Howdy ladies and gents,
I've been running into a issue with my S&W K frames, I'm at wits end, and you guys are my last hoorah before I call it quits.
Background:
I have 4 K frames (S&W M10-5, S&W 64, S&W M15, S&W M19) and 1 S&W 36 that I shoot regularly and reload for. I'm a .mil dude who has carried an M9 for years without issue, but because I shoot at an indoor range and DOD pay isn't the greatest, I have tried to dedicate myself to the K frames because not chasing brass & not loosing brass saves me time & money. I do all of my reloading on a Lee 4 Hole Classic Turret Press with auto disk riser.
The Problem(s):
Started reloading in 2016, and have run into a number of issues with my K frames.
#1- Missouri Bullet Company 158 grain RN bullet (#15), 3.4grains of HP38, COAL of 1.480, no roll crimp, CCI primers. Caused occasional squib rounds. NONE of my guns would reliably pop the CCI primers. Though all of my guns are older, I've not changed out any mainsprings. Additionally,after a few cylinders, the pull sometimes gets very heavy and the cylinder does not want to turn. Opening and closing the cylinder will sometimes make this issue go away. Does this across the board, regardless of revolver. Cartridges do not always drop into cylinder freely. Changed to Winchester Small Pistol Primers, faulty ignition issue went away.
#2- Missouri Bullet Company 158 grain RN bullet (#15), 3.4grains of HP38, COAL of 1.480, no roll crimp, Winchester Small Pistol Primer- Getting regular squib rounds, with yellow flakes sometimes (burned powder?) coming out the front of the muzzle and inside the cylinder after ejecting brass. Still having the heavy trigger pull and cylinder not wanting to turn issue. Cartridges do not always drop into cylinder freely.
Increased the charge load to 3.7 grains (3.8 grains is max)thinking lower end charge weight is the problem, still experienced same issue.
#3- Missouri Bullet Company 158 grain RN bullet (#15), 3.4 grains of HP38, COAL of 1.480, .005 roll crimp, Winchester Small Pistol Primer- Squib issue occurs less frequently, but still happens. Still experiencing heavy trigger pull and cylinder not wanting to turn issue. Roll crimp allows cartridges to drop into cylinder like candy into a fat kid's mouth
#4- Berry's 125 grain plated bullet, 4.5 grains of HP38, COAL of 1.455, .005 roll crimp , Winchester Small Pistol Primers- No squibs. Trigger pull issue occurs less frequently, but still does occur. Cartridges enter cylinder without issue.
Problem Solutions/Conclusion:
Some of my issues probably stem from being new to reloading, and I get that. However, the real stick in my craw is that I have loaded a bunch of 9mm and .45 ACP on this exact same press, and I've shot nearly 2000 of both combined without ANY issues through my Beretta 92 and RIA GI 1911. With the 9mm, I've seated 125 grain coated bullets from 1.080 to 1.135 and never missed a beat. CCI primers? 92FS don't care;goes boom. Same thing with Winchester and Federal primers. This is starting to make me think that maybe the revolver reliability bit is just a myth, and for a guy that puts about 10,000 rounds a year downrange, they just aren't a good fit. If I can't get this figured out, I'm going to get rid of 2 of the K frames and just stick to what has worked reliably (9mm and .45 ACP)
Because I'd like to be a volume shooter and I am on a budget, I'd really like to get my .38 Special lead loads to work because I can actually bulk afford the bullets and I have lots of brass. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.
-Kalashnikovkid