OK, one more time HP-38 & 115 gr RN

I know this one has been beaten to death, but this situation just came up and the info is at odds the closer I get to the limits of the information.

I am basing this on several published loads by Hogdon. They show 115 gr bullet, 1.125 oal and loads from 4.7 to 5.1. On the front of the jar they show the last one at 5.1, a max load.

Based on this I loaded some rounds I am thinking about:

Berry's 115 gr RN, 4.8 grains of HP-38 at 1.125 oal. Looking at the info again, I see the bullet at 1.125 appears to be a hollow point, and wouldnt compress as much as a RN at the same 1.125 OAL.

I have fired 4.7 at what I thought at the time was 1.125, but remeasuring of some of those rounds indicates closer to 1.140.

Before I dis assemble these rounds and reassemble at a longer oal, is there anyone out there who can say they shot 115 gr RN over 4.8 gr (or more) of HP-38 at 1.125 oal? My 4.7 were not that hot, but oal was a little longer....

Thanks in advance for helping me beat this dead horse again!

Russellc

well the over max is what is confusing....while they say 5.1 at 1.125 it looks like a HP, which wouldnt be set as deep as the RN, so I wondered if the RN might be a little over at 4.8. Normally I would follow the start low and go up protocol, but The 4.7 I previously tried ends up with 1.140-45 OAL, not 1.125, creating the question concerning this load with 4.8 (and definitely 1.125 OAL this time).

Thanks guys! Really appreciate the heads up. I guess I will pop off one or two and check for signs of bulging/high pressure.

Thanks again,

Russellc

I would feel a little better at your load. Do you think shortening the OAL to 1.125 and upping the load to 4.8 to be a problem with the 115 RN Berry's? If so, I guess I better get a bullet puller! Need that item anyway. Normally I dont load so close to the edge...

Russellc

Rule3 said:

If you look at three different sources for data, you will get 3 different OAL.

Speer, Hornady and Hodgdon all different. It is confusing. Find the longest OAL that will pass the drop test into your barrel (it will be in the range somewhere) Use any of the starting loads and you will be fine

I usually load 124 grain bullets and use Power Pistol.

Don't worry about the Berrys bullets you are not going over 1200 fps

All I can say is I use this load and it it is not a "hot" load. I try to find the middle range of all the data. The OAL depends on what gun you are shooting. If I use LRN in my CZ I have to seat them real short so I ease up on the powder and use the start load.

Click to expand...

My gun is a Glock 17 and it will pass the plunk test with a bullet as long as you can make it. I made up a dummy bullet lightly seated at 1.188 and it passed! The most accurate loads I've had so far were on the long side, 1.165. This was with 124 gr RN.

Then I got some X-treme 124 gr HP bullets. I learned from this forum that these two bullets are not the same length, and for the HP to be set in the case the same amount as the RN at 1.160-65, the OAL will be shorter for the HP bullet.

So, I started with some loads of 5.1 grains Unique under the 124 gr HP at 1.11 which I calculated was the oal for this HP bullet to be set in the case the same distance as the 124 gr RN.

then I decided to try some HP with the HP-38, and had tried 4.7 at what I thought was 1.125, and it was fine. This led to the 4.8 "increase" but a closer examination of the 4.7 bullets showed they were set closer to 1.140 that 1.125 and I began to think this was a larger jump than .1 grain as the OAL was now shorter as well.

Seems just a little to close...I think I will disassemble these and increase OAL to 1.135-1.140.

Russellc

Rule3 said:

You need to find a bullet that is not only the same weight but the same profile. You started talking about Berrys 115 RN If the bullet is a HP and flatter than the OAL will be different,

Now you are talking 124 grain bullets??


The bullets I am using are 115 gr clones of the XTP more so than say a Gold Dot, They are the same shape and length if the XTP so I am using the Hornady data

Look at the Hodgdon data for a 115 Gold Dot. They have a OAL of 1.125

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

As I said the OAL's will be all over the place based on the test and bullet used.

Use what you feel best at.

Click to expand...

I have been loading 115 and 124 gr bullets. The post concerns 115 gr RN I think I may have too hot. 115 gr RN Berry's over 4.8 grains HP-38 at 1.125 OAL. Should be 4.5 to 4.8 at 1.150-1.160.

Russellc

The gun is a new Glock 17 gen 3, a made in USA model and is in perfect health.
Maybe I'll fire a couple first, it just threw me when I discovered my prior 4.7 loads were at a longer OAL than I thought.

Thanks for the input,

Russellc

Raindodger, I wouldnt think my additional .1 grain would make any difference, and since I have a slightly longer (1.125) OAL I should be fine. thanks for the info, much appreciated. I will post back about how they shoot and how the brass looks afterwards. Sounds like I'm OK this time. Again, thanks to all who responded to my inexperienced questions, much appreciated.

Great forum here!
Russellc

Went to range today and fired a bunch of my reloads, including the ones in question here, 115 gr RN w/ 4.8 HP-38.

Maybe slightly louder than normal, primers appeared a little more flattened. Otherwise, it was a good shooting load. Not as accurate as the 124 gr loads at longer OAL, 1.150 but that's a different story. I guess what's important here was that they shot fine.

Russellc