Eliduc
04-23-2015, 10:32 AM
Testing Maxam Commercial No. 5 In 38 Special
When I got into reloading handgun powder was in scarce supply (still is) and I started buying what I could find. It became an obsession considering what is happening in Oregon and with 22 ammo. I bought a pound of Bullseye. Then two pounds of WSF. Then 8 pounds of Promo of which I gave half to my son. I bought two 4 pounders of Maxam #5 and gave half of that to my son. I found 2 pounds of AA #5 at a gun show for $15 each. It was too good to pass up. When I traded my 9MM for a 357 mag I gave the Bullseye to my son. You need binoculars to find 4 grains in a 38 special case.
So what powder to use? I was happy with the WSF. It was accurate and clean and with moderate recoil. It didn’t take me any time at all to go through it. I cried when it was gone. I next loaded some of the Promo which is the same as Red Dot minus the dot. It was ok. I could live with it. Since I have the AA5 I decided to try it. Disappointing. My grouping was inconsistent. Well, more like nonexistent. Maybe it will work better in 357.
I read a lot of good stuff about the Spanish made Maxam Commercial #5 in larger calibers but there is virtually no data for the 38 special nor does Maxam publish any data for the 38. Posters on the forums said it was similar to this and similar to that. I procrastinated using any of it. Finally, today I loaded up 25 rounds of 38 special with sized Lee 120g lrn bullets. Actually, when I weighed them they were more like 130 grains. The lead is straight wheel weights. The primers are Federal Small Pistol. The brass was mixed range brass.
I have a Lee Pro Auto Disk powder measure. My adjustable bar is not accurate with any handgun powder to the point of being unsafe so I used the disks. I will number the charges from one to five, number 1 being the lightest.
By the time I was finished reloading the sun was near the top of the mountain. I threw my gear in the truck and headed for my private range on BLM land behind my house a mile. This was not going to be any kind of a scientific test. I would barely have time to shoot 25 rounds and I don’t own a chrono. I mainly wanted to see how the powder acted.
Using Lyman data for Red Dot I began with the 4.0 disk cavity which dropped 2.9 grains. I have a metal target with a 5”x 7” rectangle of 1/4 inch steel. It swings to the rear when hit. I rattle can it black and then spray a white one inch dia. dot in the middle. I paced off 15 feet. The starting Lyman Red Dot load for a 120g lrn is 3.3g. with a max of 4.6. Pretty safe spread…..for Red Dot.
No. 1 was a powder puff. It went Pop. Almost no recoil. The target went tink. It was pretty much poa though. The group was about 1.5 inches in a circle around my white bullseye. 4.0 cavity. 2.9g powder. My wife would love it.
No. 2 was the 4.3 disk cavity and 3.27g of powder. The recoil was low moderate. The group was a little tighter than the first and still around the bullseye.
No 3. Had moderate recoil and was the most accurate so far. As the velocity increased incrementally so did the accuracy. The 4.6 cavity dropped 3.54g.
No. 4 was a bit snappy. The group was a little over an inch in dia. Cavity 4.9. Powder charge 3.8g
No 5 had real 38 special recoil but probably not near max. It wasn’t hard to handle. When it hit the steel it swung it pretty good. The group was ¾ inch and obliterated the white bullseye. But it’s hard to miss at 15 feet right? Wrong. The first shot missed the steel completely. It was a four shot group. I must have pulled it. 4.9 cavity, 4.1 charge.
My main objective was to see if the Red Dot data works with Commercial # 5 in the 38 special and is safe and accurate. My gun is a S&W Model 66 no dash 357 Combat Mag with a 4.25” barrel. The powder passed with flying colors. The outside of the cases in tests one through 3 were sooty below the mouth. No 5 cases were clean. The primer strikes in test 1 were light. All the rest looked normal. No.1 was probably close to a squib load. No. 5 felt like a moderate commercial target load. I was still no where near the published Lyman max of 4.6 grains.
I will next load 25 each of No 4 and No 5 and shoot at 25 and 45 feet. I think I am going to like this powder. It fills about half of the 38 case with a 4.1 charge. If I get ambitious I will separate the brass and weigh the bullets for consistency. Wish I had a chrono. There’s always something else we can’t live without.
