.38 cast bullet recipe

[68lemans462]

I am loading up some plinking ammo in .38 special. Using winchester primers and 125 grain TCFP "cowboy #2" Cast lead bullets from missouri bullet. Brinnell 12.

I am planning to load a bunch of these and would like to have some variety for accuracy testing. I was thinking of starting with 3.0 grains of bullseye. What do you guys recommend for powder charge with these loads? Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I cast that same bullet and shoot them by the thousands in SASS matches. I use 3.4 gr. of Bullseye, and from my Blackhawks you can cut one ragged hole in the target at 15 yards, and they'll hold about 1.5" @ 25 yards, if I do my part.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[RugerBob]

I load the 125gr also from MB, but not the #2, Ithink its either 17, or 21. Still 125 grain tho. I use them for my wifes 38 rugers for cowboy shooting and 3.0 trail boss works well.

 

[USSR]

I shoot similar weight cast bullets using 3.5gr of Solo 1000, Bullseye or 700X. But, really, a similar charge weight of any fast pistol/shotshell powder will work just fine.

Don

 

[Bush Pilot]

I've shot thousands of 125 gr bullets (lead and plated) using 3.5 grs of Bullseye. The load is easy on my hands and easy on the gun.

 

[fecmech]

I shoot a similar Lee 120 cast TC bullet in pistols and rifles and push it a little harder than previous posters and use 4.0-4.2 grs of Bullseye. Those run 950-1000 fps out of a 6" pistol and about 1200 fps out of the rifle. Those are still not even max .38 spl loads. The 120-130 gr TC bullets seem to be very accurate in everything I've ever tried them in, great design.

 

[zxcvbob]

That should work but I'd run them a little hotter. Maybe 4.0 grains of Bullseye or Green Dot, or 3.5 of Red Dot. Red Dot would be my "goto" powder with light cast bullets.

3.0 grains of Bullseye is gonna be filthy. It'll probably be accurate though.

 

[ljnowell]

All of my light 38 loads get AA#2 nowadays. It meters great, even at low charge weights, burns clean and gives accurate loads.

 

[unknwn]

Since I've got nearly 20lb.s of Clay's lying around, and a need to fill .38sp for some Cowboy steel clang'in , it really seems as if I should be comin up with a load to satisfy my Vaquero s , Renegades, and that pair of Western Marshalls that I collected for the game by using up some of what I have on hand.
Since it doesn't come quite close enough to avoid those dreaded double charges I expect that some CreamO-Wheat might be a "best? practice" to get to that magical number (and maybe a smidge of compression? -or- powder column placement). It just seems like I could appreciate a bit of "prior experience" to shave some of the time spent getting to that there "winning!" powder charge.
Along with all that Clay's, I have a few thousand 125grTC Penn slugs & a couple bricks of Federal SPP Match to assemble in a Classic Cast Turret.
Although I think it would be enjoyable doing the figuring and working it all out for myself, the time constraints of my current arrangement leads me to believe that I may never get around to developing that desired end product without some pointers from my pals at THR (among others too) to get past those rudimentary starting points & the working through of all those "loads-N-tests" before I find the "one".
Shared experiences would be appreciated.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Since it doesn't come quite close enough to avoid those dreaded double charges I expect that some CreamO-Wheat might be a "best? practice" to get to that magical number (and maybe a smidge of compression? -or- powder column placement)

If you have the time to add a filler, you have the time to inspect the charges and make sure there are no double charges. They should all go into a loading block together so you can compare them to each other. Weigh some samples and double check the data you are using.

Clays is a very good powder in .38/.357. You should be able to make some very accurate ammo without fillers, plenty good for clanging steel.

 

[Red Cent]

125gr truncated cone, 3.2gr American Select. I used that load for a long time. I mow use a 105 gr truncated cone with 3.2 American Select. The 105s clock around 795 fps.

The Vaqueros are notorious for having undersized and oversized chambers and the forcing cone is straight.

If you plan to stay in cowboy i would have someone check them out. No matter the load, you may leave a lot accuarcy on the table.

But then, at 21 feet or so, how bad could they be?

"In order to gain maximum accuracy from any revolver, the diameter of the bullets, the cylinder throats, forcing cone, and barrel all must be in harmony."

http://www.castbullet.com/misc/accrsa.htm