38 Super Comp Primer Spots

[srodriguez1101]

I went out to the range today with some diffrent loads and chronographed them to try to find a good major 38 super comp load.

My gun is a SV Masterpiece with no pop holes. just the 3 port comp with 2 small port holes on the side of the comp. It also has a removable breach face.

I went out to the range today and shot a couple of loads they all felt good but the primers looked melted.

The loads are:

IMR 7625, 7.1 grains, 124gr Montana Gold JHP, 1.250 OAL, .382 crimp.

5 rounds chronographed 1322 to 1333 fps. Power factor of 163 to 165.

IMR 7625, 7.1 grains, 125 HAP, 1.250 OAL, .382 crimp.

5 rounds 1308 to 1360 fps. Power factor of 162 to 168

VV 3N37, 8.0 grains, 124 MG JHP, 1.250 OAL, .382 crimp.

5 rounds 1312 to 1353 fps. Power factor of 162 to 167

Please look at the data and the photo of the casings/primers. Any advise would be great.

The only thing I have not done is checked my firing pin.

Thanks,

S. Rodriguez

[srodriguez1101]

[shred]

Federal Primers? Those look a lot more mashed than my SC loads with 7.8gr of 7625 & a 125 HAP bullet at 1.245".

[eric nielsen]

3n37 and 7625 both burn very very hot when loaded to major. You might have better results with HS6, 3n38, N350, or Vectan SP2.

Could be your gun: headspace & freebore. Having those wrong can cause primer flow.

In Open you want a firing pin that's long enough to poke out the breechface when the hammer is down; hammer needs a long strut to hold it down against the FP stop, etc. But that just contains primer flow, doesn't prevent the primer from melting.

In the past I've had primer flow problems but with my STI and CCI primers i've got NO flow at all. That's with 9.6 of HS6 and a 115gr Zero 9mm bullet. No flow with SP2 either.

[srodriguez1101]

The one on the left is Federal 200 and the one on the right is Winchester small rifle primer.

Edited January 9, 2006 by srodriguez1101

[Harmon]

install a dawson extra-long hyperdrive firing pin and you wont ever see that happen again.

try the power pistol powder. in my hybrid SV, 7.5 grains and a 124 fmj goes right at 1400 fps. feels about the same as 7625 and a hell of a lot less pressure. regular pistol primers are still round on the edges.

[LJE]

IMR 7625, 7.1 grains, 124gr Montana Gold JHP, 1.250 OAL, .382 crimp.

5 rounds chronographed 1322 to 1333 fps. Power factor of 163 to 165.

S. Rodriguez

I have loaded 38 Supercomp with 7625 for a number of years with nothing but great results and NO HIGH PRSSURE SIGNS EVER. I load 7.7 grains of 7625, 124 gr MG JHP, 1.254 OAL & Federal 200 primers for a velocity of 1390 to 1400 fps (173 to 174 PF) in an STI with Shueman 4 port hybrid with 5 port comp. Make sure you do not have too much bullet crimp. Pull a few bullets and carefully inspect them around the edges where they meet the case. If you can see a slight groove in the bullet where it meets the case mouth, you have too much crimp. Also check the freebore on you barrel. If your barrel does not have enough freebore (bullet too close to the rifling) for the length you are loading,it will cause high pressure problems.

Edited January 10, 2006 by LJE

[Behr]

Harmongreer's answer is worth looking into.

I had a similar problem a few years ago with a new 9 super comp gun. Thought it was high pressure at first but kept loading down to about a 150 pf and still had primers that looked like yours. Did some research and asked questions and it turned out to be the firing pin. Installed an XL limcat firing pin and problem went away (under the 175 pf days, and I loaded to 180 pf).

When the firing pin does not fill the breachface firing pin hole like it should during the ignition of the round, the primer will fill that space and then shear off as it ejects. This can disguise itself like a high pressure problem (primer flow) but your load data looks like it should be ok.

[srodriguez1101]

Thank you guys for all the info... After looking at the firing pin in my pistol, it does not fill the breach face firing pin hole. It only sticks out a little and it is just a point leaving the area around it open.

I will order today a Dawson Hyper Drive Firing Pin (Extended Length). Only $14.95.....

Thanks again.

I will post the results once I get it and go out to the range....

S. Rodriguez

Edited January 10, 2006 by srodriguez1101

[al503]

You might look at the Matt McLearn pin also. I got it from a reasonably good source (Chuck@Shooter's Connection) that this one is longer than stock but not quite as long as the Dawson or Limcat so it won't stick through the hole when the hammer is down (which would kinda scare me).

