Ohio Rusty
09-09-2007, 09:34 PM
Day was Sunny, 87 degrees, 80% humidity
Pistol: Ruger Blackhawk 38/357 4 5/8's barrel
Loads: 38 special yard sale finds, pre primed
Powder: Trail Boss
Boolet: 125 Gr. RNFP, cast straight WW's - Center unfired bullet in pic
Lube: Pan lubed 50/50 mix of JPW and Beeswax
The first 6 rounds were 3.0 grains of Trail Boss, minimum listed load. Target was 7 3/4 inch pine boards stacked together to see what kind of penetration this load gave. It shot about like a standard 38 wadcutter load. The bullets on the left in the pic penetrated 3 boards and barely dented the 4th. Not much deformation and not much recoil to speak of.
The second loading was 3.5 grains of Trail Boss, nickle cases, same bullet. It wasn't any louder but it has a bit more perceived recoil and the bullet penetrated 4 boards this time stopping in the 4th. I fired the last 2 into a 2 by 4 and both bullets broke wood on the back and didn't go clear thru. The boolets in the pic on the right show the second loading. The pine board bullets look to be in fairly good shape, while the 2 far right bullets that hit a thicker mass of the 2x4 definitely show signs of deformation. This is a comfortable round to shoot. Both of these loads didn't expand the case much after ignition as the cases fell out without the need of the push rod. Trail Boss burns pretty clean, and it smells just like shotgun powder after you fire off a shotgun shell and smell the powder residue. I look forward to loading heavier charges (max is 5 grains) to see how this bullet penetrates and performs. 3.5 grains of TB fills a 38 case a little over half way. So far, this powder has been pleasant to shoot and load as this is my first experience with Trail Boss. Lastly, the JPW lube is great as so far, there is zero signs of any leading in the barrel.
Ohio Rusty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/OhioRusty/Boolet_tests.jpg
Pistol: Ruger Blackhawk 38/357 4 5/8's barrel
Loads: 38 special yard sale finds, pre primed
Powder: Trail Boss
Boolet: 125 Gr. RNFP, cast straight WW's - Center unfired bullet in pic
Lube: Pan lubed 50/50 mix of JPW and Beeswax
The first 6 rounds were 3.0 grains of Trail Boss, minimum listed load. Target was 7 3/4 inch pine boards stacked together to see what kind of penetration this load gave. It shot about like a standard 38 wadcutter load. The bullets on the left in the pic penetrated 3 boards and barely dented the 4th. Not much deformation and not much recoil to speak of.
The second loading was 3.5 grains of Trail Boss, nickle cases, same bullet. It wasn't any louder but it has a bit more perceived recoil and the bullet penetrated 4 boards this time stopping in the 4th. I fired the last 2 into a 2 by 4 and both bullets broke wood on the back and didn't go clear thru. The boolets in the pic on the right show the second loading. The pine board bullets look to be in fairly good shape, while the 2 far right bullets that hit a thicker mass of the 2x4 definitely show signs of deformation. This is a comfortable round to shoot. Both of these loads didn't expand the case much after ignition as the cases fell out without the need of the push rod. Trail Boss burns pretty clean, and it smells just like shotgun powder after you fire off a shotgun shell and smell the powder residue. I look forward to loading heavier charges (max is 5 grains) to see how this bullet penetrates and performs. 3.5 grains of TB fills a 38 case a little over half way. So far, this powder has been pleasant to shoot and load as this is my first experience with Trail Boss. Lastly, the JPW lube is great as so far, there is zero signs of any leading in the barrel.
Ohio Rusty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/OhioRusty/Boolet_tests.jpg