Keith's heavy .38

[Flamingo]

I bought that one after reading some of 44 heavy wadcutter load threads. The 148 WC is from the NEI mold you gave me. The 148 shoots slightly more accurately than the 162, but not by much.

I posted this picture in another thread but here is a 30 round group I shot at 7 yards with the 162s from my M10-6 yesterday.

[okie john]

The Rem and Peters loads showed 1115-ish fps, the Western and one Winchester load show 1175 fps (and one @ 1125 I believe) in the 1943-44 Shooters Bible. The ones I have from the 50s showed similar information.

Not sure why the differences from the various companies.

The ammo makers had chronographs but they were crude by today's standards. They all used different guns in their tests, and the marketing departments had at least as much input into figures like that as the engineers. Plus very few individual shooters had chronographs in those days, so they couldn't counter any claims that the ammo companies made.


Okie John

[03RN]

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.

Fwiw 8.1 grains BE-86 in .357 brass gets me to 1150fps with a 158gr swc.

[Borderland]

How safe is Keith's .38 special load in modern guns like m10s and m64s?

I'm referring to the 168 grain cast Keith bullet over 13.5 grains of 2400 in .38 special brass.

An old Lyman manual (1967) shows the max load for that bullet to be 10.5 grains at 1000 fps. That looks like it might be a little sporty.



http://www.nzha.co.nz/wp-content/upl...08/Lyman44.pdf

[revchuck38]

The only .38 Special load with 13.5 grain of 2400 that I know of is the "Skeeter Skelton load" using the 358156 bullet crimped in the bottom crimp groove. My understanding is that Skelton shot it exclusively in M27s. He used .38 Special brass because he had access to a bottomless pile of .38 brass due to his day job in LE.

[Borderland]

The only .38 Special load with 13.5 grain of 2400 that I know of is the "Skeeter Skelton load" using the 358156 bullet crimped in the bottom crimp groove. My understanding is that Skelton shot it exclusively in M27s. He used .38 Special brass because he had access to a bottomless pile of .38 brass due to his day job in LE.

I've never read Keith or Skelton because I started reloading in earnest around 2008. I'm sure they both have some good stories.

I can understand shooting that load in a M28/27, but if you love your digits let somebody else test it in a K frame. JMHO.

[Jim Watson]

Keith said of the Model 19 that he would limit it to factory magnums or "my heavy .38 load."

[358156hp]

@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,

Back when I got my first 358432, I went on a search for loading data since none was easily found. I ended up buying a copy of Ideal Handbook 38, and it showed 358432 lumped together with all 38 Spl loads using cast bullets of the same weight. I've been content enough with this information to simply use 158-162 gr data, starting loads first, until I get what I'm looking for. I've also taken the same approach with 357 loads as well. As noted in another post, 358432 doesn't encroach as deeply into the case as standard wadcutters.

I hope this helps,
Bob

[358156hp]

Keith said of the Model 19 that he would limit it to factory magnums or "my heavy .38 load."

Keith had two loads for 38 Spl. I'd have to look up the light load, but the heavy load ended up with the same powder charge as Skeeters load, but with Keiths heavier 358429 bullet. Somewhere, Skeeter mentions deliberately dropping the bullet weight because Keiths load seemed too hot for his needs. Keiths original 358429 has bounced up and down on weight, but the original design was 173 gr.

[358156hp]

I've never read Keith or Skelton because I started reloading in earnest around 2008. I'm sure they both have some good stories.

I can understand shooting that load in a M28/27, but if you love your digits let somebody else test it in a K frame. JMHO.

I'm not aware of any K frame blowing up with Keith or Skeeter loads. I have however, seen a lot of seriously loose and worn K frames from shooting hot loads.