Fun With Trail Boss

Status
Not open for further replies.
jibjab,

I don't think there would be enough case capacity for it to get to 500fps. If I remember correctly with a full case of 9mm it only got up to around 500fps. Depends on if that is what your going for I guess.

Stay safe.
 
As previously stated, I don't think you can get enough velocity out of 9 X 18 to work the action properly as all of the Makarov's I've ever seen, handled & shot have extremely heavy recoil springs. They are straight blow back and I don't think a TB load can develop enough pressure to move that slide very far.

Couldn't hurt anything to try it though, but just be prepared for incomplete extractions and maybe stovepipes if the slide does get far enough back. Be sure NOT to compress the load though as this causes TB to do weird and possibly nasty things according to the manufacturer.
 
Thanks for the replies, I guesstimated a safe max. charge at 2.4gr of TB. I have the original 17# recoil spring I will need to find it, I will put together a few and see what happens :eek: I use a 19# in my PM which cut down on the brass hang time, Wolff also offers a 15# spring.
Another thing I am curious to find out is the POA and POI relationship with a light load.
 
You may have almost a parlor gun load with that small a charge, but it will be interesting to see. With .357's TB is giving me fantastic accuracy with 180 grain hardcast slugs. Point of impact was right on the money at 15 yards.
 
I put two rounds together, 93gr hard cast LRN with 2.3gr of TB, WSR primers, COL .973".
I installed the 17# recoil spring and loaded the two rounds in the magazine, I fired one round the shell ejected and the next round loaded. I fired at ply wood a 1/2" with 3/4" behind it and a folded moving blanket behind the ply. POA and POI were the same at 20'
reloading 001.jpg
the bullet went through the ply wood and rested in the first layer of the blanket. I loaded up 14 more rnds and when I get a chance I'll try'em out.
 
Well I shot up the 15rnds mentioned in post #55, they all went bang and the gun functioned normally with the exception of the brass only landing 4-6' away :)
reloading 001.jpg
Well this was 9rnds fired from 10yrds, my standard pressure loads would have grouped much tighter and about a 1" higher. I will continue to explore with Trail Boss for the 9x18 Mak, so far it seems very doable.
 
Very interesting. This is one of those rare new products that actually does a lot more than anyone anticipated. It was supposed to be just for cowboy action shooting
 
My final thoughts

While Trail Boss did work in my PM with the 17# recoil spring, it was a sooty load and thick gray smoke rose from every crack in the pistol. I did find that 2.3+gr of TB functioned in my gun, but the cleaning was not worth it.
I have loaded 93gr LRN cast bullets with 2.8gr of Bullseye for recoil sensitive shooters and it does well.
 
I read in predator extreme about using 5 grs of TB with a 55 gr bullet for good accuracy up to 50 yrds. Very quite, got to try some.
 
I love the stuff.

After about one hundred 45 Colt load experiments I still go back to Trail Boss as my most accurate powder.

I recommend these pet loads:

200 grain "Cowboy Action" Flat-Nosed Cast Lead Bullet with 6.7 grains of Trail Boss (Lee Dipper 1.6ml), 860 fps, for sub-1" groups at 25 yards.

225 grain Penn Bullets bevel-based Wadcutter with 6.0 grains of Trail Boss (Lee Dipper 1.3ml), 750 fps, for sub-1" groups at 25 yards.
 
yep yep makes great subsonic rounds for 308. 150gn flat nose or 180gn round nose bullets have worked great with it.

+1 for new shooter intros as well.
 
I've been using it in a 308 model 77 compact to coach some of our church youth who are getting, or were getting, ready for MO deer hunting. 165 grain plain base and the recommended load from the book (you'll notice I never give powder weights) and you have a "high power" load with low noise and low recoil. Haven't chrono'd it but think it is around 1300 fps. Easy to get good groups and then transfer them to the 243 with full power 100 grain bullets. One young lady got three deer last year, all heart shots.
Also good for plinkers in a 30-30. No way you can double load as you could with Unique or 2400.
Gonna try some in 45 colt for a Judge. (might even try it in 2 1/2" all brass 410 shells with a 45 bullet for a "slug" load). Gonna think on that one for a while.
 
I use nothing but Trail Boss in my .38 special loads. The safety factor is a lot of peace of mind for me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top