I Need An Icore 38 Special Load For 158gr Plated

[haras]

I need an ICORE 38 Special Load (125-130PF) for 158gr plated RN using powder I have on hand. Got one?

Winchester

Superlight

Supertarget

Hogdon

Clays

Universal

[Bubber]

I need an ICORE 38 Special Load (125-130PF) for 158gr plated RN using powder I have on hand. Got one?

Winchester

Superlight

Supertarget

Hogdon

Clays

Universal

Haras, Superlight and Supertarget are close to the Solo 1000 that I use. Try 3.7 grains and go from there. That load should be good for a 6 inch gun. You shoulsd not run into a problem with high pressures.

This is what i got from the Hogdon realoading website

158 GR. HDY XTP

COL: 1.455"

UNIVERSAL 4.4 778 16,200 CUP

CLAYS 3.1 721 16,600 CUP

edited to add that the Hogdon's loads make about 120 pf by their data.

Edited October 22, 2006 by Bubber

[pstew]

I shoot 4.3 grains of supertarget under a 150 gr lead bullet. I don't think you mentioned it, but i'm referring to a 38 sp load.

[mwx40x40]

3.3 Clays with 158 RNL is what I use and love it. Shoot the same load with 158 Plated for indoor matches. Clean and good accuracy. For what its worth my Plated loads did not make minor out of 4" L Frame , but the 158 Lead RN made it with no problem.

[J.P.]

I ordered some of the 150gr Master blaster RNL (moly) bullets because they didn't have a 158gr in the same profile.

I'm having trouble woring up a load with this.

3.0gr of Clays is giving me an average of 700fps

3.5gr of Clays is giving me an average of 800fps

I'm going to try 3.9-4.0 gr of Clays and see if it makes it but i won't have access to a chrono again for a couple of weeks.

4.0gr of Titegroup eaily makes IDPA power factor but the recoil is too sharp,IMO.

Any thoughts or recipes with the 150gr loads?

Thanks

[underlug]

I ordered some of the 150gr Master blaster RNL (moly) bullets because they didn't have a 158gr in the same profile.

I'm having trouble woring up a load with this.

3.0gr of Clays is giving me an average of 700fps

3.5gr of Clays is giving me an average of 800fps

I'm going to try 3.9-4.0 gr of Clays and see if it makes it but i won't have access to a chrono again for a couple of weeks.

4.0gr of Titegroup eaily makes IDPA power factor but the recoil is too sharp,IMO.

Any thoughts or recipes with the 150gr loads?

Thanks

4.0 Clays is my .45 load and it sounds awfully high to me for .38. I made 128 with 3.2 Clays in long colt at the IRC this year with a 160 grain moly bullet FWIW.

[8shooter]

I shoot 4.3 grains of supertarget under a 150 gr lead bullet. I don't think you mentioned it, but i'm referring to a 38 sp load.

I have run 160gr RN lead with 4.0gr WST bullet seated a little deeper to keep reloads tight, that made 125pf easily.

[R112mercer]

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

[10mmdave]

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

What's your OAL Rob ??

I've been messing with Zero bullets and Clays for a PSA load, have not had great luck with

the lighter bullets (115, 125) I have some 158's I could try......hmmm...some 150 Zero's too ?

Been looking at both 38 spcl and 38 super, looking for a cleaner powder than Bullseye and

Tightgroup but less $$$ than VV.

[DougCarden]

Dave, try Nitro 100........3.6 with the 158 jrn in the 38 special.....3.0 in the short colt with a 147-150 JRN.....

[10mmdave]

Dave, try Nitro 100........3.6 with the 158 jrn in the 38 special.....3.0 in the short colt with a 147-150 JRN.....

Thanks Doug, is that Nitro 100 or 1000 ?? Brad L (from PSA fame) used to say Solo 1000.

I've been doing a bunch of load testing for a PSA/ICORE load out of my 357 627's and my

38 Super 627's. Paul gave me a good load using 4756 and MG 125's.

I would rather not go thru 12 different powders but that may be what it takes.

