Range report

[vaalpens]

I was able to do a quick trip to the desert this afternoon to evaluate a few loads. The loads I evaluated were:

Firstly a comparison between Winchester WSP primers and S&B primers. A couple of weeks ago I was able to pick up a box of S&B primers for $25, which is about $10 cheaper than what I have to pay locally for CCI or Winchester small pistol primers per 1k. They only had one box left, so I decided to do a quick evaluation to compare the two. With the results below, it seems that the BE-86 loads are very close in accuracy, but some difference in the chrono numbers. The Power Pistol loads are close in chrono numbers, but some difference in accuracy. I'm not sure what to make of it, but it seems that I should probably work up a few loads with PowerPistol and S&B primers to try and find an accurate load..

SIG P229, 3.9", 40SW
COL: 1.125"
Xtreme, 165gr, RNFPHPCB, BE86, 5.8gr, WSP
Average: 916
ES: 24
SD: 11
Force: 307
PF: 151
Velocities: 910, 926, 930, 906, 909
Grouping @15 yards: 1.72"

SIG P229, 3.9", 40SW
COL: 1.125"
Xtreme, 165gr, RNFPHPCB, BE86, 5.8gr, SBPRSP
Average: 894
ES: 41
SD: 16
Force: 293
PF: 147
Velocities: 893, 905, 886, 915, 874
Grouping @15 yards: 1.74"

SIG P229, 3.9", 40SW
COL: 1.125"
Xtreme, 165gr, RNFPHPCB, PowerPistol, 6.5gr, WSP
Average: 956
ES: 37
SD: 15.3
Force: 335
PF: 157
Velocities: 930, 965, 956, 967, 964
Grouping @15 yards: 1.38"


SIG P229, 3.9", 40SW
COL: 1.125"
Xtreme, 165gr, RNFPHPCB, PowerPistol, 6.5gr, SBPRSP
Average: 957
ES: 32
SD: 12.5
Force: 335
PF: 157
Velocities: 958, 942, 964, 974, 949
Grouping @15 yards: 3.06"

Secondly I tested some 357magnum loads. This test came about after a discussion about BE-86 and 357 magnum. I posted some numbers where it looked like BE-86 was loosing or not gaining any velocity with a load around 7.5gr. This is the post: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/did-be-86-fall-off-the-map.813809/#post-10426290. Since Power Pistol is a tad slower than BE-86, I decided to test the same loads with Power Pistol, plus an additional bracket. What I found with Power Pistol is that there were no problems where the velocity did not increase. The loads were also very accurate at the higher end. I did feel that the cases became sticky when ejecting, but nothing more than what I have experienced before.

I normally test my SP101 loads at 10 yards with a smaller target, but today I got lazy and did not want to move the target from 15 to 10 yards. These loads were tested @ 15yards using my smaller targets.

My conclusion on the Power Pistol loads is that it seems that the loads can still be increased. I like Power Pistol in 357 magum and it seems like a very good upper mid-range powder for 357 magnum.

Ruger SP101, 3", 357mag
COL: 1.620"
ACME, 158gr, SWCNLG, PowerPistol, 7.1gr, WSP
Average: 994
ES: 38
SD: 14.9
Force: 347
PF: 157
Velocities: 1007, 997, 969, 995, 1003
Grouping @15 yards: 2.03"

Ruger SP101, 3", 357mag
COL: 1.620"
ACME, 158gr, SWCNLG, PowerPistol, 7.3gr, WSP
Average: 1017
ES: 23
SD: 8.7
Force: 363
PF: 160
Velocities: 1005, 1028, 1016, 1014, 1022
Grouping @15 yards: 2.20"

Ruger SP101, 3", 357mag
COL: 1.620"
ACME, 158gr, SWCNLG, PowerPistol, 7.5gr, WSP
Average: 1038
ES: 37
SD: 13.9
Force: 378
PF: 164
Velocities: 1017, 1045, 1042, 1054, 1035
Grouping @15 yards: 1.75"


Ruger SP101, 3", 357mag
COL: 1.620"
ACME, 158gr, SWCNLG, PowerPistol, 7.7gr, WSP
Average: 1068
ES: 48
SD: 18.8
Force: 400
PF: 168
Velocities: 1088, 1040, 1073, 1081, 1062
Grouping @15 yards: 1.94"

 

[jell-dog]

Thanks for taking the time to run and report your outing to the range.
Your information is always appreciated

 

[JimKirk]

Looks like the first load was pretty much equal .... the second group does come up odd ....

Good job digging this out ...

 

[RealGun]

I was able to do a quick trip to the desert this afternoon to evaluate a few loads. The loads I evaluated were:

Firstly a comparison between Winchester WSP primers and S&B primers.
<snip>

Secondly I tested some 357magnum loads. This test came about after a discussion about BE-86 and 357 magnum. I posted some numbers where it looked like BE-86 was loosing or not gaining any velocity with a load around 7.5gr.

I tested BE-86 with 357 at 7.5, 7.3, and 7.0 and chose 7.0 as the medium load I wanted for the medium sized guns. I never intended to push that powder so instead opt for a real magnum powder when wanting higher-powered stuff. It has a sharp jolt like you get from a powder that burns faster. I find the mag powders a better shooting experience.

 

[vaalpens]

Thanks for taking the time to run and report your outing to the range.
Your information is always appreciated

jell-dog, thanks for the kind words. The hope is always that somebody else can find the data I share useful.

 

[vaalpens]

Looks like the first load was pretty much equal .... the second group does come up odd ....

Good job digging this out ...

JimKirk, thanks for the comments. The second load was interesting. Thinking back I think I can maybe explain what was going on. After I shot the first load, instead of shooting the second load, I actually shot the last load. When I saw the higher chrono numbers I thought I had an issue with the different primer. So maybe instead of just concentrating on the next shot, I was also keeping an eye on the chrono. Only after I finished the 5 shots I realized that I shot the loads out of order, which explained the higher chrono numbers.

I tested BE-86 with 357 at 7.5, 7.3, and 7.0 and chose 7.0 as the medium load I wanted for the medium sized guns. I never intended to push that powder so instead opt for a real magnum powder when wanting higher-powered stuff. It has a sharp jolt like you get from a powder that burns faster. I find the mag powders a better shooting experience.

I have updated my first post with two of the targets from the shoot.

 

[vaalpens]

I tested BE-86 with 357 at 7.5, 7.3, and 7.0 and chose 7.0 as the medium load I wanted for the medium sized guns. I never intended to push that powder so instead opt for a real magnum powder when wanting higher-powered stuff. It has a sharp jolt like you get from a powder that burns faster. I find the mag powders a better shooting experience.

RealGun, thanks for the information.

I have not tried a real mag powder yet since I prefer to use a powder that is suitable for more than one of the cartridges I reload. I will probably get AA#9 at some point of time since it is also a good powder for 357sig which I load. AA#9 is probably not a true magnum powder, but it is closer to magum than the powders I currently use. The slowest powder I currently have is Longshot, so I will probably work up some loads towards the max one of these days.