Steel Load With Vv N105

[nhglyn]

I need to develop a steel load and I want to use my VV N105 that I use in my IPSC match gun, unless there is something much better I should use. I am going to be using a Montana Gold 115 jhp. Good powder for steel load? Something better? Has anyone got a starting point they can lend me?

[G-ManBart]

I need to develop a steel load and I want to use my VV N105 that I use in my IPSC match gun, unless there is something much better I should use. I am going to be using a Montana Gold 115 jhp. Good powder for steel load? Something better? Has anyone got a starting point they can lend me?

N105 is pretty slow for a minor load with that light of a bullet...it's also pretty expensive to use if you don't really need to. There are a good number of powders that you can use for minor loads with that bullet that will work well, use a smaller powder charge and cost less per pound.

I'd give something like N320 a try...depending on your gun it'll probably take something like 5.0 to 5.5gr to put you in the 140pf ballpark. That might not cycle your gun though, so you'll have to play with springs and exact loads.

[nhglyn]

Thanks, how about some of the IMR powders? 4756? 7625? Others?

[G-ManBart]

Thanks, how about some of the IMR powders? 4756? 7625? Others?

I haven't used IMR powder too much, but one of the IPSC load charts I've got shows 8gr of 4756 should be the ballpark for 140pf. 7625 ought to be more like 6 to 6.5gr to get 140pf.

If you haven't seen Jeff Maas' IPSC load data I can e-mail you the PDF file...it's handy to compare against manufacturers data and has been a great reference point for me in the past.

[Guest]

If you are talking about .38 super, I’ve been working up some barely-minor and sub-minor loads for a pistol league I’m shooting in which doesn’t require a power factor.

Here are some loads I messed with, which all use a Win. 115 gr FMJ hollow base bulk pack bullet, with a loaded OAL of 1. 263”. The gun is a single stack .38 Super with a 5” Bar-sto fully supported barrel, no ports but has a full profile cone type compensator. It has an 18 lb mainspring, and I replaced the heavy recoil spring used for major with a 7 lb wolff recoil spring and cut a couple coils off. All of these loads cycle the gun reliably and hold the slide back on the last round w/no wear on the shock buff.

What I have messed with so far:

1. WW452AA (now discontinued): 4.5- 5.0 grains runs between 1000 and 1100 FPS. Very Good accuracy, very soft shooting, and not too messy.

2. WW 231: 5.0 grains gets me about 1060 FPS. Good accuracy, snappier feeling than 452AA (but that could be good in some guns), kind of dirty but not bad.

3. WW 540 (now discontinued, but is the same stuff as HS-6): 8.3 gets me to the 1000 FPS mark, Very Good accuracy, and fairly soft recoil, but I think it likes to be run at higher pressure as it seems kind of dirty (not a problem when I’ve used it for making Major).

4. AA #5: 6.3 grains for about 1040 FPS. Good-fair accuracy and a little dirty.

WW452AA seems to be the ticket for me for now, but when my supply runs out (and I’d like to save some for the ol’ .45 too) I’d be inclined to try Win. WST as I hear it is similar to 452AA.

Ditto on what was mentioned about Jeff Maass’s chart, it has helped a lot to get an idea about what loads to use and where to start.

http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/ipscload.htm

[L9X25]

As others have mentioned, the slower powders will usually get pretty dirty at the lower pressures and the gun will feel sluggish too. Going to faster powders will clean the powder up and bring back the snap to cycle the gun cleanly. Powders in the N-320 to N-340 range would serve you much better.

[shred]

Any book "starting load" is a good place to start. I've yet to find a really clean Super steel load, even with N320, AA#2 & titegroup but those aren't too bad.

~6.6 of 4756 works pretty well with a 115-124-ish bullet. I used that at the Challenge one year and did ok.

unless you lighten the gun a lot and get one of the 5 or 6-lb recoil springs, anything under about 120 PF is going to be pretty sluggish.

[HSMITH]

Try some Longshot, it will still gas the comp and shoots pretty darn clean for a slow powder. Start at about 6 grains and work up until the gun runs well. Power Pistol is another good one, a little cleaner but not quite as much gas, start at about 5 grains and work up.

[nhglyn]

Just thought of something.......... if I use Winchester small rifle primers for my Major load, do I use the same for my steel load? Or small pistol primers?