Reloading for a S&W 52

[454gene]

I'm having a problem reloading the 38 spcl round for the model 52, the pistol requires a flush mounted 148 gr hbwc.
When I crimp the mouth of the case doesn't roll over the bullet, about a 1/16 down a step goes all around then the O D appears reduced or tapered in. I'm using a Redding profile crimp die,is there another crimp die that would work?
TIA
Gene

[smoked turkey]

Yes Gene when they say the boolit is to be seated flush with the end of the 38 spl case that is what they mean. I just use a regular crimp die with mine and don't put a roll crimp on the case. I don't think it is necessary to use a hollow base boolit. In fact my boolits are Hornady that are double ended wad cutter so they can be inserted either end. I don't use a taper crimp die but I can see where that would work really well for this application. At any rate I would not go do far as a roll crimp but just enough to take the small flair from the end of the brass.

[GSM]

"When I crimp the mouth of the case doesn't roll over the bullet, about a 1/16 down a step goes all around then the O D appears reduced or tapered in. I'm using a Redding profile crimp die"

The PCD is all you need. No roll-over needed or wanted for the 52 / 38 mid range. Look for 0.370" to 0.372" at the front end of the round.


Hope you have shot the 52 before - it will give you some lessons in humility if you haven't.

[454gene]

I just bought the 52 and have only shot about 10 rounds of Federal Gold Medal match down range. The gun is like new, slide tight and has a trigger I swore was 2 lbs. but checked 3.5 lbs.
I bought the Federal ammo as a guide as to how the rounds should look. I've read on this list about the requirements for accurate ammo.
One thing I noticed about the Federal round is the diameter is .356. The cast bullets I made are .358 so I will test these and see what happens.

[Hahndorf1874]

Gday,
I would not use hollow base wad cutters in a 52,shot1000s of rounds through one in the 80s,rung a barrel using Speer HBWC, blew a tail off ,next one popped the barrel,solid bases much safer,beautiful pistol though,no need for roll crimp just remove the flare is fine.

Cheers Mal in au.

[454gene]

I only cast about 150 HBWC with a M&P 4 cav brass mold. Looking at the bullet bases closer the skirt looked uneven, maybe not filled out completely, will change to the flat pins.
Of the first 30 rounds loaded a sliver of lead pushed up so I need more flair on the case mouth.
Going to the range to test the 23 "good" ones.

[454gene]

The trip to the range yielded encouraging results. I fired 15 rounds of Federal Match for a baseline, setting at a bench resting on a bag the group was 8 ring sized on a 50 yd replacement center. Next I fired the 23 hand loads and the results were close to the same.
Both loads did have a couple of shots that went through a little sideways. To be expected for this bullet powder combination, I dunno.
I think I'll load enough for the bullseye match tomorrow and enjoy shooting the 52.
P S
I used wad cutter brass, the cases with the ring around them but noticed the Fed had no ring.

[Beau Cassidy]

I used to get some slightly out of round hits at 50 yards when I used one in Bullseye. It didn't seem to affect accuracy too much, though. That was with factory ammo.

[Ia.redneck]

I did a pretty extensive load work up with my 52-2 and hands down that Lee 148 tumble lube wadcutter beat everything else. I tried the Miha hb mold, Lyman's 358063, RCBS 140 wc, Lyman 358495, Hornady swaged, Speer swaged, and the Remington swaged (second best).
Surprised me, so tried the same loads in my S&W 686 and the Lee wc bested everything else there too.
Cant explain it, but the results dont lie.
Was using a 6x scope on both guns off sandbags and wadcutter brass.

[GSM]

A little sideways isn't so bad - score the higher ring....

[lotech]

I use a 148 gr. flat base wadcutter (wheelweight alloy) cast from an H&G #50. I tried sizing bullets at .356", .357", and .358". The .358 bullets were most accurate. I tried Bullseye in various charge weights between 2.5 grs. and 3.0 grs. 2.5 outshot everything else. I use a Redding taper crimp die. What about a roll crimp? It would be worth a try; might work fine. It takes some experimenting to get everything right for these pistols, including flawless feeding.

[454gene]

Had 9 bullets left from the match that I tried in a Ruger GP 100 at 50 yds. Shot a 9 ring sized group on the B6 slow fire target off the bench.
I'm using the Redding profile crimp on the .358 diameter bullet.
I'll test some with a lighter charge soon.
Thanks to all for sharing their experience with this great target pistol.

[shtur]

I used a taper crimp die and roll crimp die which both worked okay for my wc bullets. Then I loaded some om my true line jr with the Lyman true line dies and really liked the results so I'm sticking with the TL Jr press and dies for my 148 gr wad cutter loads.

[GBertolet]

I have a 52-1, that has a .355 bore. I tried .355 and .356 bullets, but I found that .357 to .358 bullets tend to group the best. The standard load of 2.7 gr of Bullseye powder seems to work well with all bullets I tried. You will find that the factory swaged bullets tend to shoot a little better overall than the cast do. It has a lot to do with uniformity.You can occasionally get good groups with cast bullets, but repeatability upon demand is just not there like the swaged bullets.

For the better swaged bullet loads, 10 shot groupings at 25 yards from the ransom rest, run around 1.25 inches for me, which is not too bad. With my cast Saeco 148 gr bullets, I get usually 7 shots in 1 to 1.25 inches, with 3 shots usually opening it up to 1.5 to 2 inches at 25 yards. The cast bullets work fine for 25 yard shooting and practice, but for serious 50 yard shooting they don't cut it.

I find that a light roll crimp works just fine for me. The 38 headspaces on the rim, so the crimp alone should not be a factor. If you need a taper crimp to get better feeding reliability, then by all means use one.

I have had no problems with the hollow base WC's blowing through. They are not designed for use with anything but midrange loadings. Stay there and you will have no problems. Although I have not had the chance to try any, I have been told that the Remington swaged 148 gr HBWC is the bullet to use.

I think it is good that you have tried some factory target ammo, to get a baseline accuracy figure for your 52 to compare your handloads to.

[Rick B]

Gil Hebard wrote a very comprehensive article on the S&W Model 52. It is in the Pistol Shooters Treasury. A wealth of knowledge.
Rick