[texas chase]

I have some 125 grain cast lead bullets and unique. I need a mild load for SASS. Any suggestions?

[SASS#23149]

1st off,i'd suggest a faster powder,but since you have Unique,one of my favorites,I use 4.2 in a .38 special behind my cast 125 grainers.Nice mild load.

[rcmodel]

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/RecipeList.aspx?gtypeid=5

rc

[texas chase]

Sass - thank you.

RC - thanks for the link but it didnt have any recipes w/ unique.

[rcmodel]

That is what we call, A Clue!

Unique isn't a real good choice for very light bullets & very light charges.

If it was, Alliant would list the loads.
But they don't.

rc

[texas chase]

:) your sarcasm is noted

[texas chase]

I think I have some Clays at home...

Sass, sinc you brought it up, what advantage would a faster burning powder have over Unique? Especially in cowboy shooting, where most of my targets will be 5 - 10 yds away. I appreciate any insight you may have.

Thanks

[NCsmitty]

rcmodel was only pointing out that lower powered loads with Unique can be disappointing and dirty.

The faster powders are designed for what you have in mind and burn clean and consistent.

This is from Hodgdon's site.

125 GR. CAST LRNFP---- Hodgdon Clays .358" 1.445" COAL

Start 2.5gr 810fps 8,400 CUP

Max 3.5gr 978fps 16,900 CUP

NCsmitty

[ArchAngelCD]

If you have Clays on the shelf it will make a good powder for .38 Special Cowboy loads. With a 125gr lead bullet the starting charge of 2.5gr mentioned above is a good one. I also like W231 a lot. A charge of 3.6gr will give you what you are looking for. A lot of shooters also like Trail Boss. I haven't given it a try yet but it sounds like a valid choice too.

[ReloaderFred]

I'm old fashioned and still use Bullseye for my SASS loads with the 125 grain RNFP bullets. These are run through both mine and my wife's pistols and rifles.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[LightningMan]

I have switched to Trailboss, I think it's great because it fills the case more so than other powders for reduced loads or low velocity loads. Another plus is that it's nearly impossable to double charge a case without noticing it. I currently use a 125 gr. TC bullet using 3.0 grains of TB, which I get about 650 to 675 fps out of my Cowboy pistols. One tip I can give anyone wanting to use TrailBoss and if you use a Dillon 550 progressive press is to attach (via packaging tape) a small fish tank air pump to the powder hopper. This acts as a viberator to help insure that the powder doesn't hang up and continues to flow for more consistant metering. TrailBoss is so big & bulky it bridges up on itself, and I also found this to work for light loads using Universial Clays. Good Luck, LM.

[texas chase]

OK, so sounds like Clays may be cleaner burning and a better choice.

I'll start out with 2.5 gr and load a few w/ 3 and 3.5 just to see what I like. Do you guys use the cream-o-wheat trick?

thanks again for all the help...

[zxcvbob]

Red Dot or Promo. 4.0 grains is wonderful with 125 grain cast bullets, but probably a little hotter than what you want. Start with 3.5 grains and go up or down from there.

You also might try about 3.8 to 4 grains of American Select. It is a *very* clean-burning fast powder; similar to Green Dot except for the "clean" part.

(Have you tried loading blackpowder yet?)

[ReloaderFred]

No case filler is required with any of the SASS loads. It's an unnecessary extra step and doesn't really do any good.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[texas chase]

thanks to all for the info.

[Randy1911]

This shows cowboy loads with Unique. http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/recipedetail.aspx?gtypeid=5&weight=125&shellid=8&bulletid=9

[evan price]

125 grain lead bullet in .38 special, max load is 6.0 grains Unique. You can go down to around 4.0 grains and still have a good load.

[DUCKNDAWG]

I've been using 3.6 gr. of titegroup with 125 gr. bullet. I also have used 3.2 - 3.6 gr. of HP38/W231 with same bullet

[zxcvbob]

I've been using 3.6 gr. of titegroup with 125 gr. bullet. I also have used 3.2 - 3.6 gr. of HP38/W231 with same bulletI tried 3.5 grains of Titegroup with 125 grain cast bullets in a 4" Model 15 and they were terribly inaccurate (not quite enough velocity to stabilize, I think.) I gave the rest of the box to a friend who has a 6" S&W and they worked great for him. 4.0 grains worked OK for me, but was not as accurate as 4.0 grains of Promo.

[evan price]

I use 3.5 grains of Titegroup with a 158-grainer in my .38 specials. The amount of powder is right there at the hotdog in the hallway levels but they shoot nice.

[zxcvbob]

I use 3.5 grains of Titegroup with a 158-grainer in my .38 specials.I've loaded that before; it's a good load.

[lgbloader]

+ 1 for Trail Boss.

I use it in 38 spcl and 30-30 win with great success.

LGB

[texas chase]

OK, so it looks like between 4 - 6 gr's of Unique behind a 125 cast lead bullet works. Anybody go lower than 4?

[Snobal]

I worked up some 125 gr. cast bullet loads last fall and tried a few powders.

With Unique, I got my best 125 Gr. cast bullet groups with 4.6 Grains. But I must confess that this is the old Unique --- I mark powder with the date I buy it --- I got this container of Unique in Aug/85.:eek:

I was trying to find a light load that would group OK and shoot to POA from a fixed-sight, snub-nose, alloy-frame revolver. The Unique load was a solution, but I later found that 3.5 grains of Bullseye and a 125 grain plated bullet shot exactly to POA, shot cleaner, and produced better groups in that particular revolver.

[texas chase]

Well... I loaded some 125 gr cast lead bullets with 2.5 gr's of Unique and now I'm afraid they're way too light. I only loaded 30 so its not that big of a loss but has anyone else loaded anything this light? Is there any danger in it?

[rcmodel]

Yes!
The danger is Stuck bullets in the bore.

If you just gotta do it, 4.0 is the minumum recommended charge.

That will give you:
725 FPS - 9,000 CUP.

Below that velocity & pressure, stuck bullets are very possible in guns with wide B/C gap.

rc

[ReloaderFred]

The danger would be sticking a bullet in the barrel and then firing another round behind it. This usually bulges the barrel to some degree.

Shoot them one at a time and pay particular attention to whether or not the bullet clears the barrel. If it doesn't, then use a brass rod to tap it back out of the barrel. If it locks up the cylinder, then drive it back into the cylinder so you can get the round out of the chamber.

Hope this helps.

Fred