slow quiet boolits

[jeepyj]

As some of you had read that I have been playing around with some slow 38s so it thought an update may help others that have a reason for a reduced noise load.
I've made a second dipper out of a .22 cartridge this drops 1.9 grains of Bullseye. I'm loading a Lyman 358424 115grain full wad cutter that a member so graciously help me obtain(Thanks to msp2640) The Boolit is sized to 358 and over the chrony it's average is 517fps. Using the dipper, the spread is 60fps. that is less that I used to get with my RCBS powder dump which was 95ish. At 20 yards this thing will cloverleaf like crazy. I'm very happy with the accuracy.
The best part is with the old Blackhawk the noise level is at or less than a 22lr is. the photo is showing are all groups of 6 including the middle group between the two top targets. My testing was done on a 21 degree day not bad for the time of year. Jeepyj

[RobS]

Looks fine and accurate to me. Bottom targets are real nice.

[runfiverun]

If primers weren't 3 cents each they'd be super cheap too.

I'm gonna have to try your load in my 38.
I have 16 pounds of bullseye and haven't tried it in anything yet

[Eddie2002]

Oh that's too cool, great rainy day plinker

[bedbugbilly]

Looks like that is working exceptionally well! The targets look great! Congrats on the success!

[MarkP]

That is great, are you seating flush or below flush? I was doing something similar with the Lyman 358101's (77 gr WC)

[**oneshot**]

At 21 degrees, My hands couldn't hold that steady. Really good loads in my opinion. I'm looking at loading like that with some 100gr'ers for my plinking and for my wife to shoot, She hates loud blasty loads. I think those would work great.

[John Allen]

i am going to make some of these op myself to play with.

[454PB]

I think I'd worry about sticking one in the barrel.

[jeepyj]

That is great, are you seating flush or below flush? I was doing something similar with the Lyman 358101's (77 gr WC)

I'm leaving a 16th inch of the lead exposed that mould has a small area the works out perfect. Btw I'd love to get my hands on that 358101. I hope you have great luck with it!
jeepyj

[SSGOldfart]

@2.1gr I kinda wasn't sure the rounds where going to clear the barrel,did you have any misfired,or hang firings,I had 4 that didn't fire and another one that delay fired after 3 to 5 seconds,so I stopped before some thing got hurt,either me or the gun,my Dan Wesson 357 really liked these light loads,I went with the old soup can 148grWC.that dropped+/- 2grs and no seizing was needed.same here I'm seating almost flush just a 32nd to a 16th that little head on the Boolit.in the past I've loaded the soup can upside down to.

[RP]

I looked at a article that was the writers point of view that a undercharged load was more likely to damage the firearm. His point was the bullet would stick in the barrel from a slow push then as the powder burned in a larger space the pressure would spike. Also the bullet may not exit the barrel then another round was fired. Just wanted to share as a warning to those that may follow you down this path. For some out there with their background this is not a big deal but for the newbie this may be a real bad ideal.
Nice groups BTW and may you really got to want to shoot at those temps.

[GRid.1569]

Used a similar load when we had revolvers here in the UK... used a thin card wad to hold powder next to the primer flash hole

it was like shooting an air pistol just a slight bob of the front sight.... fantastic....

[jeepyj]

In an effort to address this as a "To light of a load" I agree 1000%. After reading all other posts in my "38spl How low can i go" post, I thought long and hard came to the conclusion that my real goal wasn't actually keep going down to at absolute minimum but see what other who have "been there and done that" would have to say about there experiences so that way it could be safe and beneficial to all wanting to have a light load for whatever reason. Interestingly when I started I was working at 2.9 grains because I found printed data in a medium aged reference manual as that being a started load but a bit of a different Boolit. Being intrigued with this I started looking through all the manuals I had access to and found my exact boolit. After my first dipper that is 2.1 grains I really didn't think i was stretching the envelope to much by going .1 grains under the minimum to listed in this 1964 Lyman manual. I didn't have any FTF or delays or really anything out of the ordinary except the don't make as big of a bang. Keep in mind I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything rather this posting is merely to get others to help me to keep shooting safe with there previous testing and experiences - Jeepyj

[dubber123]

My firelapping load in .38 Spl is 1.8 grains of Bullseye with a 148 wadcutter. These still have enough power to shoot through both sides of a tin (not aluminum) can. They are treading dangerously low though. I just offer up it as more information on the subject.

[Echo]

That -424 boolit is a sweetheart. I load them for popcorn loads for a GF (age 82) who likes to shoot, and has a Senior Oly medal thanks to my brilliant coaching and reloading. Right.

[Calamity Jake]

I fire lapped a 91/30 rifle in my garage with 311413 and 2.0 of bullseye, the boolit traveled the length
of garage and penetrated the end of a oak limb about 1.5 inches.

[Eddie2002]

Went as low as 1.5 grains of Bullseye pushing a 100 grain plinker for a Arisaka 7.7. Worked out to about 20 yards then started to drop like a rock. It would go through a 2x4 but not much more.

[cajun shooter]

I just want to add this small bit of information. Reduced loads can cause a gun to blow up. From what I've read in my life long interest in guns, they don't know exactly why it happens but it does.
I was a POST Firearms Instructor and armorer that has attended 5 S&W SCHOOLS, SIG, RUGER, Remington, Ithaca. I have talked to and seen these guns after they exploded. Just be careful and I did not enter my school or work record to declare myself an expert on the subject. I included it to tell you that I've had formal training and I'm not some internet falsehood thread starter.
I've fired thousands of 148 Speer HBWC with 2.7 grains of Bullseye that are the most accurate load one can shoot. It's used in Police PPC matches and other forms of competitive shooting and is also a great family shooting load. Later David

[BAGTIC]

For slow and quiet loads I use Red Dot. It is bulkier and fills the case better. It is also faster burning than BE and reduces muzzle pressures. IMO it burns a bit cleaner also.