zaphar

I watched the video a few times as well and noted that the third cartridge had the bad primer, where as the sixth did the magic. The guy mentions that he was shooting lead bullets earlier and was having accuracy problems, could this be a case of leading in the barrel trapping an under powered jacketed bullet? If the loading he's using is just on the threshold of exiting the barrel, perhaps the round with the dud primer didn't squib and was the second to last one.

I've been using some 158gr .358 plated bullets for some experimental loadings since they seem to be more available at the moment than then lighter weights. These are being used in an autoloader and noticed a few different bullet profiles: SWC, FP, and RNFP. I've been using the RNFP but they seem to make contact with the lands sooner than I want causing a short OAL. My question is will the SWC or FP allow for a longer OAL? The barrel slugs to .356 and is chambered for 38 Super. I was thinking of ordering some of the extreme plated bullets on this page, which have the three different profiles in 158gr: http://www.xtremebullets.com/category-s/48044.htm

I loaded up a K of 40 S&W using Unique and noticed the same thing in addition to the + .2 gr accuracy using a microcharge bar. Ball powders don't give me any issues in a Loadmaster, this was my first time using a flake powder, which seemed OK for my target loadings.

If you have 9x19mm dies you can use those for loading 9x23mm Super Comp. I've been loading it with 115gr JHP @ 172pf and the brass/primers look fine when I use it in a supported 4.5" 38 Super barrel.

Are there any disadvantages to throating out the barrel? Would you be able to still use regular length ammo? From what I've seen with the 40S&W, you shouldn't have trouble loading a 165gr+ bullet to the same OAL as the 10mm, which would make a conversion like this pretty easy for a EAA Witness/Tanfoglio. You would probably just need to use a 10mm magazine and a heavier recoil spring.

This channel on youtube may be of use, it has all sorts of gel tests using defense ammo:

In the few work-up loads using Unique, it shot well, although I now understand why many reloaders here prefer other powders for progressive loading. 4.2gr 14 shot average of 836fps, 132pf 4.3gr 6 shot average of 857fps, 135pf 4.4gr 6 shot average of 873fps, 138pf (one FTE) There's another six rounds loaded up with 4.5gr but I was unable to test them due to white faced hornets and other wasps swarming me. That'll be the last of the Unique used, the rest went into ~950 rounds of 40S&W practice ammo. I have HS-6 and Longshot on hand, any ideas on which one would perform better (aiming for ~1100fps)? The closest information avalible in the Hodgdon reloading reference is for a 150gr and based on it, I'm thinking Loudshot: 150 GR. CAST LRN Hodgdon Longshot .356" 1.230" 5.0 1076 27,200 CUP 6.2 1162 32,200 CUP 150 GR. CAST LRN Hodgdon HS-6 .356" 1.230" 6.4 1078 25,400 CUP 7.1 1175 30,900 CUP 150 GR. SIE JFP Hodgdon Longshot .356" 1.265" 5.5 1040 26,900 CUP 6.0 1126 31,800 CUP 150 GR. SIE JFP Hodgdon HS-6 .356" 1.265" 6.5 1029 26,000 CUP 7.2 1137 31,200 CUP I thought Longshot was supposed to be slower than HS-6?

$7 for a bag of 100 starline 38 sc this past weekend at a gunshow

If you're shooting at a range you could probably use one of these to catch your brass: Although one of those wouldn't be very useful during a competition.

The 10mm seems like a better off-the-shelf option, but if you reload, it seems like long loading 40 S&W might make more sense if you only use the mid to heavier bullets. I personally don't use anything under 165gr in 40 caliber, which in the picture below you can see will probably perform similar to 10mm loaded to the same length. In addition to having similar (the same?) case capacity when loaded to equal length, the 40 S&W uses small primers which is beneficial to anyone that doesn't use anything with large primers (no need to buy more tooling to use them). Then there's the cost of brass on top of that. If the 10mm had an OAL similar to the 7.62x25mm Tok, there would be very little overlap in bullet weights and you probably wouldn't see people trying to load 40 S&W that long.

And I saw that none of the Hodgen Clays line will be available until early 2014 due to a fire at their plant. It's looking like N320 or W231 if I can find it. http://www.n-ssa.org/vbforum/showthread.php/7385-Fire-at-Hodgen-powder-plant There wasn't a fire, so probably some other reason.

Just a follow up, I switched to 9x19 dies as you suggested. Both dies worked, however after comparing the two loaded cartridges side by side, I see what you mean about case taper. With the 38 Super dies, a taper remains close to the web, with straight case walls from there to the case mouth. With the 9x19 dies, the taper extends from the web to about 3/4ths up the case or to about where the bottom of the bullet is seated. 4.0gr of Unique caused a FTE with one of the rounds so I tried 4.2gr which worked well, although I still need to chronograph it to see where the velocity is at. The OAL of 1.245" was making contact with the rifling, so using the drop test, I found that right around 1.24" was where the bullet started to not stick so the new OAL became 1.235".

Yep, it's still good. Tested some new loadings today and everything went well. Now I just need to check them out with the chronograph and see where they're at.

In national parks, sure, all sorts of brass can be found there. When walking through other parks I catch myself looking for stuff not to step in...

