muddocktor
Member
I went to the range today to try out some MBC bullets and run them across my chrono. I'd clipped one of the sky shade rods last time I brought it to the range and finally got around to replacing it with some brazing rod, which worked just fine. The bullets I was trying out were the .358 diameter 140 grain Zinger and the 180 grain Striker, both Hy Tek coated. I also shot some Bayou 158 grain SWC, also coated.
The pistols I used for testing were my 4" barrel 627-Pro and my Coonan Classic, which is a 1911 style 357 Mag with a 5" barrel. I figured that the 627 would be a good matchup for barrel length against the Coonan to see how much efficiency a vented barrel has as compared to an auto. My chrono is a Caldwell, which frankly isn't that great. The software is decent but the hardware is cheap. But the price was right at the time and I wanted to get a chrono to play with. I will say that if (or when) it croaks I won't buy another Caldwell in the future.
The loads I shot today were as follows:
MBC 140 grain Zinger (TCFP)
Powder: Accurate #9, 12.5 grains
Primer: CCI 550
hard roll crimp
MBC 180 grain Striker (RNFP)
Powder: Accurate #9, 10.8 grains
Primer: CCI 550
hard roll crimp
Bayou 158 grain SWC
Powder: H110, 16.5 grains
Primer: CCI 550
hard roll crimp
And for kicks and giggles I ran some PMC Bronze 158 grain JSP jacketed bullets to see what it would clock at.
I didn't shoot either the PMC factory ammo or the Bayou 158 SWC through the Coonan as it doesn't like the bullet profiles and gives feed problems. So they were just run through the 627 Pro. The results I got were as follows:
627 Pro and 140 grain Zingers:
Average: 1260.43
StdDev: 10.94
Min: 1243
Max: 1273
Spread: 30
True MV: 1261.86
Coonan and 140 grain Zingers:
Average: 1345.67
StdDev: 36.76
Min: 1307
Max: 1394
Spread: 87
True MV: 1347.19
627 Pro and 180 grain Strikers:
Average: 1096.62
StdDev: 14.38
Min: 1075
Max: 1114
Spread: 39
True MV: 1097.87
Coonan and 180 grain Strikers:
Average: 1195.29
StdDev: 13.02
Min: 1177
Max: 1212
Spread: 35
True MV: 1196.64
627 Pro and Bayou 158 grain SWC:
Average: 1124.43
StdDev: 27.26
Min: 1097
Max: 1174
Spread: 77
True MV: 1125.70
PMC Bronze 158 grain JSP:
Average: 1091.38
StdDev: 20.87
Min: 1065
Max: 1129
Spread: 64
True MV: 1092.61
I was a little surprised at how much more velocity the Coonan achieved with the same loads as compared to the 627. And the Coonan seemed to really love the 180 grain Striker bullets. I also ran some fairly lightly loaded 44's across the chrono that were loaded with 7.1 grains Unique and Bayou 240 grain SWC bullets and found they were clocking around 875 fps out of my 6 1/2" barrel 629 Classic. Those are some mild and pleasant loads to run out of the Classic and don't beat you up.
Anyway, I had a good time playing with the loads and chrono at the range today and the weather was just about perfect. Temps were in the 70's and the humidity was lower than normal today for this area.
The pistols I used for testing were my 4" barrel 627-Pro and my Coonan Classic, which is a 1911 style 357 Mag with a 5" barrel. I figured that the 627 would be a good matchup for barrel length against the Coonan to see how much efficiency a vented barrel has as compared to an auto. My chrono is a Caldwell, which frankly isn't that great. The software is decent but the hardware is cheap. But the price was right at the time and I wanted to get a chrono to play with. I will say that if (or when) it croaks I won't buy another Caldwell in the future.
The loads I shot today were as follows:
MBC 140 grain Zinger (TCFP)
Powder: Accurate #9, 12.5 grains
Primer: CCI 550
hard roll crimp
MBC 180 grain Striker (RNFP)
Powder: Accurate #9, 10.8 grains
Primer: CCI 550
hard roll crimp
Bayou 158 grain SWC
Powder: H110, 16.5 grains
Primer: CCI 550
hard roll crimp
And for kicks and giggles I ran some PMC Bronze 158 grain JSP jacketed bullets to see what it would clock at.
I didn't shoot either the PMC factory ammo or the Bayou 158 SWC through the Coonan as it doesn't like the bullet profiles and gives feed problems. So they were just run through the 627 Pro. The results I got were as follows:
627 Pro and 140 grain Zingers:
Average: 1260.43
StdDev: 10.94
Min: 1243
Max: 1273
Spread: 30
True MV: 1261.86
Coonan and 140 grain Zingers:
Average: 1345.67
StdDev: 36.76
Min: 1307
Max: 1394
Spread: 87
True MV: 1347.19
627 Pro and 180 grain Strikers:
Average: 1096.62
StdDev: 14.38
Min: 1075
Max: 1114
Spread: 39
True MV: 1097.87
Coonan and 180 grain Strikers:
Average: 1195.29
StdDev: 13.02
Min: 1177
Max: 1212
Spread: 35
True MV: 1196.64
627 Pro and Bayou 158 grain SWC:
Average: 1124.43
StdDev: 27.26
Min: 1097
Max: 1174
Spread: 77
True MV: 1125.70
PMC Bronze 158 grain JSP:
Average: 1091.38
StdDev: 20.87
Min: 1065
Max: 1129
Spread: 64
True MV: 1092.61
I was a little surprised at how much more velocity the Coonan achieved with the same loads as compared to the 627. And the Coonan seemed to really love the 180 grain Striker bullets. I also ran some fairly lightly loaded 44's across the chrono that were loaded with 7.1 grains Unique and Bayou 240 grain SWC bullets and found they were clocking around 875 fps out of my 6 1/2" barrel 629 Classic. Those are some mild and pleasant loads to run out of the Classic and don't beat you up.
Anyway, I had a good time playing with the loads and chrono at the range today and the weather was just about perfect. Temps were in the 70's and the humidity was lower than normal today for this area.
