[mohunter55]

Hello,

1.

I am reloading 148 grain LDEWC sized to .357. I am using 2.7 grains of Bullseye and I seated bullets to the cannelure and then I seated the others to just a little above flush. What Im noticing is that they both feel exactly the the same as far as recoil. The bullet that is seated a bit deeper with a slightly heavier crimp (they both have very light crimps) has a much cleaner case. The bullet that is seated to a little above flush leaves the case pretty dirty. I understand this is a very popular powder and bullet to use based on other threads. I was wanting to know what OAL you guys are loading these and if the dirty case is normal when seating these deeper.

2.

I am shooting these bullets through my ruger vaquero and my s&w 642. Primers look fine through the vaquero and both seating depths feel very light in the recoil department. With the 642, they feel more like WWB fmj. I've also noticed that the primers for both the reloads and WWB fmj's appear to be slightly flattened in my 642. Should I be concerned about this?...anyone else experience this with their 642?

[jibjab]

2.7gr of Unique seems too light, start at 3.1gr and work up.

[Steve C]

Light loads will mimic pressure signs by flatening primers. This is due to not having enough pressure to expand the case into the chamber tight enough to hold it in place. Instead the case moves back against the recoil shield pushing the primer flat.

Like jibjab said, you are a little light. Data from Lyman on their double ended 148gr WC.
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=124429&stc=1&d=1279523323

[1911Tuner]

Light loads will mimic pressure signs by flatening primers. This is due to not having enough pressure to expand the case into the chamber tight enough to hold it in place. Instead the case moves back against the recoil shield pushing the primer flat.


:confused:

The case will hit the recoil shield anyway...low pressure or high.

mohunter...2.7 grains of Unique is pretty soft. Bump it up a little, or try 2.7 grains of Bullseye with the wadcutter seated flush.

[Walkalong]

Very light loads can cause primers to stay backed out of the case a bit because there is not enough energy to re-seat them when the case head tries to move back against the breech face.

[mohunter55]

my bad i meant to say bullseye. Sorry, it was late last night when i posted the question. I guess goes to show you should not take load data off the internet. So what my question would have been is for 2.7 grains of Bullseye. I will edit the main post.

Sorry for the confusion.

[rcmodel]

2.7 grains Bullseye and a 148 grain WC was the "standard" .38 Spl match winning load in NRA Bullseye competition for about 75 years.

Don't worry about dirty cases.
It has nothing to do with anything.

There is something to be said for seating WC bullets out of the case for use in revolvers.

That allows the bullet to enter & center itself in the chamber throats before firing instead of making the jump from case to throat unguided.

When I shot for 5th. Inf AMU in the late 60's, we used flush seated wad in S&W Model 52 autos, and long seated wad in K-38 revolvers.
Ransom rest testing indicated they were a little more accurate then flush seated in the revolvers, although probably not significantly so.

rc

[mohunter55]

so based on Steve's data, i could actually load this round to 2.4grains of bullseye, rather than 2.7? I am looking for something a little bit lighter than 2.7 if possible.

[Clark]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.


I have damaged (5) 38 specials by shooting loads that are too hot.
Only (3) exploded into little pieces.

I have not found any 38 specials that cannot take a steady diet of 357 mag loads.

They do blow up with 4 or 5 gr more powder than the 357 mag max load.

Right now I have one 357 mag, and I only shoot 38 special level loads in it.
I have ~ half dozen 38 specials and I only shoot 357 mag level loads in them.

That irony is due to the rough chamber of my 357 mag revolver. The cases will stick if I load hot. The guy that sold it to me says it has a lifetime guarantee, and I could get it fixed, but I do not have the time for it.

What does it all mean?
There is a lot of safety margin in 38 special loading.

[ArchAngelCD]

The bullet that is seated a bit deeper with a slightly heavier crimp (they both have very light crimps) has a much cleaner case.
There's you answer right there as to why one is cleaner than the other. You are getting a more complete burn with the slightly heavier crimp.

Like said above, not to worry about the dirt as long as the load shoots well.