Crunchy Frog
Member
Lots of cowboy action shooters load .38 Special for pistol and rifle. Mostly using a lighter bullet than a 158.
I would imagine their intent is reduced recoil to increase their speed instead of decrease report. I'm not sure if increasing bullet weight would have an effect on sound, what do you think?Lots of cowboy action shooters load .38 Special for pistol and rifle. Mostly using a lighter bullet than a 158.
Great! Thanks for the rapid test. I'm stuck home with a couple toddlers and can't shoot in my yard so my testing consists of making a bunch of different loads and testing when I can. I have titegroup, think I should try it or pick up some bullseye?I just had to try this out for myself. I started with .38 Special cases, small pistol primers, and Bullseye powder with a coated ACME 158 gr blunt nose bullet.
View attachment 919177
I started at the min charge for Bullseye in my Cast Bullet Handbook #4 which was 3.0 gr, and worked down .25 gr at a time to 2.0 gr out of my Henry Big Boy with a 20” barrel.
The 3.0 gr was quiet, but you could still tell it was close to a factory load. Each load was quieter than the last, and by the time I got to 2.0 gr, it was truly about the same as my Marlin 60 with subsonic ammo. I honestly couldn’t tell a difference between 2.0 and 2.25 gr, and even though all 5 of each load functioned fine and hit paper, I would go with the 2.25 gr just to give a little edge to getting the bullet out of the end of the barrel.
Bullseye was the only powder I tried, but Bullseye and Titegroup are almost twins, so I would think you could work down with it about the same. My cases were burned and dirty after I finished. I assume that is because there wasn’t enough pressure to expand and seal the brass completely against the hot gas.
I think I have a little Titegroup left. I’ll try to make some up tomorrow and test them if it Isn’t raining.Great! Thanks for the rapid test. I'm stuck home with a couple toddlers and can't shoot in my yard so my testing consists of making a bunch of different loads and testing when I can. I have titegroup, think I should try it or pick up some bullseye?
I'm still going to do some trail boss loads too and I'll report when I get to shoot.
Hey all,
Hope everyone's doing well.
Looking for load suggestions for quietest possible 357/ 38 loads for use in a rifle. I understand the risk of squid and that accuracy may suffer. I've seen discussion of using a couple grains of fast burning powder and downloading until you stick a bullet in the barrel and going up just a smidge from there. I can do that but I was hoping someone had a decent starting point. I'm not looking for reduced recoil - I use trail boss regularly and understand it's uses well but I don't consider it quiet although it's certainly not as loud as most loads. I live in Illinois and supressors are not legal through any channels available to me, I'm wanting a load for use at a friend's house where shooting is legal but he does have neighbors that don't appreciate the noise and I'd like a plinking load that won't offend. We do shoot everything out there but there's a time when it's best to keep it low key. I understand also that nothing will be as quiet as a suppressed rifle shooting subsonics but a subsonic with low pressure will be better than most. I prefer to use 357 brass but I have 38 brass as well if you think that may help. Looking to use either 158 grain swc or 180 grain go (both cast).
I've seen guys use a round ball and the reduced weight helps lower pressure but I'd like to use components I usually use. Possibly appropriate powders I have on hand are : unique, titegroup & clays - I'm willing to get another powder just for this use if required.
Thanks for any advice.
I greatly appreciate the time if folks who have some to spare. I'll get to testing in a couple weeks, test gun will be a 77/357 in my caseI think I have a little Titegroup left. I’ll try to make some up tomorrow and test them if it Isn’t raining.
Great info, I'm going to work between 2.5-3.5 grains of trailboss in a 357 case with a 158 swc. I'll watch for squibs and see where performance and report cross paths. Not expecting 2 moa from: me, the load or the rifle but 5-6 moa at 50 yards would be good better of course is better.I like cast 158 gr. Semi wadcutters over 3.5 gr. of trailboss in 38 brass. Haven't tried it in 357 brass but out of my 20" Henry those 38s are a whisper.
Where does bunny fart rank too?Just out of curiosity,,,
Is a Cat Sneeze above or below a Mouse Fart?
Aarond
.
I made up 10 test rounds today with the same setup and Titegroup, but just slightly different numbers because of the difference in density: 3.0, 2.5, 2.3, and 2.0 gr.Great! Thanks for the rapid test. I'm stuck home with a couple toddlers and can't shoot in my yard so my testing consists of making a bunch of different loads and testing when I can. I have titegroup, think I should try it or pick up some bullseye?
I'm still going to do some trail boss loads too and I'll report when I get to shoot.
Just out of curiosity,,,
Is a Cat Sneeze above or below a Mouse Fart?
Aarond
.
I prefer WST to TG or BE. WST burns cleaner, more case fill, east to see. TG runs hot compared to BE and WST. I use 4.8gr of WST behind MBC #1 or #2 BE bullets. Yield around 700 fps out of my 6" Python.
I would not use Trail Boss for this application. For light loads you normally want to use a fast burning powder.
Fast powder is going to be quieter especially as the barrel gets longer. This is where Quickload really starts to come into its own if your into this level of playing.I would think, and I’m just spitballing here, that out of a rifle barrel, the “fastness” of the powder can be extended greatly to include slower pistol powders at reduced amounts. There’s a lot more room in an 18-20” barrel for that powder to burn up than there is in a 4-6” barrel. The trick is to match the powder, and the amount you use to what works in your gun. There aren’t any load manuals out there that will give data for this. It might well be that a reduced load of Unique, 231, or even 2400 might make a good match for quiet loads in the right amounts in a given rifle. The problem is that it will take a lot of experimenting with these powders, and I’m not sure most of us have the patience. I don’t think I do anyway.
I did similar with CCI CB Longs in an old Winchester 67. That 27.5-inch barrel really makes an already quiet round super quiet. That combination is more quiet than my spring air rifle.A Remington 22 Fieldmaster loaded with 22 short CB caps is a lot of fun and supper quite just saying