Keith's heavy .38

[ssb]

I saw pressure tests on this bullet and 2400. 13.5 grains, the famous Skeeter Skelton load, exceeded 357 Mag pressures. Your load should be safe. I'm curious. What's the bullet diameter?

As a young man I used some of the Keith loads using 38 Spl brass, and I'm surprised now that I didn't blow up my revolvers. I won't cite the one with Unique and his 168 gr bullet.

With the above bullet and 38 Spl case with the bullet in the same crimp grooves, you might try 6.0 grains of Unique though you won't get the velocity you're seeking. The big dude with the hound dog has 38 Spl loads figured out better than anybody I've seen. Look at his data.

These bullets are .357”. The primers appear normal - no flattening or anything that I can tell. I think it’s a safe load and it’ll work for what I want it for; I just was hoping for something closer to 1150FPS. I find the recoil in an N frame to be quite pleasant. In any event, this load should do for outdoor use in my area (black bears).

I’d like to find some Unique, but it - like 2400 - seems pretty scarce right now.

I’m new to revolver loading. This thread was useful in getting me started. Wadcutters and then the 168gr bullets are my next intended projects.

[willie]

.When you reorder the bullets, I suggest specifying .358 diameter if you have a choice. I think that would shrink your groups. Yes, you have a good load. It sounds like you are on your way. Consider using a Lyman M-Die expander which has two sections. The first enlarges a short area of the case neck while the other bells the case mouth. It offers several advantages. Using this die with .358 bullets will improve your groups. I'd bet on that.

[Flamingo]

@willie do you think I could run the 162 NOE WCs hotter? My current load is 3.3 gr. I am getting decent groups from it (at least at 7 and 10 yards).

The powder I have on hand is W244, VV 3N38, Titegroup, True Blue,

[entropy]

Digging back about a year+ ago or so...I got about the same results both with velocity and accuracy. This was out of a 4” M28. I did end up with an acceptable load in the end. I can’t recall what it was exactly though. I’ll try to dig it up. I just didn’t have much luck in the accuracy department when I pushed them.

[willie]

@willie do you think I could run the 162 NOE WCs hotter? My current load is 3.3 gr. I am getting decent groups from it (at least at 7 and 10 yards).

The powder I have on hand is W244, VV 3N38, Titegroup, True Blue,

Please tell me which powder you are using in the 3.3 grain weight.

You can seat the wc bullet out farther and crimp in a grease groove. Obviously, this step increases powder capacity which allows increasing the charge. The 162 grain wadcutter's length is taking up extra space.

[Flamingo]

Well I feel like a dumb ass... it is titegroup.

[willie]

Well I feel like a dumb ass... it is titegroup.

No. Definitely not a dummy.

3.3 titegroup is max for a 148 gr wc. Since you have increased bullet weight and reduced powder capacity by using the NOE wc, I say stop at 3.3 gr unless you seat the bullet out farther. I've never used this powder so I'm recommending based on looking at published data. Red Dot and Bullseye are old powders that are useful in wc loads. I'm out of date in that I continue to use my stash of older powders. Because I read all this stuff, I'm aware that Titegroup has a high Nitro content and burns really hot. It may not be as forgiving as the two older powders mentioned. If you are shooting this ammo in your big Ruger, you won't damage the weapon.

Do you need 357 brass?

[Spartan1980]

Speaking of powders, Winchester WST is good with HBWCs too.

[Flamingo]

@willie I am loading the 162 further out than the 148 by about .155 inches.



The primers look good on this as well.



Sent you an email about the brass.

[willie]

Most interesting! Then bump the charge to 3.5. If you were using Bullseye, you could load 3.5. I assume that the two powders have similar burning rates. Yes, the primers look good. Pretty bullets too. My memory is poor. Is the NOE mold one that I owned?