I reloaded my first batch of .38's a few weeks ago. Win cases, and small Win pistol primers, 130 gr lead bullets with 2.8 g of Bullseye. Shot them out of a 2 1/4" Ruger Sp101 at 25 yards and they all went bang but were shooting real low. I shot some jacketed commercial ammo to verify.
The next batch I raised it to 3 g of Bullseye and used a 4" S&W 686. They were hitting point of aim (not necessarily where I wanted them- but that's another problem). About 7 out of 120 failed to fire. Most, but not all, would fire if I tried them again.
All shots were single-action. I had replaced the Ruger hammer spring with a lower-powered one years ago.
So - Is it the difference in the guns, my loading technique or hard primers or who knows what with the limited info I've provided?
p.s. The dowel trick to remove a bullet stuck in the forcing cone and cylinder if you somehow ended up with no powder in the case works well. Don't ask me how I know this.
The next batch I raised it to 3 g of Bullseye and used a 4" S&W 686. They were hitting point of aim (not necessarily where I wanted them- but that's another problem). About 7 out of 120 failed to fire. Most, but not all, would fire if I tried them again.
All shots were single-action. I had replaced the Ruger hammer spring with a lower-powered one years ago.
So - Is it the difference in the guns, my loading technique or hard primers or who knows what with the limited info I've provided?
p.s. The dowel trick to remove a bullet stuck in the forcing cone and cylinder if you somehow ended up with no powder in the case works well. Don't ask me how I know this.