trail boss in a 38 special

[stumpjumper]

i shot some trail boss in my 38 with 150 grain bullets. it did very well. i have some 170 or 175 grain i would like to try. but they dont give any charge info on that heavy of bullet. i shot 3.5 grains in the 150 grains. any ideas would be helpful. the charge for the 150 were 2.7 to 4.2 grains. thanks

[felix]

Try 3.0 grains, and make your determination for the final load to have the same feel in the hand as for the 150 grain load. The trajectory for the heavier boolit will be higher for the same feel, giving more yardage for the same sight setting. ... felix

[R.M.]

I'm shooting 4.0 gr of Trailboss under 148 gr DEWC out of a Mod 14. Works well.
Like Felix says, start with 3.0 and go from there. I almost have the feeling that trailboss is a lot like BP in that a full case would not be overly dangerous, but don't quote me on that, it's just a thought.

R.M.

[Dale53]

stumpjumper;
You might want to query Hogdon direct. They have been VERY helpful to me in the past. There is no need to "assume" when real help is just a telephone call away.

FWIW
Dale53

[Navahojoe]

A while back I posted a question about Trail Boss and 255 gr boolits in .44 mag and .45 colt. No load in the manual for those weights either. Finally wound up emailing Hodgdon about it three different times, and I am still wailting for an answer from them. I also emailed IMR, no response there either. I am going to give those people a phone call.

regards,
NavahoJoe

:castmine: so I can :Fire:

[felix]

NJ. if you must assume, treat TB as BE to start out and then work up to typical 231 loads should you desire more umph. ... felix

[stumpjumper]

thanks everyone i have tried in the past emailing without much luck it never entered my simple mind to call them. so i called them it only took about 8 minutes to get in touch with one of there techs. and his responce to me was as much a i wanted as long as i didnt compress the charge but to be safe i think 3 grains sounds like a good place to start thanks to all. Dave

[Navahojoe]

Made that call to Hodgdon about Trail Boss powder and basically what they told me is that you can not put too much trail Boss powder in a straight wall case such as the .45 colt and .44 Mag., unless you compress it with the boolit. Said I could use the same powder charge for 255 gr. that I was using for 250 grn. I love that powder in a handgun. It burns clean and I can not double charge a case without it running over, and best of all, if I do my part, its accurate.
IMHO, best thing for pistol shooters since sliced bread.

regards,
NavahoJoe

:castmine: so I can :Fire:

[dk17hmr]

I as well like TrailBoss. I have loaded it, experimenting, in about everything I shoot cast bullets out of 38, 357, 45 acp, 30-30, 30-06, 45-70, all did pretty good. I use it the most in my 45-70, groups very nice, hardly any noise and there isnt very much recoil.

Great poweder IMHO.

[corsair_001]

Ok, I recognize this thread is a little old, but wanted to weigh in on my experience with Trail Boss. I've been absolutely impressed with Trail Boss. While working up cast bullet loads for my 41 mag BH's, my best groups came with Trail Boss. Best load was 6.5 of Trail Boss under 212gr SWC, CCI-300 primer in mixed cases, 4 of 6 went into one ragged hole at 20 yards. Average FPS 840.

[BCB]

I have used 2.7 grains TB with the 358429 (~173 grains) and got around 550 fps from a Model 10V...

This link has been posted many times--the 70% rule. I've used it for every cartridge I have loaded with TB (12 different ones) and it has worked well...

https://imrpowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/trail-boss-reduced-loads-r_p.pdf

Good-luck...BCB

[rbertalotto]

My wife shoots 3.5g TB under a 125g bullet....Accurate and little recoil for Cowboy Shooting

[TAC14]

Hodgdon puts out a small book with loading data. In the back is a whole section on rifle and handgun cowboy action loads featuring trail boss.

[Soundguy]

stumpjumper;
You might want to query Hogdon direct. They have been VERY helpful to me in the past. There is no need to "assume" when real help is just a telephone call away.

FWIW
Dale53

Hodgson publishes a universal safe loading formula for loading trail boss.

Seat a projectile, mark its depth in the case. Fill the case to that depth. That's your max load. Dump it, weigh it, multiply by .7, that's your starting load.

Load from starting to max, making sure your max is never a compressed load. It must only ever be 70-100% of free space under the projectile.

I use 70-90% as a safety to make sure I never get a compressed load.

[Skunk1]

I've also used it with good results in 38/357 and 45 colt. It has a light recoil and my daughter has no complaints that it hits too hard.

[Soundguy]

I've used it from 455 webley to 45-70, and love it, even I its 1# cans only weigh 9oz. ;)