Clays And .38 Special

[revchuck]

Folks - I need a load for straight Clays in .38 Special that'll push a 158 grain RNL bullet to about 825 fps (130 PF) from a 4" barrel. I have Hodgdon's latest data, but it's from a 7.7" pressure barrel rather than a 4" revolver.

Has anyone actually loaded this and chronographed it (aside from HSMITH and gmiprod)?

TIA!

Edited April 8, 2006 by revchuck

[Joel Edwards]

revchuck,

I have tried Clays behind 158 gr. It is not safe!!!! I am using it behind 170 gr. molly. I have chronoed out 760 to 780 with 3.0 gr. I used a Win. 130 fmj to get oal. and crimp.

Joel Edwards

[TonyT]

I believe that Clays is a bit too fast for your intended use. Try W-231.

[RePete]

I had nothing but grief with Clays. The charges were all over the place, so I dropped real fast.

I use 4.3gr Bullseye with the 158gr LSWC for my IPSC load, out of my 4".

I can't find my chrono sheets, but IIRC I was getting about 830fps.

RePete.

[revchuck]

Thanks, everybody. I guess I'll just use up the Clays with .45 ACP 230 grain LRNs. I've got most of a four pound can of Bullseye, and I've decided to have a dedicated "game gun" which will be a 4" M19, so I can go over the listed .38 Special data if I need to.

RePete - I tried Bullseye with a 158 grain RNL, and it took 4.1 grains to make 830 fps from my M10 - but it's a "fast" gun. I'll have to re-visit that powder.