Hey ?? your new tag line....did you find somebody to fix that 625 ??

[R112mercer]

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

What's your OAL Rob ??

I've been messing with Zero bullets and Clays for a PSA load, have not had great luck with

the lighter bullets (115, 125) I have some 158's I could try......hmmm...some 150 Zero's too ?

Been looking at both 38 spcl and 38 super, looking for a cleaner powder than Bullseye and

Tightgroup but less $$$ than VV.

1.505" OAL. Here's my Short Colt load I used last year at the PSA:

158 gr. Rainier Plated RN @ 1.100" - 3.0 gr. W231

I like the .38 Special load better. I had problems with the Short Colt brass not wanting to reload smoothly. I think the brass swells due to thin walls with the long 158 gr. bullet.

[DougCarden]

Yeah, it is at Canyon Creek, dont have it back yet....That Nitro 100 is the powder from Accurate Powder, load that another Doug with more name recognition used to use.... I have heard good things about Solo 1000 as well, course I still like Clays and VV310 for most of these applications......CLAYS ought to work well with the 38 special for the PF you are looking for...about 3.4-3.8gr should get you close with the 125s.....ALthough with the 125s/110s try 4.1gr of the Nitro 100...soft and the bullets land very close to each other all the time

[10mmdave]

Yeah, it is at Canyon Creek, dont have it back yet....That Nitro 100 is the powder from Accurate Powder, load that another Doug with more name recognition used to use.... I have heard good things about Solo 1000 as well, course I still like Clays and VV310 for most of these applications......CLAYS ought to work well with the 38 special for the PF you are looking for...about 3.4-3.8gr should get you close with the 125s.....ALthough with the 125s/110s try 4.1gr of the Nitro 100...soft and the bullets land very close to each other all the time

I'm up to 3.3-3.5 of the Clays and I'm around 100-110 pf (I forget right now)

The thing is, the Clays in the 38 spcl or Super case feels sharper for recoil, compared to my

N320, Tightgroup and Bullseye loads. Now switch to the 10mm and my 4.0 grns of Clays

under a 200 RN Berrys bullet and I swore it was under pf, check the chrono and it's showing

a pf of 171-172.

So it feels harsh from a skinny case but not so with a fatter case go figure.

Maybe I'll pick up a pound of each at the next gun show.

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

What's your OAL Rob ??

1.505" OAL. Here's my Short Colt load I used last year at the PSA:

158 gr. Rainier Plated RN @ 1.100" - 3.0 gr. W231

I like the .38 Special load better. I had problems with the Short Colt brass not wanting to reload smoothly. I think the brass swells due to thin walls with the long 158 gr. bullet.

Thanks Rob, I'll get it out this weekend.

[J.P.]

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

Any ideas as to why I cant get it done with 3.5gr of Clays using a 150gr moly lead bullet?

[R112mercer]

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

Any ideas as to why I cant get it done with 3.5gr of Clays using a 150gr moly lead bullet?

There's a lot of questions to be asked in order to figure this out. What's your barrel length? How many rounds through the barrel? How close are you to PF? What's your chrono set-up like?

There are a lot of variables that contribute to the equation. Some guns are just "faster" than other guns. This can be attributed to a tighter bore that makes for higher pressures. If a gun has a million rounds through it and the barrel-cylinder gap is wider than the Lincoln Tunnel a lot of pressure can be bled off.

If you're shooting a new, Earth Standard Normal wheelgun in good shape it gets harder to answer your question. The gun I used to generate that load is a S&W 627 V-comp with a 5" tube and relatively low miles.

When I chrono I use a single chrono with it's own incandescent lights set at about eight yards. I like to chrono during the winter (loads usually clock slower in cold weather) and aim for at least five over the required PF. I shoot ten rounds and take the five slowest to compute my average velocity.

[J.P.]

I use 3.6 gr. of Clays with a Rainier 158 gr. Plated Round Nose bullet in a .38 Special case. Makes around 130 pf.

