Just not finding a .38 spl target load my 686 likes

[Eddietruett]

I have a 4",6",7" and 8 3/8" 686. All four will shoot a 148gr HBWC with 3gr Bullseye into one ragged hole at 25 yards. I do use a Simmons Red Dot Tube off a bench rest to do so. I have a no drill mount that fits K/L frames that works very well. My other pet load is the 158gr TCFP Coated bullet from SNS. I load it with 5gr of Universal. All of my 686's will shoot this load almost as well. I only load target loads in .38 Brass. I can't imagine .357 Brass doing any better, but I've never tried it. As one posted above noted you have to keep the cylinders clean. After I shoot around 100-100 rounds in a .357 I clean the cylinders with a brass brush mounted on a cordless drill. The build up will affect accuracy if you let the carbon build up. I like the Speer and Hornady HBWC fine, but I've found the HBWC from Zero to be more accurate at least in my guns. It is the only lead target bullet I shoot anymore. Everything else target wise is with Coated Bullets.

 

[Walkalong]

X-Treme 158 Gr SWC in .357 brass over a modest charge of WST, Competition, Clays, with a light taper crimp......shoots really well.

 

[FROGO207]

Check your cylinder throats to make sure the bullet is big enough to seal in the barrel. This is often the problem when lead shoots poor and jacketed shoot well. You can get your throats reamed if need be. Or just load jacketed bullets.

 

[RealGun]

Trying some in 357 brass will indicate whether the problem really is something else. Throat diameter and forcing cone angle are variables between guns.

 

[RachelAnne]

I feel your pain in not being able to find an acceptable load for you 686. I load a Lyman 358495, 141gn wc with 2.7 grains of Bullseye. Of 4 S&W revolvers my 2-1/2" 19-4 is hands down the most accurate. It will do a ragged single hole when fired from a rest. I have a 586 and a 686 and the 586 will turn out 3 inch groups at 25 yards while the 686 does maybe an 8" group. The worst of 4 is a new model 60-8. Supposedly a clone of my 19-4 but very temperamental. I have tried about a dozen loads and am lucky to get a 15" group even at 7 yards. I also only get about 18 shots in before the cylinder binds up with residue locking up the cylinder. A few squirts of CLP will get the cylinder turning again. Wanted a modernized version of my 19-4 but am very disappointed in the 60-8.

 

[brutus51]

^ I'd send that puppy back to the factory, sounds like the cylinder is dragging on the Hillary lock.

 

[ThomasT]

I'm looking for suggestions here. I have a couple of target loads that do well in my 4" M19, that just aren't working in my 686. I know the 686 shoots reasonably well, with 125gr .357 mag Winchester Gold Sabers, benched and single action it'll will do around 1.5" at 25 yds. The best I'm getting with 158gr HBWC's with the same setup is around 3".

If using hollow base bullets you may need brass designed for these deep seated bullets so you are not squeezing down the base of the bullet. I did n't know about this myself until I read this article and now I know WC brass when I see it. It also explains why sometimes my bullets went in easy in some cases but really tight in others.

https://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/articles/38wadcutterQA.htm

From the article.

For serious target work I use only cases which were originally used for loading factory wadcutter ammunition. Wad-cutter brass has thinner walls with a long cylindrical section which extends all the way to the seated base of the wadcutter bullet, whereas +P and other cases made for JHP service loads are thicker walled and have a faster internal taper intended to increase bullet pull to improve ballistic uniformity with the slower powders used for factory loading jacketed service loads.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Many Rugers, and some S&W’s, particularly the post pinned barrels exhibit what is called “thread choke”. This results from the barrel being “squeezed” for a lack of better description, when being torqued into alignment when barrel is installed in the frame.
A lead bullet will be sized down by the constriction, wrecking accuracy. Jacketed bullets better resist being sized down, and higher pressure loads maintain obturation of the bullet, maintaining accuracy.
I’ve had limited success “fire lapping” such constricted barrels.

The only way to know if you are dealing with “thread choke” is to slug your barrel.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Bullets the OP is using are swaged, thus fairly soft. Hornady does a good job of working their lube into the lead. So the HBWC should easily expand and seal to fit the case and bore, even going past the barrel bulge and sealing again if the barrel is 4" or longer. It's just a matter of experimenting with cases, powders and loads to find a combination that works. When you use 357 brass you will have lower pressure and velocity if you seat to the end of the case. Make sure the bullet fired exits the bore with lower velocities. Ways around this include heavier powder charges and seating the bullets inside the case, using the same seating depth as with the 38 spl. Seating inside the case will mean that the crimp only straightens the case mouth. I don't know what other powders you have on hand, but try some others.