Using rifle powder in a pistol

[fredj338]

Old eyes got me today. I picked up a box of 125 gr Gold Dot's and a box of Hornady 125's to load some +p 38's for my Colt Cobra. Load is either bullet in Federal nickle cases ( today anyway ) with CCI sp primers and 7 gr of long shot. I loaded 50 of the Hornady's and then 50 of the Gold dots . AS I was putting everything away I noticed that the Gold Dots were not .357 but were for a 357 Sig so they were .355 . This Sucks !

Done some reading on the internet and found a fairly large number of posts stating that this does work but may require a bit more crimp than normal.Went outside and fired one and it sounded like a cap gun ! Stuck a bullet about 1 inch up the barrel . Got the hickory after it and it pops out no problem showing nice deep groves. I got my dies back out and put the seating / crimp die back in the press with the seating stem run out till it could not contact the bullet. Screwed the die body in another 1/4 turn at a time till I got a very heavy crimp. This should work because I read it on the internet. Wrong !! The first bullet hit the 2 inch stick on target I use no problem. The next one sounded like a lady finger firecracker ! Out comes the hickory . Same on the next three so I decided the crimp does not work. Funny thing is ....... NO load book says you should or could use .355 bullets in .38 special . Not saying this can't be made to work but I am saying it didn't . Guess I will just have to buy the correct size bullets and always be sure I wear my glasses when buying bullets.

Something else went wrong here. The only way you are sticking a jacketed bullet in a bbl is have the vel well below minimum. While a bullet 0.002" smaller reduces pressures a bit, the bullet should stil leave the bbl. IF it was 7gr of longshot, should have easily sent that bullet on its way. Accuracy would suck, but the bullet isnt sticking. Recheck your powder charge &/or which powder you used. I seriously doubt it was a bullet issue.
Fwiw, of course you can shoot smaller dia bullet on your 357/38. After all, the ruger bh conv shoots 9mm ammo?????

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Something else went wrong here. The only way you are sticking a jacketed bullet in a bbl is have the vel well below minimum. While a bullet 0.002" smaller reduces pressures a bit, the bullet should stil leave the bbl. IF it was 7gr of longshot, should have easily sent that bullet on its way. Accuracy would suck, but the bullet isnt sticking. Recheck your powder charge &/or which powder you used. I seriously doubt it was a bullet issue.
Fwiw, of course you can shoot smaller dia bullet on your 357/38. After all, the ruger bh conv shoots 9mm ammo?????

No doubt about the charge weight I dip, and trickle up on a digital scale . I got the powder out of a brand new 8lb longshot container and the same charge loaded the same night with 125 gr Hornady JHP's .357 bullets were stout in the old Cobra.

Eddie

 

[ruggyh]

How did this post turn into a 357 / 38 post?

Guess nobody read the first post.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Fwiw, of course you can shoot smaller dia bullet on your 357/38. After all, the ruger bh conv shoots 9mm ammo?????[/QUOTE]

Yes , but in a cylinder chambered for 9mm. The powder was not fully igniting and left lots of unburned flakes in the cone and cylinder throat. I pulled the .355 bullets and opened the case enough to seat the .357 Hornady's and put the exact same powder back in and crimped with a normal crimp and they work just fine. ???? Who knows ?

Eddie

 

[Eddie Southgate]

How did this post turn into a 357 / 38 post?

Guess nobody read the first post.

Yes we all read it. My post was not really about my adventures in .38 / 357 loading it was about the crappy results I got when I accidentally did not follow the basic rules set forth in all reloading manuals.Use the correct components and correct procedures to achieve the correct results. I accidentally did something that did not work the OP wants someone to tell him it's ok to do something that will result in the same crappy performance. Only difference between him and me is he will make his mistake on purpose.

Eddie

 

[ruggyh]

Yes we all read it. My post was not really about my adventures in .38 / 357 loading it was about the crappy results I got when I accidentally did not follow the basic rules set forth in all reloading manuals.Use the correct components and correct procedures to achieve the correct results. I accidentally did something that did not work the OP wants someone to tell him it's ok to do something that will result in the same crappy performance. Only difference between him and me is he will make his mistake on purpose.

Eddie

The OP ask "rifle powder" in 500 - you got crappy results in .38 / 357. because you didn't follow directions.

Don't see the correlation unless you are implying that your results apply to the 500 S&W and suitable directions don't exist, and by suitable I mean produce a reasoning grouping of shoots on target.

If that's the case you would be wrong.

There is good data for the 500 using "rifle powders", it does provide good result but they may not be results he is expecting/looking for; he didn't say, I won't assume.

Tired of hearing all the generalizations and assumptions, that includes terms like "rifle power" and "pistol powder".

As stated before you joined the mislead,
this horse has been beat to death.

Good luck and be safe
Ruggy

 

[buck460XVR]

Don't see the correlation

I see it, altho it is quite general. Use components not suitable for your application and expect results that are unsatisfactory.

There is good data for the 500 using "rifle powders", it does provide good result but they may not be results he is expecting/looking for; he didn't say, I won't assume.

While there is some "good" data for using rifle powders in the .500, there are none using the powder the OP says he has "lots of". So in other words he will have to buy another powder, and if and when he does, it should be something proven to be suitable and appropriate. Most of those recipes given to us by John Ross, using rifle powders, are for reduced loads. They are known for filling the case without fear of producing over pressure. Many are recommended for his 5" uncompensated Performance Center model and for good reason. None I have seen are using 7828(the OP's powder) as the propellant....again, for good reason.

Whenever I am asked for suggestions from a new reloader, I tell them to stick with proven components when they first start, as they will have a greater chance of producing quality ammo as opposed to using "what I have on hand". Proven components with proven performance have a much greater chance of being safer, more accurate and giving desired performance. They also give a new reloader a baseline to compare that ammo crafted from lesser used components. This, regardless of caliber. Since the OP is new to reloading for his .500, I stand by this same recommendation.

 

[Rule3]

Now this thread raises a very important issue or question.

What kind of powder is 22 Long Rifle loaded with?

It is specifically labeled LONG RIFLE but I know for a fact that people use it in pistols and revolvers! How can this be??
Research must be done!


Soon we will be back to stuffing match heads in the cases!

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Now this thread raises a very important issue or question.

What kind of powder is 22 Long Rifle loaded with?

It is specifically labeled LONG RIFLE but I know for a fact that people use it in pistols and revolvers! How can this be??
Research must be done!


Soon we will be back to stuffing match heads in the cases!

Watched 2 videos on utube this morning on using match heads and acetone to reprime 22 Lr cases .

Eddie