When I got into reloading handgun powder was in scarce supply (still is) and I started buying what I could find. It became an obsession considering what is happening in Oregon and with 22 ammo. I bought a pound of Bullseye. Then two pounds of WSF. Then 8 pounds of Promo of which I gave half to my son. I bought two 4 pounders of Maxam #5 and gave half of that to my son. I found 2 pounds of AA #5 at a gun show for $15 each. It was too good to pass up. When I traded my 9MM for a 357 mag I gave the Bullseye to my son. You need binoculars to find 4 grains in a 38 special case.
So what powder to use? I was happy with the WSF. It was accurate and clean and with moderate recoil. It didn’t take me any time at all to go through it. I cried when it was gone. I next loaded some of the Promo which is the same as Red Dot minus the dot. It was ok. I could live with it. Since I have the AA5 I decided to try it. Disappointing. My grouping was inconsistent. Well, more like nonexistent. Maybe it will work better in 357.
I read a lot of good stuff about the Spanish made Maxam Commercial #5 in larger calibers but there is virtually no data for the 38 special nor does Maxam publish any data for the 38. Posters on the forums said it was similar to this and similar to that. I procrastinated using any of it. Finally, today I loaded up 25 rounds of 38 special with sized Lee 120g lrn bullets. Actually, when I weighed them they were more like 130 grains. The lead is straight wheel weights. The primers are Federal Small Pistol. The brass was mixed range brass.
I have a Lee Pro Auto Disk powder measure. My adjustable bar is not accurate with any handgun powder to the point of being unsafe so I used the disks. I will number the charges from one to five, number 1 being the lightest.
By the time I was finished reloading the sun was near the top of the mountain. I threw my gear in the truck and headed for my private range on BLM land behind my house a mile. This was not going to be any kind of a scientific test. I would barely have time to shoot 25 rounds and I don’t own a chrono. I mainly wanted to see how the powder acted.
Using Lyman data for Red Dot I began with the 4.0 disk cavity which dropped 2.9 grains. I have a metal target with a 5”x 7” rectangle of 1/4 inch steel. It swings to the rear when hit. I rattle can it black and then spray a white one inch dia. dot in the middle. I paced off 15 feet. The starting Lyman Red Dot load for a 120g lrn is 3.3g. with a max of 4.6. Pretty safe spread…..for Red Dot.
No. 1 was a powder puff. It went Pop. Almost no recoil. The target went tink. It was pretty much poa though. The group was about 1.5 inches in a circle around my white bullseye. 4.0 cavity. 2.9g powder. My wife would love it.
No. 2 was the 4.3 disk cavity and 3.27g of powder. The recoil was low moderate. The group was a little tighter than the first and still around the bullseye.
No 3. Had moderate recoil and was the most accurate so far. As the velocity increased incrementally so did the accuracy. The 4.6 cavity dropped 3.54g.
No. 4 was a bit snappy. The group was a little over an inch in dia. Cavity 4.9. Powder charge 3.8g
No 5 had real 38 special recoil but probably not near max. It wasn’t hard to handle. When it hit the steel it swung it pretty good. The group was ¾ inch and obliterated the white bullseye. But it’s hard to miss at 15 feet right? Wrong. The first shot missed the steel completely. It was a four shot group. I must have pulled it. 4.9 cavity, 4.1 charge.
My main objective was to see if the Red Dot data works with Commercial # 5 in the 38 special and is safe and accurate. My gun is a S&W Model 66 no dash 357 Combat Mag with a 4.25” barrel. The powder passed with flying colors. The outside of the cases in tests one through 3 were sooty below the mouth. No 5 cases were clean. The primer strikes in test 1 were light. All the rest looked normal. No.1 was probably close to a squib load. No. 5 felt like a moderate commercial target load. I was still no where near the published Lyman max of 4.6 grains.
I will next load 25 each of No 4 and No 5 and shoot at 25 and 45 feet. I think I am going to like this powder. It fills about half of the 38 case with a 4.1 charge. If I get ambitious I will separate the brass and weigh the bullets for consistency. Wish I had a chrono. There’s always something else we can’t live without.