Edited January 10, 2006 by al503

[Harmon]

they only time my hammer is going to be down on a live round is the nanosecond before the round(intentionally) goes off.

If this were a carry gun, i might have some problems with that firing pin, but its unlikely.

the good news is that when the pressure gets up around 50Kpsi, my loads show NO signs of primer flow and i no longer get the shearing that happens when a primer flows into the firing pin hole and the gun unlocks....thus cutting metal off the primer.

you can also lighten up your mainspring and still get postitive primer strike since your ignition system is direct instead of rebounding.

Out of the two powders you liked, i would stick with 7625, my load is 7.4 grains and it shoots great and makes major w/o problems. I also load the federal 200 primers when i can get them, WSR when i cannot.

good luck

Harmon

[al503]

they only time my hammer is going to be down on a live round is the nanosecond before the round(intentionally) goes off.

If this were a carry gun, i might have some problems with that firing pin, but its unlikely.

I agree, but for some reason, it still makes me a little nervous.

[eric nielsen]

For carry you want a standard firing pin - it only gets through the breechface by inertia, then it settles back behind it. Also a standard strut, which lets the FP spring push the back end of the FP out past the FP stop about .010". Also a standard or heavy FP spring.

For competition & your handloads, you want all the stuff mentioned in previous posts: Long FP, long hammer strut, and normal or reduced-power FP spring. Carry guns with this would still be pretty safe if carried cocked & locked but would be VERY dangerous carried hammer-down.

[srodriguez1101]

I got my new Dawson Extreme Extra Long Firing Pin... I tried to install it but if I use the same spring it wont go down enough to insert the firing pin stop in place.

If I take the firing pin and place it in the slot without the spring it will clear the firing pin stop.

Do I need a special spring?

Do I need to cut the spring down?

Thanks,

S. Rodriguez.

[shred]

Check to be sure there aren't any chunks of old spring still in the hole... Also IIRC, you have a removable breechface. The spring needs to be shorter on those, though I don't know how much.

[srodriguez1101]

I took off the removable breech face. No other springs. I found a post that was posted and it said to cut the spring coils to be even with the top of the firning pin... When I did this the FP stop does go in but once the hammer falls on it the firing pin gets stuck.

If anyone has a removable breech face and a long firning pin what did you do to make it fit and what type FP did you purchase.

Thanks,

S. Rodriguez.

[Harmon]

I have a removable breech face and the same dawson firing pin

i used the wolff firing pin spring w/o problems.

try spraying some silicone lubricant in the firing pin hole and on the shank of the firing pin.

[srodriguez1101]

I looked at both firing pins and the original one / short firning pin lets the spring go up higher on the firing pin. The long firing pin stops the spring from going up higher. It appears that the firing pin compresses the spring and botoms out before the firing pin stop will go on.

Harmongreer is your spring the stock length or did it need to be trimed. I will take a photo of both firing pins and post it.

Thanks to everyone for your help... I hope to get this thing working soon.

S. Rodriguez.

[Harmon]

its stock....and well used. it might be slightly more compressed than yours.

monday morning call dawson, he will be able to tell you exactly what needs to be done

if i recall correctly, if you have a firing pin that acts like yours, you trim the firing pin spring a little bit

[dansy]

Also make sure the firing pin fit the firing hole freely...the last one I bought I had the use some 1200 to remove some (very little material)it was my spare Limcat XL....the first one fit right in...

[Jaxshooter]

I have an SV IMM Shorty with 3 barrel ports and 5 port comp (3 top and 2 side). I load 10.4 VV 3n38 with a Zero 125 gr JHP ( 171PF) and Winchester small rifle primers. I had the same problem until I changed to a Limcat long firing pin. Now they look the same as my limited 40 primers.

[srodriguez1101]

Thanks for everyones input... I did trim the spring a little and it appears to be functioning well. I also purchased a 1lb each of VV N350 and VV 3N38. I am going to make some new loads and hit the range again to chronograph them. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks again!

S. Rodriguez.

[thegirl]

I'm having this same problem right now - just got my Dawson Hyper Drive extended firing pin today, tried to install it, but I think the spring is stopping it. Without the spring the firing pin fits through the firing pin hole just fine. Exactly how much is "a little bit" that can be trimmed off the spring?

thanks