Fed up, need some load advice

[Model19]

Is that the straight up "Clays" and not the "Universal Clays"?

[D.Hayden]

'real' Clays

In Minor 40.. with TG.. my cases weren't sealing the chamber.. Clays really helped...

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

158 GR. CAST LSWC Hodgdon Titegroup .358" 1.475" 3.2 815 11,500 CUP 3.8 920 15,400 CUP

158 GR. CAST LSWC Hodgdon Clays .358" 1.475" 2.8 812 12,900 CUP 3.1 871 15,100 CUP

[kframe_mike]

Powders I see so far:

Bullseye

Unique

WST

W231

N320

Are most people picking them for clean burning? Or just becuase it's on the shlf, or accuracy?

I've been using TG.. just because I have a lot of it.. but it's dirty

I'm more interested in clean than anythign else at this point..

Of the others the only one I don't have is N320.. is this the cleanest of the clean?

Yes,you'll want a clean/complete burning,lead friendly powder for .38 Special.Some light soot is ok,but you're not going to want any "clinkers" tying up the works at the wrong time.Thats where the clean/complete burn comes in.As far as lead friendliness,some powders just work better for lead,less leading/smoke.Why lead bullets?Well,I use lead for 38 because its easier to shove a greasy lead bullet down a barrel than a jacketed or plated bullet.That means I can use less powder and make less pressure for making PF(plus I'm cheap).Now,I'll try to give you my personal experiances with the powders listed, in 38 Special,158 LRN,that make Minor.

Bullseye:Will make minor,accurate,fairly lead friendly,kind of sooty,complete burn,no clinkers,not position sensitive

Unique:Will make minor,accurate,lead friendly,very dirty,incomplete burn,clinkers all over,wouldn't do it for competition.

WST:Will make minor,accurate,lead friendly,clean,not position sensitive.Its what I use now.

W231:Will make minor,accurate,fairly lead friendly,not to dirty,but will leave evil little clinkers.Kind of position sensitive.

N320:No idea,never tried it.(did I mention that I'm cheap?)

Titegroup:Holy hell,never again.fairly clean but hot burning,leads badly,not impressed with position sensitivity.

Clays:couldn't make minor with published loads, I got a little spooked "chasing" minor.

Now this is just my experiance,yours and others might,and probably will vary.-Mike

[Flexmoney]

self-edited so I don't get admonished again....

Third time is a charm.

[Bones]

I have some relative experience.

You cannot use 38 Short Colt or 38 Long Colt brass in IDPA - who cares why? You can't and frankly you don't need to.

I used 4.4 gr Titegroup and Berry's 158 gr plated bullets at 1.500" for many years. I shot well over 100K rd of that load without a problem in both 3" and 4" guns. After about a year of experimenting, I am now using 4.8 gr of VVN320 with the same bullet and COAL in my 4"guns. They both (Titegroup and VVN320) work great, will yield 840 fps out of a 4" gun and are low flash loads for indoor/flashlight matches. The VV burns a little cooler in my 4" guns and the recoil I percieve is slightly less, but I would use the Titegroup load tomorrow if I needed to. I'm still using up some match grade Titegroup loads at outdoor matches this season. I used it at the New England Regionals last month.

The VV320 does not work so well in my 3" guns - it burns dirtier in the shorter barrel - something to consider if you plan on using a 2 1/2" gun. Titegroup is also less expensive and easier to find than the VV N320.

Another load that I used briefly was 4.7 gr of Titegroup and Berry's 147gr RN 9mm bullets at 1.540". It works great in some guns, but not so well in others. It is also very crimp sensitive. It's a good bet if you want to standardize on one powder and bullet across a several divisions (SSR, SSP and ESP).

Other powders will work cleanly, but many - like any of the Clays - produced significant flash in my guns. I'm guessing in ME, you'll do more indoor shooting than most. Chose wisely.

In summary, if I had to pick one case/powder/bullet combination for all IDPA SSR applications, it would be 38 Special, Titegroup and Berry's 158gr plated RN.

I'm looking forward to seeing you at the ME State in October.

Craig

Edited September 5, 2008 by Bones

[Model19]

4.5gr Bullseye with the 158gr JHP Zero's in .38 brass turned out to be the ticket. Very consistent, like within 5fps, and clean enough. Nice flash just before dusk too, especially in the 2.5".

So the Square Deal will be hummin' soon.

Geoff

[rbert0005]

Some guys use 38 Colt brass. I shoot with a guy that trims down 357 brass to a lenth just about the lenght of the 38 Colt brass.

You can also keep your eyes poen for a 627 in 38 Super. The best for reloading.

Bob