years reloader... you did not mention buying a reloading book - you need to get one now! Also, even with the run on components, just because there may be a pound of powder on the shelf is not a reason to buy it unless you need it - there are a lot of better powders for your caliber than TG - why didnt you use some of your Unique?

 

[R. G. Amos]

Do you have a reloading manual?

 

[Cpo1944]

If you are really that concerned and have access to a .357 Magnum , you could shoot them thru it. You didn`t say how many rounds you loaded, but if your anything like me you didn`t load all that many. It seems to take me about 1.5 minuets per round= about 1.5 hours per 100 rounds.
I know I know, but I`m not in a race am I ???

 

[JJFlash]

Yep, I do have a couple of older reloading manuals, but they don't show TiteGroup in their loads with 158 SWC.

200 rounds were loaded.

I assumed that the Hodgdon's data would be better than a bullet maker's data.

I can tell you that from now on, I will seriously research my load data.

Thanks for the suggestions about bullet pullers. I will pick one up.

I was VERY careful about making sure that each case only received one charge.

I use a bin full of primed cases, pick out a case, charge it, then put it into the reloading block.

Since all of the cases are of the same batch (Federal), I will weigh all of the components to get an idea of what total loaded weight should be.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

FWIW, the folks on this forum seem to genuinely care about helping others, whereas other forums have members who can't wait to decend upon a noob and bash him to pieces.

Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[Engineer1911]

Shoot them in a 357 mag revolver. That's a right sporty load, but still safe.

 

[ralph7]

[

FWIW, the folks on this forum seem to genuinely care about helping others, whereas other forums have members who can't wait to decend upon a noob and bash him to pieces.

Thanks again for all of the help.

So you loaded up some plus p ammo, have fun shooting it!
The worst thing you did was spell descend wrong, noob.

 

[tlay]

The way I reload you can stop some of your mistakes. I first resize and reprime. I put these in the trays primer up. After I am done I look at all of them to make sure they all have a primer. Next I run them through the powder flare die and charge each one. As I do each one I flip it over open end up of course. I do all of them and then use a light and look at all of them. Next I switch to the bullet seating die and do each. Next is the crimping die and do each. Good luck.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Please don't weigh components for checking for a few tenths of a grain off in your powder charge. The one and only good thing I will say about Titegroup is that it seems to flow well enough. The bad things are it takes a tiny charge that's hard as heck to see an excessive charge, this is the most listed kaboom causing powder, this is the easiest powder I know of to get into +P and higher charges and not be able to see the difference in the loading block. You had better be beyond sure of your loading practices before you use this powder. Just about anything is a better powder to start with. I would go hunt down some HP-38 and load with that. And not start at the max load...

 

[rwsmith]

catching and correcting

Catching and correcting your mistake before you go to the range is good thinking.

 

[JJFlash]

Please don't weigh components for checking for a few tenths of a grain off in your powder charge. The one and only good thing I will say about Titegroup is that it seems to flow well enough. The bad things are it takes a tiny charge that's hard as heck to see an excessive charge, this is the most listed kaboom causing powder, this is the easiest powder I know of to get into +P and higher charges and not be able to see the difference in the loading block. You had better be beyond sure of your loading practices before you use this powder. Just about anything is a better powder to start with. I would go hunt down some HP-38 and load with that. And not start at the max load...

Well, I DID go ahead an weigh a bunch of my stuff and here's what I came up with:

The empty, primed case and the bullet weigh 226 grains.

With 3.8 grains of TG, the total should be 229.8 grains.

A majority of my loads were spot on.

Some of my loads were slightly (-.2 grains) lighter.

Several loads were .5 to 1.2 grains heavier, and these loads were removed from the batch.

Could this be the result of component weight variance?

Should I toss these heavier loads, or give them to one of my .357 buddies??

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Skunkhome]

I guess it depends on how confident you are of your work. If you did everything exactly right, you should be fine. I imagine there is the usual "margin for error" between the published data and the charge weight that produces disaster.

I would probably not be too worried about it but I don't know about YOUR confidence level. If you have any doubts, why not invest in an inertia puller ($15 or so), tear a few down, and make absolutely sure you did everything right? If you can, have an experienced friend double-check for you while you watch. If all is well, you should be OK to proceed with caution.

Don't worry about the mistake. Just learn from it.

They may be fine but He is a self professed newbie. Just how confident can he be if he has never pulled the trigger on one of his reloads? Save yourself the worry and Pull the bullets, save the components and work the loads up as they should be. Always read the find print before signing a contract or reloading. The ony bad mistakes are the ones you don't learn about until it too late to correct and the damage is done. For heavens sakes, don't throw them out and allow them to get into the hands of some unsuspecting shooter.

 

[Forrest r]

There's nothing wrong with those loads, just shoot them.

Hodgdon tries to take into account powder throws being off/powder bridging/etc when they publish their load data. You will find that Hodgdon will use a lower max load/pressure for their faster burning, high energy powders (like titegroup). Go to the Hodgdon website & lok up your bullet/powder data, it should be in the 14,000/15,000 psi range for a max load. Powders like hs-6 & universal clays should be in the 16,000 psi range for their max load.

Hodgdon does try to put built in safety features into their reloading data. The max load for titegroup is a good example of this.

 

[Skunkhome]

Well, I DID go ahead an weigh a bunch of my stuff and here's what I came up with:

The empty, primed case and the bullet weigh 226 grains.

With 3.8 grains of TG, the total should be 229.8 grains.

A majority of my loads were spot on.

Some of my loads were slightly (-.2 grains) lighter.

Several loads were .5 to 1.2 grains heavier, and these loads were removed from the batch.

Could this be the result of component weight variance?

Should I toss these heavier loads, or give them to one of my .357 buddies??

Thanks again for the help!

There is way too much variation in other components to be using total weight to determine if your powder charges are correct. If you are charging your cases manually charge the case once and immediately cap with the bullet before grabbing the next case. Look inside the case make sure it is empty, charge the case and immediately cap with the bullet. You might end up with a light load but you will not double charge. And always make sure that as soon as you grab the powder can you are totally focused on that step. No multitasking. No phone calls or texts. Double check to make sure you have the right powder, read your loading data and double check powder to data before you open the can. Check your loads against a scale and make sure it is according to the data. Make sure you have only the powder you are using on your reloading bench. Other powders should be hidden away in a cabinet or box. I don't even like to see rows of powder on shelves above the bench. Work in a quiet room and when using a scale make sure that the air is dead still. A fan, AC or heater blowing will make your scale inaccurate.

Btw, do not share your reloads, they are for your own personal use. You probably don't have enough liability insurance to be sharing your reloads...I know I don't.

 

[Twoboxer]

There SHOULD be nothing wrong with those rounds, and you SHOULD be able to shoot them safely. Soooo . . .

Put them aside for now, and work up (eg) several 5-round loads with smaller charges. If they all shoot with no signs of pressure, shoot 5 of the rounds you originally made. If there are n osigns of trouble, and if all of your loads are close to that max target, you will be sure you can shoot them safely.

No need to pull them apart . . . yet . . . and maybe never.