tires2burn Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I just ordered some 148 gr WC from extreme and have a question about seating the bullet. Do I need a special die or will the standard 38 spc seating die work. My dies are lee carbide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Your seating die will work just fine. I use the same dies on my press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks Zack, That's the info I needed to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 If you happen to have one already loaded you can get a head start on seating die adjustment by putting the loaded cartridge into the shell plate and then raising the ram. Once the cartridge is in the die screw the adjustment screw down until it makes contact and you should be very close for seating your new loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical_man Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 As stated, standard dies work great with the wadcutter. A little roll crimp helps prevent bullet pull in revolvers and doesn't hurt accuracy. If you're shooting it in an autoloader then a taper crimp die is highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) About the crimp. I don't have a roll crimp so will put a slight taper crimp to it. I'm shooting a LCR with a medium load to curb the recoil. I have no idea on the load data, so will have to figure it out. Edited February 13, 2014 by tires2burn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 If you can find it get some Trail Boss powder and load your .38's with that. Talk about a soft load. The LCR (or any small revolver) can be a handful with some loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Tell me about those hot loads. When I first got the LCR I tried some factory rounds and about 10 shots did me in. That's why I load in the middle now because I like shooting the LCR and there is no PAIN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMartens Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 A roll crimp will help with feeding in an auto loader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical_man Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 About the crimp. I don't have a roll crimp so will put a slight taper crimp to it. I'm shooting a LCR with a medium load to curb the recoil. I have no idea on the load data, so will have to figure it out. I have an LCR that I carry a lot. Try the classic Bullseye loads : 3.1 grains of Winchester 231 or 2.7 grains of Alliant Bullsye Those loads generally group well in any mechanically sound revolver. The 231 load is what I use for PPC. Soft shooting and accurate to 50 yards with a Zero or Hornady 148 HBWC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 When I first started loading all I could find was Rainier 125gr RNFP. My powder of choice is Titegroup. I load 3.5 gr at 1.445 OAL. With the 147gr wad cutters I will try 3.0gr at 1.175 OAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical_man Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 When I first started loading all I could find was Rainier 125gr RNFP. My powder of choice is Titegroup. I load 3.5 gr at 1.445 OAL. With the 147gr wad cutters I will try 3.0gr at 1.175 OAL. Titegroup is pretty close to Bullseye in my limited experience with it. You might start a little lower. I don't know what my OAL is. I made up a dummy years ago and use it to set seating. Basically I leave about 1/32" of lead expose above the crimp with HBWC swages bullets. Works great for me. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical_man Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Just a note on titegroup. It burns super hot and a bit smoky with lead. So hot that I don't use it in PPC because the cylinder heats up really fast. Much faster than with bullseye. Smoky is relative as lead always smokes some when the lube starts burning. Just something to think about if you are planning on sustained fire indoors. Probably not a huge issue unless you are practicing for a back-up gun match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackedbrass45 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I use 2.8-3.0 alliant promo with rimrock 148gr dewc in my LCR... A lot softer in the king cobra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anachronism Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Here's some great wadcutter info from a guy who's been there and done it: http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/75f11fe4e235da7c69cabf94daa7dbd9-932.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical_man Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Here's some great wadcutter info from a guy who's been there and done it: http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/75f11fe4e235da7c69cabf94daa7dbd9-932.html Reprint from a Fouling Shot article. Ed Harris usually has an article in each journal. Well worth the cost of cast Bullet Association membership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Thanks for the Ed Harris article. It was eye opening. I loaded up some rounds last night and went to the range. My load worked out to be 147 DEWC, 3.5 HP38 at 1.200 OAL. They shot accurate and fairly soft. I used a light taper crimp and not sure how much to crimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical_man Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Tires- If the bullets didn't move under recoil and most of the powder burned then you crimped enough. DEWC are very forgiving. Drive HBWC too fast and you can blow the skirt off the bullet. That is not good for accuracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anachronism Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Here's some great wadcutter info from a guy who's been there and done it: http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/75f11fe4e235da7c69cabf94daa7dbd9-932.html Reprint from a Fouling Shot article. Ed Harris usually has an article in each journal. Well worth the cost of cast Bullet Association membership. And don't forget to visit the website too! Ed posts there daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPDGG Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) * I Agree, these Xtreme Plated DEWC are Accurate, Light Recoil, & are fun to shoot. fwiw: For me a BIG PLUS: Wife can shoot them with a 2-4" S&W K-Frame without much complaint. These aren't bad at all for practice with a S&W 442/642 Bullet: Xtreme Copper PLATED 148grn. DEWC w/ CannelurePrimer: CCI 500 SPPBrass: Remington Brass .38 SplPowder: Winchester 231; 3.4 GrainsCrimp: Taper CrimpOAL: 1.227"Randomly selected pieces, Close Up Pics: Edited February 19, 2014 by SPDGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Hey SPD, I have been to the range about 5 times this week and have a good load worked up & its not far from yours. I'm using HP-38 at 3.7 and my OAL is 1.225. They shoot smooth and are accurate so I'm done with experimenting. Thanks everybody for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbcaster45 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I know this is a stale thread but it helped me out quite a bit when I was working up a plated load for my Clark PPC Revolver. Winchester 231 wasn't giving me any accuracy at 25 yards but things improved when I tried Titegroup. Bullet: Bullet Works Copper Plated 148grn. DEWC w/ CannelurePowder: Hodgdon Titegroup 3.3 grs.Primer: Federal 100 Small Pistol MatchCase: Federal .38 SpecialLOAL: 1.200 (Taper Crimped) Five shots at 25 yards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Nice target. I use a LCR. A snubby is hard to group this nice, but I keep trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbcaster45 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Some chronograph results (since nobody else posted any!) with a slighty greater LOAL. Bullet: Bullet Works Copper Plated 148grn. DEWC w/ Cannelure Powder: Hodgdon Titegroup 3.3 grs. Primer: Federal 100 Small Pistol Match Case: Federal .38 Special LOAL: 1.220 (Taper Crimp) Avg. Vel.: 733.58 fps ES: 55.64 SD: 20.80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 pbcaster45, I went to TG 3.3, oal 1.220, with a taper crimp and its accurate plus my brass stays cleaner. Great load finally. Thanks for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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