38 spl.148 fwc trailboss loads?

[unclebill]

hi everybody
long time no see.
bob krack (bless his heart)
sent me a big pile of 148 fwc boolits to play with.
here is my dilemma.
i am broke but i DO have 8lbs. of trailboss and lots of .38 cases.
i have tumble lubed the boolits
i read that 2.7 gr. of this powder may be the ticket for what i am trying to do.
do you guys have any advice for me?
thanks!
bill

[BCB]

unclebill,

first of all, can I ask were you got that charge weight?

Now then, I use the 70% rule as indicated by Hodgdon…

I fill a 38 Special case to the BOTTOM OF A SEATED BOOLIT…

I was using the RCBS 38-148-WC…

To the base of that boolit I got 3.1 grains—according to the 70% formula, that would be MAXIMUM for that boolit…

So, if one takes 70% of 3.1 grains, that indicates a starting charge of ~2.2 grains of Trail Boss…

So, it seems reasonable that the 2.7 you mention might be in line with the 70% rule…

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY OF THE NUMBERS I MENTIONED AS THEY ARE NOT PUBLISED DATA, BUT CALCULATED AMOUNTS…

There is big controversy as to whether the 70% rule is safe or whether one must use published data by Hodgdon or IMR…

Go figure that there would be that discrepancy between data and the 70% rule…

I use the 70% rule exclusively and have never had a problem with any cartridges I use it for…

You will need to decide for yourself…

Good-luck…BCB

[unclebill]

unclebill,

first of all, can I ask were you got that charge weight?



i searched the intergooglyweb for an hour or so
and that is the number that came up the most often.

BTW
the boolits bob sent me are RCBS 38-148-WC as well.
i think i am going to load up six.
and go try them in my ruger.
if everything seems ok as far as pressure etc.
i will load more

[Nobade]

Trail Boss works great in my 38 spl guns with wadcutters. (Or any other bullet for that matter) Powder up to the base of the bullet with a flush seated wadcutter is a mild load and very accurate.

[unclebill]

Trail Boss works great in my 38 spl guns with wadcutters. (Or any other bullet for that matter) Powder up to the base of the bullet with a flush seated wadcutter is a mild load and very accurate.

what is your powder charge with the 148's?

[BCB]

I think I'll put a few of them together this afternoon and give them a try...

Your 2.7 grain charge seems like someone might have used the 70% rule and increased slowly..

I love Trail Boss. I have about 3.5 pounds of a 5-pound keg I purchased and I am going to purchase another 5-pound keg...

In all honesty, this may be the most versitile powder that I own. Seems it will work in anything?...

BCB

[BCB]

unclebill,

I just went to my range a couple of hours ago and shot a few rounds from my 38 Special S&W Model 10 Victory. An oldie, but sort of a goodie…

Trail Boss Powder & Chronographed

With the RCBS 38-148-WC

2.2 grains = 511 fps
2.7 grains =598 fps

With the Lyman 358429

2.7 grains = 517 fps
3.2 grains = 590 fps

AGAIN, NONE OF THESE CHARGES ARE IN ANY MANUAL THAT I HAVE READ. THEY WERE CALCULATED USING THE 70% FORMULA AS A STARTING POINT. US YOUR OWN DISCRETION…

The only one that was fairly accurate was the 2.7 grains with the Lyman 358429. Three stayed in about .75” at 30 feet. If you know of the sights on these old Victory models, you might call that a miracle!!!...

So there is a bit of data. Accuracy is not good enough for me to pursue it as I use Trail Boss in my 357 Magnums and the recoil is less with it than full house 38 Special loads. Accuracy is very good at 25 yards also…

Good-luck…BCB

[Ohio Rusty]

I loaded some 38's with 2.8 gr. of trail boss and they were as little too stout for a plain wadcutter load. I settled on 2.3 grains of trail boss under a 148 grain button nose wadcutter lubed with Saeco green. Excellent shooting load like other wadcutter loads using unique, bullseye, etc.
That 2.3 grain TB load is near that 70% max load. I'm pretty happy with that loading fro wascutters
Ohio Rusty ><>

[cajun shooter]

Try that 2.7 gr load using Bullseye and you will be able to shoot the x-ring out at 25 yds.

[armed_partisan]

Okay, maybe this is a dumb question, but the topic got me thinking:
If you load a charge of Trailboss with a .38 DEWC, like 358495, and shoot it out of a long barrel, like 8 3/8" S&W, would it be quiet enough for back yard use? Not that I have any of these things... ;)

[armed_partisan]

Okay, to answer my own question, no. Quiet, but not backyard quiet. They have loads on the Hodgdon Reload Data Center for 148grn HBWC as 2.0 Grns Starting and 2.3 Grains max. They have velocities listed at 625/675 respectively, but out of who knows what barrel length. Pressure is listed a 15,100/15,700 PSI, which will not dissipate before it reaches the end of a pistol length barrel. Still, if you had a 23" Contender Barrel or something similar, it could be VERY quiet.

[beladran]

3.1grains max??? im dropping 4.3gr for a 158gr H&G 50

[uscra112]

Out of curiosity I tried TB in my Colt Officer's Model, (wadcutters, of course), and went right back to Bullseye. The TB groups really did deserve the epithet "patterns".

[Shooter6br]

very good resource for data:holysheep

[smith52]

I have used a lot of TB behind 148gr HBWC and home cast FWC in my S&W mdl 52. 2.5gr has been my preferred load and has been a very accurate load.