alecmc Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 (edited) Long Colt is the one true path...lol Looks like I wont be testing anything this weekend. I ordered 1000 cases of Long Colt brass from starline last week, box arrived yesterday, too bad it's filled with 38 S&W Cases.... WTF starline?! When you make the change, I'll be happy to buy and take the short colt brass off of your hands. ill shoot you a pm if the time comes Edited March 22, 2014 by alecmc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Long Colt is the one true path...lol Looks like I wont be testing anything this weekend. I ordered 1000 cases of Long Colt brass from starline last week, box arrived yesterday, too bad it's filled with 38 S&W Cases.... WTF starline?! I wonder if the LC Case will still be thin walled enough to give you trouble? There's a thread on cutting 38 special down to .900, about like a Super. With brass lasting a good while in a Revolver and being able to set the length to use an existing cannelure, might be something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecmc Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I wondering if it's my titanium cylinder causing sticky chambers on 38 short colt recipies to work fine in other peoples guns. I havent done any research yet on it, -- could the chambers be slightly undersized or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostold Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I have the same issue with my newly installed Ti cyl. I'm guessing rough chambers - dull tooling? I'm hitting them with polishing compound tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COF Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Had the same problem with my 646. Had to polish the chambers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Did polishing the chambers work? I've machined a bunch of titanium and it has some rather "unique" properties. It's not really hard but tough as all get out. It bends easily and is absolutely fantastic about returning to original form. The only way to prevent this is to hot form it. I wonder if it's not expanding around the case when fired and then "clamping" back down on it when the pressure subsides. I doubt this would be much of an issue in the 625s vs. guns chambered in .357 or .40 and maybe 9mm? I'm torn on waiting for a 929 or grabbing a 627. I'd really like to have the Ti cylinder as long as it actually works for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festus1 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I have two 625's w/ Ti cylinders and two 7 shot L frame's w/ Ti cylinders that I had all coated with Birdsong Black T. That totally did away with any sticking and cleaning is a breeze. In fact Birdsong said to stay away from even brass brushes and just use an oily patch. I'll throw that out there, maybe it will be of help. For 38 short colt I've been using: 2.9 grains of Titegroup 160 grain Bayou bullets OAL of 1.169 Out of a six inch 586 w/ Ti cyl. I get 126 PF ave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecmc Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Thanks for the tips guys, But i've abandoned the short colt cases and sold them all off and moved over to starline 38 long colt. I'm using clays , which I have an abundance of, and 160 grain bayou bullets and so far i'm very happy with the results. I dont know how you guys are comfortable with 126-128 power factor out of the short colt cases ( unless it's icore only ) -- That's wayyy to close to the razors edge for me to ever want to take it to a level 2 and up match. The load I have now is 135-138 power factor, which is a nice buffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 The load I have now is 135-138 power factor, which is a nice buffer. I am hitting that PF range with short colts and MG 142-gr. bullets. It's an extraordinarily clean-burning load, and the moonclips pop out easily. Three of us shot the exact same load through our 5" 627s at the WSSRC at Rio Salado earlier this month, and we all chronoed between 136 and 139. So personally, I don't understand the attraction to long colts, or cut-down "mid-colts" or any of that stuff. The way I see it, if you're not going to take advantage of the full benefit of the short colt, you might as well just stick with .38 Spl brass and keep your life simpler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I wondering if it's my titanium cylinder causing sticky chambers on 38 short colt recipies to work fine in other peoples guns. Alec, you had no trouble hitting 133 with good extraction when you tried N320. The problem is you kept trying over and over and over to make short colt work using the wrong frickin' powder! (Clays is great for .45 ACP, but not much else.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecmc Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Mike, I have no doubt that your 147 gr short colt loads work good, For me though, It just came down to what I already had, and product availability. I already have a few cases of 160 grain bayou bullets, and about 10 pounds of Clays... So I really wanted to make that work. Finding other powders to experiment with , as you know, would be like finding a pink unicorn. So, since the long colt cases were readily available to ship, I decided to give that a whirl, with nationals around the corner, and various area and sectional matches I just wanted to be done with the R&D process and start practicing with THE load I will be using. The 133 PF load with N320 was pretty good, except for some primer flow. Problem there though, I'm low on N320 and I like to use that for my steel challenge loads. I did not notice to big of a difference in my reloads between the long colts and the short colts, I think I was loading about 1.18-1.20 with short colts, and i'm now loading 1.37 with the long colts, so it is not that big of a length difference. Who knows, maybe i'll revisit the short colts in the future when powder and stuff becomes more readily available, but for now i'll stick with the long colts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Did you try reaming the chambers and barrel to .424"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeAZ Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Did you try reaming the chambers and barrel to .424"? Explain the measurement?...is this for a .38/ 627? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 .40 S&W/10mm auto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecmc Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 i'm not sure who the question was for, but what does reaming out to .40 have to do with getting 38 short colts to work ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 i'm not sure who the question was for, but what does reaming out to .40 have to do with getting 38 short colts to work ? It is a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Not to bring this thread back from the dead too much, but I was successfully able to make my 158gr flat points work with 3.1 grains of Titegroup seated to 1.12". My chrono has a .223 hole in it so I will have to check on the power factor later, though. The last time I checked, 3.0 at 1.14" did not make minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomfturner Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Okay got out to the range on and this is what I tried. All these loads are with Bayou 160 gr loaded to 1.175" oal shot out of a 627 pro Red Dot 3.1gr: max 857 min 756 avg 799 es 101 sd 31 avg pf 127.5 This load felt really good, not to snappy, and really not to dirty. There is definitely room to push this up a bit for more pf. Clays 3.0gr : max 846 min 806 avg 822 es 40 sd 12 avg pf 131.5 This was the most consistent load of the day; however, it was difficult to extract and I was seeing some pressure signs. It was also the smokiest load of the day. I'd bump it down a bit if I was going to run Clays. Tight Group 3.1 gr: max 858 min 799 avg 831 es 59 sd 16 avg pf 131.5 This was the snappiest load of the day, but it was the second most consistent. That being said I had unburnt powder residue in the cylinder afterwards, so if I went with TG I would bump it down a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 I am surprise you see unburnt powder in the Titegroup loads. I have finally settled on 3.3 grains of titegroup under a 160gr IbejiHead at a slightly longer OAL of 1.19. It makes a 140PF and mine come out pretty clean with no unburnt powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeAZ Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 (edited) I must be off a tick?.... I've tried the .358 x 160 Bayou's & Billy bullets at different OAL's/crimps.... Frontier's 147/158 @.357. I'm using a taper crimp die. I'm not getting sticky ejection but the fired shells hardly drop out either. I've polished the cylinder, at the 1st/2nd reload some resistance is felt. I'm using Starline 38 special cut down to short colt brass length. None of the various loads crooned over 130/140 with titegroup. I've tried some autocomp powder, no improvement to rave about. Can anyone give me the polished cylinder dimensions?... Maybe I'm too tight?.. I've got the snap gauges for measuring the cartridge/cylinder bore. Edited September 10, 2014 by mike NM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 130-140 should be the butter zone for PF. What is it you're going for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 130-140 should be the butter zone for PF. What is it you're going for? I try to save the "butter zone" for the after match dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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