Thomas Traddles
03-07-2016, 02:18 PM
It feels like Spring in the wilds of Western Michigan. I headed to the range to celebrate some sun and warmth. I've been trying to establish some accurate loads for my LCR and Blackhawk. I've had OK success, but today I can chalk up a few good loads to keep in mind for the future.
Influenced by Ed Harris' "Full Charge Wadcutter" Article, I've been using an RCBS 38-148-WC over 3.5 grns of Bullseye powder for my snubbie. I've heard nothing but good things about this load from a variety of folks and figured it would work like magic from the start. However, I've not been too happy with the accuracy of that load as I have never been able to get it to hit with any degree of consistency. I purchased an RCBS 38-140-WC last year thinking that a different wadcutter would be the ticket. Nope. How about an NOE 360-155-WC? Nope. I could not seem to get any of these to hit with consistent accuracy. So, today I went back to the RCBS 38-148-WC and loaded it over 4.2 grns of Bullseye in .38 special cases and crimped in the normal crimp goove, not in a lube groove. I'd been reading Beagle's article on cast loads in the .38 Special and poked my head into Lyman's 3rd Castbullet Handbook for this load. It shoots POA like a house a fire! I think I've finally settled on the load for my LCR. Recoil is snappy, to be sure, but not too terribly unpleasant. These guns are light and lively, and you've got to practice with them to become comfortable with the recoil. I have had mine for two years and am only now getting warmed up to it. I've not shot it enough over the past year and a half, but I've been shooting 50 to 100 rounds a week out of it for the past 3 months and I'm liking it more and more. I'm gonna master this gun if it is the last thing I do. Frequent shooting makes a huge difference in shooting it comfortably and well.
I also pulled out the Blackhawk and ran some RCBS 38-148-WCs through it. These were loaded in .357 magnum cases over a charge of 5 grns of Bullseye and sparked by CCI 500 primers. This is a very accurate load in my Blackhawk. I'd first shot this load in the BH over a year ago. I'd forgotten just how accurate it is. Nice.
Finally, since I acquired a couple of lbs of Blue Dot, I thought I would try the RCBS 38-158-CM over 9.2 grains in mixed .357 brass and CCI 550 primers. This is another good load for this gun. I'm going to load the same bullet over 9 grains and 9.5 grains and see if there is much difference in accuracy. I've not got a chrony, so I'm not sure how fast the bullet was travelling, but according to the manual, 9.5 grains gives 1100+ FPS, so I imagine the 9.2 grain load was between 1050 and 1100.
All in all, a good day at the range. I hope you folks have had as enjoyable a day!
Influenced by Ed Harris' "Full Charge Wadcutter" Article, I've been using an RCBS 38-148-WC over 3.5 grns of Bullseye powder for my snubbie. I've heard nothing but good things about this load from a variety of folks and figured it would work like magic from the start. However, I've not been too happy with the accuracy of that load as I have never been able to get it to hit with any degree of consistency. I purchased an RCBS 38-140-WC last year thinking that a different wadcutter would be the ticket. Nope. How about an NOE 360-155-WC? Nope. I could not seem to get any of these to hit with consistent accuracy. So, today I went back to the RCBS 38-148-WC and loaded it over 4.2 grns of Bullseye in .38 special cases and crimped in the normal crimp goove, not in a lube groove. I'd been reading Beagle's article on cast loads in the .38 Special and poked my head into Lyman's 3rd Castbullet Handbook for this load. It shoots POA like a house a fire! I think I've finally settled on the load for my LCR. Recoil is snappy, to be sure, but not too terribly unpleasant. These guns are light and lively, and you've got to practice with them to become comfortable with the recoil. I have had mine for two years and am only now getting warmed up to it. I've not shot it enough over the past year and a half, but I've been shooting 50 to 100 rounds a week out of it for the past 3 months and I'm liking it more and more. I'm gonna master this gun if it is the last thing I do. Frequent shooting makes a huge difference in shooting it comfortably and well.
I also pulled out the Blackhawk and ran some RCBS 38-148-WCs through it. These were loaded in .357 magnum cases over a charge of 5 grns of Bullseye and sparked by CCI 500 primers. This is a very accurate load in my Blackhawk. I'd first shot this load in the BH over a year ago. I'd forgotten just how accurate it is. Nice.
Finally, since I acquired a couple of lbs of Blue Dot, I thought I would try the RCBS 38-158-CM over 9.2 grains in mixed .357 brass and CCI 550 primers. This is another good load for this gun. I'm going to load the same bullet over 9 grains and 9.5 grains and see if there is much difference in accuracy. I've not got a chrony, so I'm not sure how fast the bullet was travelling, but according to the manual, 9.5 grains gives 1100+ FPS, so I imagine the 9.2 grain load was between 1050 and 1100.
All in all, a good day at the range. I hope you folks have had as enjoyable a day!