I started fooling with a Russian M38 a while back . I tried surplus in it but it wouldn't group at all . With a big throat and a .314 groove it's no wonder .
I have a 311440 mold that is oversize enough to work in this one so I used that with liquid alox and gas checks on the bullet . Started with sixteen and a half grains of 2400 to see what happens . It gave me enough to set the sights with and did group better than surplus Next I tried the Lee powder scoop that is supposed to hold seventeen and a half grains .... well it actually holds eighteen , but it worked better . Group size was about half the size as the first try and I was able to lower the rear sight some .
Really steppin' off the front porch now ........ gonna try nineteen grains Not to worry , for that bullet weight I'm still below what an old Lyman manual lists as a start . I may have to start watching for leading , this liquid alox is still new to me when the velocities go up . That and the bullets I'm using are the ones I cast out of pure lead when I was trying out the mold to see how it worked . I guess I can always go back and try a harder mix huh?
Jack