Michael Tinker Pearce
Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2016
- Messages
- 1,575
I'm going to call my first reloads a success.
The load used was in new Starline brass with CCI small pistol primers. The bullets were Hornady 148gr. HBWCs over 2.5 gains of Unique. This is well below the best estimated safety threshold I could establish for use in a top-break revolver. The bullets were seated so that they protruded approximately 3/16" from the loaded cartridge.
Recoil and muzzle-blast were comparable to factory ammunition, being mild and not overly loud or sharp. The first test was a single round fired from a 1-5/8" barrel at an kiln-dried Douglas Fir 2x6 board. The round completely penetrated the board and made a 1/2" deep impression in the 2x6 a foot behind it before bouncing off. This result was very similar to the performance of factory ammunition in a previous test with the exception that the factory round-nosed lead bullet remained fully imbedded in the second board. The recovered bullet exhibited stria from the gun's rifling, shallow at the front of the bullet and deep on the skirt of the bullet where it had expanded into the rifling.
Forty rounds were fired through the test guns. The primary and secondary test guns are both S&W .38 Safety Hammerless Fourth Models with 1-5/8" barrels. The primary test gun shot to point-of-aim and the secondary test-gun shot low in the fashion that I had anticipated based on the very tall front sight. All shots struck squarely with no evidence of instability or key-holing. None of the fired cases showed any evidence of excessive pressure; no flattening of the headstamps or primers. Neither gun showed any sign of damage or excessive leading. Accuracy was within the limits I was capable of producing on the shooting day. I was able to produce decent but not exceptional groups at seven yards. I have no reason to attribute this to the ammunition rather than the shooter; I am recovering from a severe cold and am not at my best.
The group shown in the picture was fired in approximately 2 seconds at seven yards. Under the circumstances I'm pretty happy with the result
I'll be loading more of these both for target and defensive loads.
The load used was in new Starline brass with CCI small pistol primers. The bullets were Hornady 148gr. HBWCs over 2.5 gains of Unique. This is well below the best estimated safety threshold I could establish for use in a top-break revolver. The bullets were seated so that they protruded approximately 3/16" from the loaded cartridge.
Recoil and muzzle-blast were comparable to factory ammunition, being mild and not overly loud or sharp. The first test was a single round fired from a 1-5/8" barrel at an kiln-dried Douglas Fir 2x6 board. The round completely penetrated the board and made a 1/2" deep impression in the 2x6 a foot behind it before bouncing off. This result was very similar to the performance of factory ammunition in a previous test with the exception that the factory round-nosed lead bullet remained fully imbedded in the second board. The recovered bullet exhibited stria from the gun's rifling, shallow at the front of the bullet and deep on the skirt of the bullet where it had expanded into the rifling.
Forty rounds were fired through the test guns. The primary and secondary test guns are both S&W .38 Safety Hammerless Fourth Models with 1-5/8" barrels. The primary test gun shot to point-of-aim and the secondary test-gun shot low in the fashion that I had anticipated based on the very tall front sight. All shots struck squarely with no evidence of instability or key-holing. None of the fired cases showed any evidence of excessive pressure; no flattening of the headstamps or primers. Neither gun showed any sign of damage or excessive leading. Accuracy was within the limits I was capable of producing on the shooting day. I was able to produce decent but not exceptional groups at seven yards. I have no reason to attribute this to the ammunition rather than the shooter; I am recovering from a severe cold and am not at my best.
The group shown in the picture was fired in approximately 2 seconds at seven yards. Under the circumstances I'm pretty happy with the result
I'll be loading more of these both for target and defensive loads.
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