Anybody load Red Dot in .38 DEWC?

[Vitesse304]

Like the title says!

I've got some unique, and I'm gonna grab some bullseye, but I've got so much red dot! Any suggested recipes for a S&W model 52-2?

 

[Walkalong]

I've tried it. Looked promising.

S&W 4" Mod 10 HB .38 Spl - Berrys 148 Gr DEWC

2.5 Grs - Avg 488 FPS

2.8 Grs - Avg 592 FPS

That's as far as I got before I got sidetracked on something else. Did not try it with the lead HBWC's I have, or the lead DEWC's either.

 

[Vitesse304]

hmmm, those look about right. I don't have a chrony, so the seat of the pants evaluation and comparison of unique vs. red dot shows that I'll have to load a about .3 gr less for red dot.

I've been loading 2.8 gr of unique behind a 148 missouri bullets DEWC and they shoot very well through my 686...

 

[rcmodel]

2.8 Unique is less then a recommended starting load for a 148 DEWC.
You are just asking for a bullet stuck in the bore with that light a charge of Unique!

Try 3.2 Unique minimum for a starting load.

Red Dot is a much better powder for light target loads though.
Try 2.3 starting - 3.0 MAX.

rc

 

[Walkalong]

I haven't tried Unique with 148 Gr DEWC's, but that is what I was thinking.

2.8 Grs of Red Dot is just getting them out fast enough to be comfortable with. 2.8 Grs of Unique would be iffy for sure.

 

[ThomasT]

If you are using a solid bullet and not the hollow base WC bullet you can bump the charge up quite a bit. The reason for the light charge with a hollow base is to keep the pressure from seperating the bullet and leaving a ring of lead in the bore or cylinder.

This is from the Speer #11 manuel with the 148gr bevel base WC bullet.

Red Dot 3.7 = 825fps, 4.3gr = 964fps
Unique 4.5gr = 868fps, 5.1 = 961fps
Bullseye 3.9gr = 813fps, 4.5gr = 933fps
231 or HP38 4.1gr = 811, 4.7gr = 926fps

Those loads were clocked with a 6" barreled revolver.

I used to shoot a lot of the 148gr Lee tumble lube WC bullets in falling plate matches. Most of my loads were 3grs of Bullseye because I used a Little Dandy with a #3 rotor. It was fast and easy. I also have these same bullets loaded with 4.5grs of Unique for a self defense load in my 38 snubby. It sure blast two liter coke bottles.

 

[Vitesse304]

cool, thanks for the info all. I will bump up the unique and give the red dot a try tonight!

I love living in the country where I can test a load right off my deck!!!

 

[transtech]

Start low with Red Dot

For a hollow-base 148gr. swaged lead wadcutter, I have loaded as low as 2.5 grains of Red Dot and could cycle the action on my S&W 52-2 in warm weather, but I can't recall ever having tried that load in January outdoors. However, I have gotten better accuracy from other powders, notably Trail Boss when I used 3.3 grains, and American Select using 2.8 grains, and there's always the standard load for a flush-seated swaged hollow-base wadcutter of 2.7 or 2.8 grains of Bullseye. 3 grains of HP-38 or WW231 are also very good loads for the 52-2 and here's a tip about a quirk about mine: always got best accuracy with Winchester cases primed with Winchester primers - don't know why mine's like that, but I have test targets to prove it, same bullet & same powder, different primer or different case headstamp, the WW combo beat the others.

 

[Vitesse304]

thanks for the info, I'm gonna try the 2.5 of red dot until I can get my hands on some bullseye.

They always say don't mess with something that works, so it looks like I'm gonna have to stock up on some bullseye and 148 DEWC's!