QuietMike
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2019
- Messages
- 49
Hey all, I got a new henry big boy lever action rifle in 357/38 Sp
I loaded 3 different loads to try all same bullet
.38 with 3.5gr titegroup under a FMJ 158gr bullet seated long at 1.495”
.38 with 3.8gr TG at 1.495”
And 357 with 5.6gr TG at 1.6”
The 38 is the minimum starting load, and then slightly higher, the 357 is also just higher than the starting data
I wanted to go from lowest to highest overall, so I started with the 38 with 3.5gr
Well it went poof, and the bullet didn’t exit the barrel, so I pushed it back out, and thought maybe I didn’t fill that case and I tried another one with the same result.
The 38 with 3.6gr did exit the barrel and hit steel out at 35yd but sounded very weak,
and a couple of them that didn’t hit, I didn’t see the miss hit the ground but they weren’t in the barrel either.
The 357 all worked OK, but I think they’re a tad long, I loaded them long because I had heard that these guns prefer the longest possible cartridge.
with the 38 at 3.5gr, I was kind of concerned why they wouldn’t exit the barrel, it’s not under charged it’s just at the starting load according to the data, does the barrel being new cause extra drag, or is there anything I should be concerned about,
next time I order powder I’ll be getting a slower More medium powder but I have TG to work with at the moment
Should I just load hotter?
I loaded 3 different loads to try all same bullet
.38 with 3.5gr titegroup under a FMJ 158gr bullet seated long at 1.495”
.38 with 3.8gr TG at 1.495”
And 357 with 5.6gr TG at 1.6”
The 38 is the minimum starting load, and then slightly higher, the 357 is also just higher than the starting data
I wanted to go from lowest to highest overall, so I started with the 38 with 3.5gr
Well it went poof, and the bullet didn’t exit the barrel, so I pushed it back out, and thought maybe I didn’t fill that case and I tried another one with the same result.
The 38 with 3.6gr did exit the barrel and hit steel out at 35yd but sounded very weak,
and a couple of them that didn’t hit, I didn’t see the miss hit the ground but they weren’t in the barrel either.
The 357 all worked OK, but I think they’re a tad long, I loaded them long because I had heard that these guns prefer the longest possible cartridge.
with the 38 at 3.5gr, I was kind of concerned why they wouldn’t exit the barrel, it’s not under charged it’s just at the starting load according to the data, does the barrel being new cause extra drag, or is there anything I should be concerned about,
next time I order powder I’ll be getting a slower More medium powder but I have TG to work with at the moment
Should I just load hotter?