Bad Flynch

>Spitting is more often related to the powder you < You are right on, on that one. Spitting unburned powder particles can be a problem. Sometimes this will occur because there is a lot of burning and the pressure max as the bullet crosses the barrel-cylinder gap.

The only things that I try to avoid are 1) loads that do not group well, and 2) loads whose pressue peak occurs as the bullet crosses the barrel-cylinder gap. Having the pressure peak at the barrel-cylinder gap gives a lot of noise, flash, and increases the leading on the cylinder face (when using lead bullets).

1.275 inches is the maximum allowable loaded length. That was established by the military and adopted by SAAMI, so that manufacturers could make guns and magazines that would function reliably with standard length cartridges. When you are checking them in your barrel, don't forget to check them in your magazine, too. When reloading, the overall loaded length will vary a little, depending on the quality and, hence, the uniformity of your bullets' ogives. Cheap bullets mean lots of variation. I am currently loading a batch of match ammo with Sierra 230 gr Tournament Master bullets. When using Redding's micrometer seater die, the lengths overall will be all inside of 0.001" for the whole of the 1000 rounds. But then, Sierra bullets are $16-$17 per hundred. Another brand of 230 gr FMJs will give me ammo inside of 0.005" in a similar run. That is good enough for everyday use. The trick is to load, say, 100 or so and then find the longest one and make sure that the loaded round that is probably the longest does not exceed 1.275" and let the rest fall where they will.

BJ--Give VV 3N37 a try. I have had good luck with this, and it is clean burning. I like the pressure to velocity ratio, too. Not too hard to get good velocity.