.38-40 & .32-20 using SR-4759

[FromTheWoods]

Unless you folks have more sage advice for me, I will be loading our .38-40 & .32-20 Winchester '73's with SR-4759 under Laser-Cast slugs.

There is a slight glitch though--I would like to load for these two rifles and also use the cartridges in Ruger Blackhawks. I've read that SR-4759 isn't so good in smaller revolvers: unburned powder.

Some have said to use a magnum primer to help with a quicker/more complete burn.

Do you folks have experience and/or comments to offer regarding the powder in the Winchesters------in the Blackhawks?

[canyon-ghost]

My thought would be to test the loads in the Blackhawks FIRST. The rifles will likely handle it fine. I have a lot of faith in Blackhawks, they're good steel. I just wouldn't want an over-abundance of recoil in one.

SR 4759 is a powder I use in 7mmTCU, it will develop more power and kick than you want, that I know. I had a contender handgun beat me up one day.

Unburnt powder in the barrel doesn't bother me if the load is accurate. I think that's more or less a fancy match shooter's neatness obessison. The next bullet always pushes it out, it just looks worse than you'd like. I've got several loads that do that and, as long as they continue to group at the bullseyes, I just don't care.

[KirkD]

I've used SR 4759 a fair bit and, if I recall correctly, in the 38-40. The nice thing about that powder is that it has more bulk than normal powder, so fills the case a bit better. It also has a pressure curve that is just slightly less than FFg, so it is a good choice for black powder cartridges when one wants to use smokeless powder. It is a little harder to meter, though, than 2400.

[Bret4207]

I hope you have better luck with your lazercast than I did. I melted down about 425 out of a box of 500.

[FromTheWoods]

What were your trials with the Laser-Cast?

[405]

I've tried 4759 for the reasons others have already posted.... it's bulkiness, it's predictability for low load density/low pressure use, etc. It has been around a long time for exactly that use.

I don't see any issues using it for your cartridges or guns- but I'd stick with the lower pressure/BP type loads across the board. I don't use it much now and favor such powders as 5744 (slightly slower but very similar to 4759), Rel # 7, 2400 and Trailboss for low pressure, BP type loads. Each of those powders seem to work best for a particular application. While 5744 does leave semi-burned ghost kernals in low pressure loads, in reality it's mostly cosmetic. And IMO, it leaves less sooty carbon build-up than 4759.

I too have tried a few of the Laser Cast bullets in those instances where I was trying to decide on which bullet design or mold might show the best promise. At best they were OK but nothing to write home about and at worst did not work well at all. I suspect they are too hard for the low vel/low pressure loads I usually shoot.

[Bret4207]

What were your trials with the Laser-Cast?

Undersized, lousy lube and too freakin' hard IMO. They sure were pretty though. That was back when I was in my "harder is better" stage. Plus, they were supposed to have SILVER in them! That just HAD to make them better, right?

Best of luck. I gave up on buying any cast from anyone. I do like the swaged Hornadys though.

[rintinglen]

+1 on Bret's comments, I ended up doing the same thing (melting them down) with some 32-170 bullets I bought from Lazer Cast. Wouldn't shoot well, leaded the bore, I cast my own now for every gun I own except the shotgun.

[jlchucker]

Undersized, lousy lube and too freakin' hard IMO. They sure were pretty though. That was back when I was in my "harder is better" stage. Plus, they were supposed to have SILVER in them! That just HAD to make them better, right?

Best of luck. I gave up on buying any cast from anyone. I do like the swaged Hornadys though.

I doubt there's enough silver in them to worry the werewolves very much. :kidding:

[FromTheWoods]

I doubt there's enough silver in them to worry the werewolves very much. :kidding:

Dang! That's why I bought them!
With Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife's new wolf transplanting program, I was certain I'd need a batch of silvers for protection.

Bend's top headline this morning in the daily paper is about one of the wolves. He's on the move--travelled hundreds of miles this season and has just headed into northern California. Won't be long until "Where's the wolf there?" becomes "There's the werewolf!"

[FromTheWoods]

Another change--

Found a pound of 2400 in town yesterday. Loaded them, and sure enough, the Laser-Casts keyholed. Buffer straightened them out.

This morning looked around town for softer bullets--no luck.

I'll be searching the internet for a good, soft .32-20 bullet.

We don't mind the buffer route; it just slows the reloading process.

[KirkD]

Found a pound of 2400 in town yesterday. Loaded them, and sure enough, the Laser-Casts keyholed. Buffer straightened them out.

That makes me wonder what the bullet diameter is compared to the groove diameter.

[405]

You might slug your bore a couple of times to make sure of which bullet diameter to order. My 32-20 Wins run about .311 groove diameter so I size to .312. My favorite bullet is the 115 gr. 311316 GC sized to .312 using a fairly soft alloy of 9-10 BHN and pushed to about 1000-1100 fps out of the rifles/carbines. 2400 along with Rel # 7 are good powders for that purpose and fairly easy to load down to the 1000-1100 fps level. I know that most of the outfits that offer bullets similar to the 311316 are using much harder alloy....:(..... because the demand is for higher velocity.

An alternative is to go reasonable and fairly slow and use a softer, plain base bullet. One company that casts such bullets that I've had good luck with is Desperado http://www.cowboybullets.com/Products.html. They cast using 20:1 at about 9 BHN. They do offer two different diameters in the 32 cals. Hope you get the 73 shooting as it should!

[Bret4207]

Another change--

Found a pound of 2400 in town yesterday. Loaded them, and sure enough, the Laser-Casts keyholed. Buffer straightened them out.

This morning looked around town for softer bullets--no luck.

I'll be searching the internet for a good, soft .32-20 bullet.

We don't mind the buffer route; it just slows the reloading process.

Have you considered casting your own?

[FromTheWoods]

Yup.
Several years ago, decided to do it. Even had a fellow (nice guy!) in the next town over who is a member of this forum offer to show me his set-up.

Health changed, and I didn't have the gumption to learn, buy, practice,....

Now, I could learn it, but I have a few other irons in the fire that keep me spending a bit too much money.