There's a posting on armslist that mentioned the Sportsman's Wearhouse in Bozeman gets its ammo shipment in on Friday morning, which may also be the case for the store I went to (on a Friday evening). http://www.armslist.com/posts/1735648/bozeman-montana-ammo-for-sale--tons-of-ammo-at-sportsmans-warehouse-yesterday-and-today

At first I was planning on using the 9mm dies but figured that if I could effectively use the 38 Super dies, it'd be closer to the actual chamber dimensions of the pistol I'm using, which are .390 at the mouth and web. It definitely wont work with a .355 bullet since it slides right in after resizing, however with the .357 bullet it does not.

Howdy, I'm planning on working up the following load tomorrow, but want to get a second opinion on the matter. The load will be: 158gr HSM PHP (.357) 4.0gr Unique (to start) Starline 9x23 Comp brass (fire formed to .390 and resized to .383 neck and web) Wolf SPP OAL 1.245 lee factory crimp die The firearm will be a standard steel witness in 38 Super. This load is based on one listed in the Lyman Reloading Handbook 46th Ed: #358311 158 gr. (#2 Alloy) 1.245" OAL Unique start 4.4gr/958fps/20,100C.U.P. - 5.1gr/1058fps/28,100C.U.P. I haven't used Unique before, it's a bit faster than what I've been using (HS-6/Longshot). Are there any things I should look out for when using it, other than a double charge? Bullet tension seems like it will be OK in the 9x23 Comp brass even though it's being sized with 38 Super dies due to the .3575 bullets being used, I had trouble before with .355 bullets and had to use 9mm dies. Any suggestions would be appreciated if I'm heading in the wrong direction.

I too was gifted a pound of this powder that was purchased in '83 with a lot number of "UN 180". It doesn't have an ammonia smell but has a faint (fruity?) smell to it. After pouring some out onto a piece of paper, I didn't see any "red dust" which I read is a sign that it's bad. If the powder is bad, is the smell very sharp? I can't really determine what the smell is or if it's just "old cardboard" smell.

If you're using SRP in place of SPP, make sure that you're not using them for low pressure loads or you may get breach face erosion: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=146365 I had this happen to me when using starting loads in 38 Super with HS-6 but it stopped doing so after reaching a moderate loading.

I completely agree. My biggest problem in the future will be storage space... On a slightly more positive note, last week at the Cabela's in Springfield, Oregon, I was able to buy some large pistol primers. I happened to be in the store just after they had unloaded the truck, and they had one case (5,000 primers) of about every size of primer. It didn't look like the sort of replenishment order that would have been placed by the store because it was just one case of everything, but at least CCI was shipping. Now, Cabela's is a big retailer and I'm sure they are near the front of the line due to contractual commitments from CCI, but still, good news. I've also heard (hopeful) stories of no shortages in Idaho and Montana. I'll be going through both states later this month so I'm going to make it a point to stop and look for ammo and components a few times. This panic has been more severe than most previous ones I remember because, I think, of the direct attempt to get rid of the AR-15. That alone has brought a lot of brand-new gun buyers (for ARs and basically anything that will go Bang) on to the scene, and they had zero ammo, so they are making the problem worse. The new people are also getting into reloading in a big way (or they are driving many of us who have never done it to reloading), causing backups at Dillon and presumably other reloading equipment makers. Chris I just when to the Sportsman's Warehouse in "Mizooula" today and they had all sorts of components and powder today. If I remember correctly, they had a bunch of HSM(Powerbond) plated bullets, Speer bullets, Accurate powders, (Rem, CCI, etc.) primers @ $36/thousand, and more. I just did a quick look and most of this was not there three or so weeks ago. The last time I checked this store out there was one 250ct box of HSM .357 158gr PHP bullets, some empty (display?) Vihtavuori powder bottles and a few other things on the shelf. They do have some sort of limit on the quantity you can buy of each item, but I didn't bother to remember since I left with only one item.

Yes, kind of like light .357 Mag out of a snub revolver Heavier bullets seem to be a better choice until I can manage to get/put together some sort of comp kit.

It feels like there's too much slide velocity. When switching out the recoil spring to the 20lb rated one, it seemed like there was less shock, although I started having feeding/ejecting issues. The brass is also ejecting quite far from me, so that too.

Any recommendations on what spring rating a standard witness shooting 115gr@1450fps with no comp should use? The 14lb spring seems a bit light, but I tried a 20lb and it was too heavy causing FTF and stove piping. It seems like a 16lb spring may be a better choice but was also thinking a 18lb spring may work.

http://web.archive.org/web/20090123164916/http://eaacorp.com/parts-hand-gun-barrels-compensators.html Can the comp kits found on this page still be found anywhere? I found similar kits but only in 9x21 and 45ACP? EAA has removed them from their current website and I've heard that they probably don't import them anymore.

What do the primers look like on them? I use them for practice ammo out of my 38 Super, which works ok if the OAL is adjusted with a 38 Super die. I can fire them as is, but sometimes the cartridges will jam the magazine because they're too long. They'll sometimes shortstroke the slide as well if left long. They have a 127Gr FMJ that produces 1200-1250FPS out of my 4.5 inch barrel, so pretty much the same as factory loaded ammo. At 18 cents a round, works for me.