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No, not that I am aware of. I've invited him here before, but Ed is retired now...enjoying the life of a country gentleman. He hangs out at the Cast Bullet Association for the most part and is a regular contributor to the "Fouling Shot" and other online forums. Grant Cunningham has been re-posting some of Ed's musings over at his blog:Quote:
Originally Posted by Iowa Fox
Grant Cunningham
1,564 lbs @ 146 grains per to be exact.Quote:
Originally Posted by sw282
The pot I use is the pot I made and posted here at Cast Boolits. It's working capacity is about 100lbs. The original post is here:
Diary of a Casting Pot Construction
The links in the OP are dead so I moved the post to its own page here:
Cast Boolits Model 1 Casting Pot
I buy my lead like everyone else. Lately I have been buying pure lead off a seller on eBay for about $1 lb. I create 10:1 by using 10 pounds of pure lead with a pound of Tin from a cache of 1lb Solder rolls I have.
If i may borrow your post gear! Very well written, especially in this time of "gun a week and/or load a week" shootersQuote:
Originally Posted by geargnasher
This is a great post. I do love the 38 special with wad cutters. I just now came in from shooting a couple hundred round at 25 yards standing at the 25yd slow fire pistol target. I am not very good standing shooting 1 hand but I do like to do it.I have always used the winchester wad cutter brass but my load that shoots the best is 3.4grs of Bullseye in my S&W 14-6.
If what was said about not using hollow base WC with heavier loads is right I have been very lucky because I use a lot of 358395 HBWC's with 3.4grs of bullseye. I will have to look into that and maybe change to a solid base WC.
Char-Gar could you post where I might find that article by Terry Murback on the 38 special............Terry
I have it scanned and will email it to you, if you will PM me an email addy. Murback said I could do this, if he got his regular royalty check. I told him to go out and stand by his mail box, as it should be there any day. I think he is still standing there. :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by TCFAN
Texas Fly Boy-(also Char-Gar) You guys really know your stuff about .38 wadcutters. I was on the Baltimore Police Pistol Team from the mid '60's+. Although
I retired in '92 I maintained my affliliation with them, partly because I became team
Captain in the mid '80's. Our ammunition was cast & reloaded by us, and it became
quite rewarding. Some members were issued 1) SAECO LEAD POT, & 1) H&G ten
cavity mould---button nose wadcutter bevel base, They shut down the ranges
that were in the (9) districts, so some of us retreaved the lead.
We were told that the Winchester WC BRASS was best for wadcutters, and the load was to be BULLSEYE 3.5 Gr, Moderate crimp in the groove provided.
When oil first became scarse the Dep't. discontinued their support for us,as we were traveling to ranges from Quantico to Harrisburg Pa. Plus all the districts
had two teams.
When we won trophys we would put them in a showcase at our FOP LODGE's
showroom. Soon the Lodge took over the support for the team. We now have
hats & shirts to wear to the matches.
Those of us who still shoot revolvers Swear by the 3.5 Gr load.
There are a LOT of us shooters still around, and a lot of them use this load.
THANKS A LOT FOR THE ABOVE INFORMATION. FOR BEGINNERS MUST BE TAUGHT
"HOW TO". THIS POST SHOULD BECOME A "STICKY". IT DESERVES IT..:Fire:. thebigmac
Thanks for this great post! It was one of the things that lead me to buy more H&G #50 molds than I could possibly use off the gear swap forum.
I used to shoot handguns regularly and was fairly compentent. Then I took a hiatus of several years and it's depressing how much my skills deteriorated. It's double challenging as I've noted how my eyesight has deteriorated and getting a clear iron sight picture is extra challenging.
I'm planning to get back my handgun skills, or at least give it a valiant try.
TX- l thank you for posting your pot. A lot bigger than my 20 lb Lee pot. l won a dc Lyman 358495 mold off ebay today. A 148gr wc mold similar to the H&G 50.. A couple boxes of WW wc ammo seem to be the only present source for wc brass. Your load will feed a 6'' SW 28-2 that is in need of shooting
Homer Simpson Voice engaged:
MMMMMMMM. . .five inch N-Frames. . .ahhhhhhhhh. . .
I have GOT to get me one of those! When you run out of ammo, (which it doesn't look like you're about to do), you can use the checkering on the top strap as a backup weapon.
is it possible for you to take a picture of the forcing cone and top strap of your 27? I am curious how much wear there will be after 70K wadcutters.
