What am I doing wrong here?

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Analogkid

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I have been wanting to get into reloading .38 spl. When I Was a kid I would sit and watch my Uncle hand relaod with a Lee Hand reloader kit for hours on end and for some strange reason enjoyed it.

So I purchased e new lee loader reloading kit and went at it. I had thousands of once fired brass saved from years of shooting and used it. The bullets are .158 gr swc's from crown bullet pre-lubed and sized. The powder is Bullseye at 3.5 grains weighed each charge.

I used the kit exactly like the directions in the kit and watched a bunch of videos on it. I am flaring the case and crimping it after it is loaded.

I made 100 rounds or so and took 3 revolvers with me to the range to try them out. a sp101 a Charter arms .38 and a s&w model 36. The problem was some of the rounds were Key holing at 25'.... some did great through. the key holing was present with all three guns.

None of the rounds seemed hot and were maybe a tad lighter feeling than some factory ammo I took along. What the heck am I doing wrong here? The rounds looks great when loaded up nice looking crimp and everything.
 
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Wow! Never encountered that problem and at 25 feet? Could the bullets be at fault?
 
Have you miked the bullets? Keyholing is usually the result of a too-small bullet not engaging the rifling.

Jim
 
I checked 20 of the bullets at random when I got them and they are sized at .358
 
I will add that I did not have a backer on the target, it was just a paper target at the range. I assume it was key holing because of the large Dia hole it was leaving in the paper.

They where pretty accurate though none the less. Well....at least for my old shaky welder hands.


And a example of one of the rounds at random.
loaded_zps7caf49ef.jpg
 
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Seems something is amiss. Bullets check out, though. Very unlikely that all 3 guns have a similar issue. Pull out the calipers and start checking stuff.
 
I will add that I did not have a backer on the target, it was just a paper target at the range.
Click to expand...

My guess they were not Key-holing. Try a different target set up and see if it changes.

You also violated the Number one Rule in handloading.

Your 3.5gr is MAX according to Alliant. Never, never, never, start your load development at MAX, Never. Ever.
 
Was the lack of a solid target backer (pizza box will do) allowing the paper to tear instead of punch pretty semi wad cutter holes?
 
You need to use a piece of cardboard to tape your targets on. What you describe often happens when no backing is used.
 
I cant seem to get the pic bigger but that seems like a little to much crimp to me also.
 
Based on your description it's my guess the unsupported target (sans backing) is simply flexing ahead of the bullet's full penetration and generating holes that look like key hole prints. Try backing the target and see what happens. I don't see a scale in your loading kit. How do you know your load is accurate?
It's worth the effort to check the forcing cone to see what lead buildup might be there. Heavily leaded forcing cones can contribute to bullet linstability.
Clean the guns to laboratory/clinical factory cleanliness. No fouling, no leading. Try some factory jacketed bullets and see how they compare with your reloads. You'll find your answer in those tests.
 
Only a few touched the 3.5gr weight. Most are right at 3.3 and 3.4. they seemed very light...really light compared to some factory .38 spl target magtechs and Remingtons I had along for the ride.

oal is 1.430 on dang near every one.
 
I am using 2 scales and I have a 3rd I used for the first 20 rounds. Yes I weighed every charge 3 times for the first 20 rounds make sure I didn't screw it up. :)

Then I stepped down to just 2 scales for the rest. I used a RCBS 9069 502 and then used a Frankford Arsenal digital scale along with it. I had a old Lee scale I had going along with these 3 for the first 20 rounds but It lent it out.
 
I am certain your problem is the lack of a sturdy target backing. Tape your target to a good solid piece of cardboard, or buy targets with a thicker paper stock.

3.5 grains of Bullseye is perfectly safe for any modern steel frame .38 revolver.
 
I'll try that and see if I can't cut back on the the crimp a little. But I am limited to what the lee hand die is machined to. maybe a little less hammer next time.

I thought maybe the powder charge could go up a bit since it seemed pretty light. But maybe I'll stick with the 3.5 being the max.

Felt pretty light even in the j frame and Charter arms Undercover though.
 
Bullseye is fast & you wont feel the recoil as much as you would a slower powder because most of the pressure of the gas is burnt by the time the bullet leaves the barrel. Most of the recoil is from the gas leaving the barrel. Think of standing on the back side of a rocket & your holding the engine. Also less measuring. Your needlessly punishing yourself unless you really like to measure.
 
I gotta say, from the picture it looks to me like your bullet is seated a little deep. The crimp looks a little weird too.
It is hard to tell from from your picture, but that's where I would start. Good luck.
 
Their was a thread a few wks back about the same thing, and I believe the fella found out that they were actually not keyholing, the target not having support turned out to be the problem.

Im not saying the other things presented here are wrong..
 
I will for sure cut back on the crimp. I assume these will be alright to plink with for the time being?
 
With the Lee whack-a-mole loader, the only way you can back off on the crimp is to tap lighter on step 9. It will take a few rounds of trial and error to set the crimp right. The reason for the crimp is to prevent the bullet from working its way out of the case from the recoil of the other rounds.

Your loads will not likely work the bullets out even if you had no crimp on them.

I think you're right. Big holes are from no backing on the paper especially if you also notice rips around the hole. If the target were backed up firmly with cardboard, you'll probably see nice clean holes.
 
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