Danva Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hey all, I am trying to find a load to shoot in ICORE & IDPA with my 4" 686 that will make minor. I have a bunch of 38dpl cases & 158gr raniers. I am venturing into high end +P territory with a short bbl. Has anyone been down this road? I am going to try Titegroup in a +P this week. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffl Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 ICORE rules state that if you use a factory load listed in the rule book and on their website www.icore.org you don't have to make chronagraph. I don't know what the rules of IDPA are. It must be a FTDR thing. 38 +P is still way below a 357 pressure. Look for some other loading data or use another powder. clays, power pistol, Trail boss or even Bulleye surly you could find the right combination. I will look and get back to ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear23 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) I remember loading up some .38 with the 158 gr. rainier plated bullet. I used about 3 grains of TG.. Start from there, it was a very very soft load. 686 4" barrel. Edited February 12, 2008 by Bear23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danva Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 clays has no load for +P Universal clays leaves alot of junk in the gun at low +P level going to try TG, then unique, then???? I guess I will work my way through the powder cabinet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwx40x40 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Get rid of the plated bullets and use either jacketed or hard cast lead. Titegroup or 231 will get you there with these bullets in the 158 grain range. I had the same problem trying to make minor with Berrys 158's. Went with 158 RNL and 231 and made it no problem. Later made it with Titegroup . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I'm doing OK with 4.2gr Bullseye under a 158gr LSWC out of my 4" 686. PF = 140 FWIW this same load PF's at 138 out of my 686 w/2 1/2" barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I tried TG and did not get consistent results at the chrono. I switched to VV N320 and had very good results. S&W Model 19 - 4" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 4.3 grains of TG with a 158 grain Rainier goes 825 fps from my 4" M19, and it's my "slow" gun. That's the max +P load from Hodgdon. The only reason I'm changing from it is the heat - that cylinder gets really hot, and I still use the strong hand reload. Accuracy is fine, SD is usually single digit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kframe_mike Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I've had pretty good luck with WST or American Select for my 38 Spec minor loads.I use mainly lead or moly 158's though.Now with those plated bullets,I'm sure that American Select would haul the mail for you.Another thing I noticed with the plated stuff is seating depth,seems like I had the best luck seating them at about 1.45".I never got to minor with Clays/158 without getting out of my comfort zone,especially with some older k-frames in the house.I didn't much care for Titegroup at all,it burns way to hot and really isn't that clean IMO.Hope this helps,-Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlktheduk Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Danva: I have been using the Rainier 158 grain plated flat points since 2004 as my all around bullet in .38 special. I did not have good results with TiteGroup. 4.0 grains Titegroup Federal #100 small pistol primers assorted (very) brass O.A.L. 1.455 Velocity: 822 FPS for 129.876 PF (S&W Model 10 with 4" barrel) BUT I had problems with residue in the chambers and under the extractor star, as well as the HOT GUN problem that revchuck noted. My current IDPA/USPSA load is 4.7 grains WW 231 Federal #100 small pistol primers assorted (very) brass O.A.L. 1.455 Velocity: 800 FPS for 126.400 PF (S&W Model 10 with 4" barrel) For NRA Action Pistol competition I use the 4.7 grains WW 231 load in a S&W Model 686 with 6" barrel, chambered in .357 magnum. Velocity: 784 FPS for 123.872 PF These work for me, but YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherryriver Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I, too, had trouble with making the power factor in .38- I was using a book-max load of Titegroup at the '07 Wisconsin State IDPA match and missed power by 25fps- in a Colt! (All of my Colts are much faster than all of my Smiths, and so it was with the match Smith- 70fps slower than my .357 Model.) End of Titegroup for me, which I found to be hot and fouly anyway. The book max of Vihta Vuori 320, 4.8gr with a plated 158gr bullet, goes easily over the floor, doing about 820-850 in my various four-inchers (you need 791). It's the dang cleanest thing I ever shot in a sixgun, too. Here's an photo of an FP-10-soaked patch that swabbed all six holes and the barrel, too, of my .357 Model after a little 60-round match: Accuracy is good, if not wadcutters-with-Bullseye, and flash and bang is moderate. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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