I remember when I was a kid in the mid 70's gun writer Bob Milek wrote an article on his 27, he had to send it back to S&W for a rebuild after 10K of jacketed bullets. As I remember the article and pictures the forcing cone was horribly worn and the top strap very flame cut. S&W re barreled it but could do nothing about the top strap.
Very interesting group of posts, the original and the responses. I am a fan of the 38 caliber cast full wadcutter bullet, although mine drop from Lee molds. When I was competing, 2.7 grains of Bullseye was the ticket but for hunting I upped the ante to get me about 900 fps from a 6" barrel. Great load and just as accurate as the slower one. I have used it in a variety of revolvers but mostly the M686 and the M15. Now the 686 is gone but the 4" M15 still shoots them accurately.
I may have to dig up my reloading notes and see how many I have put down range, between practice and competition.
I may have to find a M27-2 and see how that load does!
I am glad to have such knowledge available to me. Thank you for sharing your tale.
Quasi, top strap cutting and wear of the forcing cone have to do with high pressures, and back in the Bob M. days he was loading pretty hot, likely well over 45,000 psi.
Top strap cutting is said to be self limiting. No so for forcing cone erosion.
Given the logarithmic increase in wear as pressure increases, the forcing cone and top strap of this 27 firing these loads is likely no where near worn out. The pressures are at or below standard 38's.
Great Post, I didn't know about the WW Brass, but I just sorted some out of brass on hand. I'll have to give these loads a look.
Thanks again for this wonderful post and knowledge.
This whole thread was a great read. i have been reloading lee 148grain TL in mixed brass for my S&W M&P, circa 1949, and have more than once thought that my brass was a problem. though i've taken to weighing my boolits and that has eliminated some of the flyers, im convinced now i need to stop with the mixed stamps. i'll save the range brass for the SHTF ammo.
what about starline brass? i have a few pieces in my brass collection and if i sort a cylinder full out of my ammo box while at the range they group really well. and frankly i cant stomach how much the local shops want for wadcutters, when they even have them. maybe they will be reasonably priced at the gun show coming up,
l got the Lyman version of the H&G 50 mold off ebay and 1000 38 wadcutter cases from GB. The wc brass is Federal. No Winchester brass yet. l think ole Tex cornered the market on it
Thanks for the "tutorial". I have just read the entire thread and have added the .38 Spec to my favorite cartridges.
I have recently been loading WC's for a S&W Model 65 w/3" bbl. The WC's were cast in a H&G #37 four cavity. I've used a variety of powders, most recently Red Dot, only because I've got an 8 lb jug.
The Model 65 has open sights but the gun has a bobbed hammer so I shoot double action. I'm at the point that I can keep most shots on a paper plate at about 10 yards. I think I need to get that mold out and prepare for more practice.
Next will be a Highway Patrolman w/6" bbl. I haven't shot it much because it has a set of target stocks with a large thumb shelf. I don't like them at all. I see a set of replacement stocks coming soon.
With all the .38 brass I have on hand I can't see me going after wadcutter brass. It will be quite sometime before I will be able to see a difference in accuracy. Any disagreement with this statement will be duly noted and evaluated.
Great write up that gives me new inspiration. Here is my 27-2 with the best sights Ive owned on a revolver. I have about 900 rounds of the military Winchester wadcutter ammo and have made mental note to keep it separated. Think I need to buy a LEE knock off wadcutter mold. Thanks.
One of the problems of being a packrat is that you forget what you have squirreled away.
I just remembered that I have a 4 cavity H&G #50 mold. I intend to get it out and try it. I bought it on Ebay before H&G molds went out of sight. It is still wrapped in the rustproofing paper.
If I use the #50 instead of the #37 mold, and shoot 75K through the Highway Patrolman, I'll save about 200 lbs of lead. That will stretch my supply in these days of scarce WW.:D
I also remembered that I have 2400 once fired Remington wadcutter brass(double cannelure) that I bought from an individual. These are all still in the original boxes. I'll start using those when I go through what I have loaded up already.
EDIT: I just re-read this thing. It sounds as if I am planning to shoot 75K rounds thru my HP. I doubt I will live that long. I just hope I can find a load that is fairly accurate and have fun shooting it.
Tom:
Great read.
I have a similar gun, but not as many rounds through it. 1956 S&W 5 screw pre Model 29. No case, tools, etc, but 99%. I figure I have maybe 5,000 rounds through it.
Still working on the perfect bullet and load.