Any ideas as to why I cant get it done with 3.5gr of Clays using a 150gr moly lead bullet?

There's a lot of questions to be asked in order to figure this out. What's your barrel length? How many rounds through the barrel? How close are you to PF? What's your chrono set-up like?

There are a lot of variables that contribute to the equation. Some guns are just "faster" than other guns. This can be attributed to a tighter bore that makes for higher pressures. If a gun has a million rounds through it and the barrel-cylinder gap is wider than the Lincoln Tunnel a lot of pressure can be bled off.

If you're shooting a new, Earth Standard Normal wheelgun in good shape it gets harder to answer your question. The gun I used to generate that load is a S&W 627 V-comp with a 5" tube and relatively low miles.

When I chrono I use a single chrono with it's own incandescent lights set at about eight yards. I like to chrono during the winter (loads usually clock slower in cold weather) and aim for at least five over the required PF. I shoot ten rounds and take the five slowest to compute my average velocity.

I am using a S&W model 19 with under 50 rounds through it.

Chrono was setup at 15ft

Using the 150gr bullet,I need to hit 834fps tp make power factor.

3.0gr of Clays is giving me an average of 700fps

3.5gr of Clays is giving me an average of 800fps

Go 3.6gr or higher?

[R112mercer]

As long as you're not showing signs of high pressure go for it. You could also try a heavier bullet to lower the required velocity and increase the pressure a bit.

[J.P.]

As long as you're not showing signs of high pressure go for it. You could also try a heavier bullet to lower the required velocity and increase the pressure a bit.

The problem is that MasterBlaster only offers 150gr bullets in the profile I want.

The 158gr is a RNFP.

If I can't get it done by the next chrono session,i'm going to scrap them and go with a Berry's 158gr.

[J.P.]

As long as you're not showing signs of high pressure go for it. You could also try a heavier bullet to lower the required velocity and increase the pressure a bit.

The problem is that MasterBlaster only offers 150gr bullets in the profile I want.

The 158gr is a RNFP.

If I can't get it done by the next chrono session,i'm going to scrap them and go with a Berry's 158gr.

Well,I got it done using 3.9gr of Clays.

Although it was a balmy 30degrees today,I got an average of 895fps with that load.

Using 3.6gr of Clays I couldn't get it done even on a warm day although seating the bullet deeper (1.505")got me a little closer to the required velocity.

[revchuck]

J.P. - Since you're using a .357, the fact that you're a good bit over .38 Special pressures with that load shouldn't really be a problem. You're hardly the first shooter to do this.

Be careful to test that load thoroughly, though. I used that bullet for my first big USPSA match a month ago in my 6" M14. While it shot accurately, I had serious problems with moly buildup in my chambers after about 100 rounds, to the point where I couldn't speedload reliably (not that my speedloads were that fast to begin with). The rounds would go about 90% of the way into the chamber and then have to be pushed home. And before anyone asks, I brushed the chambers out with an Allison speed brush between stages.

This may be the result of the powder I was using (American Select), but regardless, test that load out thoroughly before trusting it in a match. I've been loading my own ammo for over 20 years, but I sure looked like a dumb noob with all the problems I had.

[J.P.]

J.P. - Since you're using a .357, the fact that you're a good bit over .38 Special pressures with that load shouldn't really be a problem. You're hardly the first shooter to do this.

Be careful to test that load thoroughly, though. I used that bullet for my first big USPSA match a month ago in my 6" M14. While it shot accurately, I had serious problems with moly buildup in my chambers after about 100 rounds, to the point where I couldn't speedload reliably (not that my speedloads were that fast to begin with). The rounds would go about 90% of the way into the chamber and then have to be pushed home. And before anyone asks, I brushed the chambers out with an Allison speed brush between stages.

This may be the result of the powder I was using (American Select), but regardless, test that load out thoroughly before trusting it in a match. I've been loading my own ammo for over 20 years, but I sure looked like a dumb noob with all the problems I had.

Good point.

I'll do it.