Something else that can make things worse is use a 110gr boolit and
seat it out of the case farther rather than the heavier wc, heavy boolits
usually help ignition. talking about the 38sp
What 35rem said.
Something else that can make things worse is use a 110gr boolit and
seat it out of the case farther rather than the heavier wc, heavy boolits
usually help ignition. talking about the 38sp
What 35rem said.
I was experiencing some powder position variations and my research brought me to this thread. Since reading the above post, I did some of my own testing. And as is stated, some of the test results were enlightening to say the least. 35remington pretty much nailed it.
Having discovered that most of my Cowboy loads were pretty poor performers, the first shot out of the holster was a wild card. My testing consisted of 5 shots powder forward, against the bullet, and the next string powder back, against the primer.
With the testing out of the way, and quickly running out of powders to try, I sat down to ponder the results. Some loads were worse with the powder forward, but others were bad with the powder to the rear. My next step was to repeat some of the loads that showed good results with either the powder forward, or towards the rear. One load I had tested initially was good, forward, rearward, about 5 fps difference for average velocity, and Es approaching single digit. Single digit is the goal, 11 or 12 is good enough for Cowboy work.
Just about every component used can be a factor, including the brand of the case. The shape of the internal space, the length of the space, the amount of powder, obviously the powder, the weight of the bullet, and to a large extent the primer; the brand and whether standard or magnum.
My testing regime, while not entirely scientific, didn't result in finding the best primer. All the primers worked, and all the primers failed. 1 primer would work in a certain combination, but fail in another. I couldn't see a pattern, except that the WSP primer works better for certain powder forward combinations.
I did try some small rifle primers, and in one combination they were the ticket. Light charges of Universal need a "hot" primer, small pistol magnum of a small rifle (for some brands, they are the same).
In conclusion, testing and component substitution, especially primers, can yield some favorable results.
My Cowboy load for my hipguns (357 Mag) is a little faster than I'd want, but the numbers are good, and it shoots pretty accurate. My '66 in 38 Spl, well believe it or not, my old load was the charm, no change.
Unfortunately; when I run out of 452AA, I'll be testing again.
Last edited by nitro-express; 09-10-2018 at 04:51 PM.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |