I've been working up some loads and wanted to get some insight from the brain trust here at CB. Recently I've started to feel that maybe Lyman data is hotter than other sources in general, wether it's their cast boolit data or their jacketed data. In the cartridges and bullets I reload for, they always seem to have the highest max loads other than maybe one or two exceptions. Has anyone else noticed this or am I crazy?
I always start low and work up and I've gotten to where I'm happy with most of my loads but there are one or two I'm not sure of.
I reload 38/38+p 357 magnum and 9mm.
Let's take their 38 and 38+p data for example. Right now I'm using HS6, HS6 isn't listed for a 158 SWC but it's listed for a 155 grain SWC and a 160 grain RN. Both of those boolits have max loads of 6.7 grains HS6 and both are supposedly standard pressure 38 special.
Other sources indicate 6.3 grains as a max load, some older Speer data indicates 6.7 grains as a max load for 38+p but anything above 6.3 is in the +p range.
Another example are the same boolits using Win 231, Hornady lists a max load of 4.4 grains, Speer is around the same with 4.7 being a +p load. Lyman lists 4.7 as a max load for standard pressure and 5.2 as +p.
I don't load my 38s that hot since they're for plinking, although I do like the 6.7 grain load as my duplication FBI load. Loading 357 Magnum is where the Lyman data really becomes an issue for me.
Lyman does list HS6 under a 158 SWC in 357 magnum. It starts at 9.2 and goes to 10.2 grains. The 155 grain starts at 9 and max at 10. 160 grain round nose goes from 8.5 to 9.7 grains.
I've worked up and started slow using both lubed and powder coated 158 grain SWC from Missouri Bullets. I've intended this load to be a woods defense and possible hunting load. I have not found any other source for cast bullets at magnum velocities but with their max data being much higher than other sources I'm wondering just how safe their data actually is.
If we go back to 38 special, hodgdon lists 6.3 grains as max for a 158 SWC and 6.2 max for a 158 Hornady XTP. For 357 magnum they list 9.5 grains HS6 as max for the 158 XTP. I know it's not all apples to apples but this tells me a 158 cast bullet should be safe to push around 9.6-9.7 grains in line with Lymans load for the 160 grain RN. Hodgdons data for lead/cast is a joke in 357 magnum so its not really comparable.
Like I said I know it's not all apples to apples but I can't help but feel 10.2 grains HS6 might just be a little too hot under a 158 grain boolit.
I did slowly work up from the 9.2 start (actually lower than start, Hornady lists 8.2 max for their swaged 158s) and worked up to 10 and 10.2
I couldn't notice too big of a difference between 9.5 up through 10.2 other than primers. In my Ruger Security Six even factory 357 loads seem to have flat primers, but the 10 and 10.2 loads seemed to be much worse for some reason. Extraction was just fine, recoil was about the same, but something about those primers seemed off to me.
I'm sure 9.5-9.7 will be just fine for my intended purposes and I've decided to back down to those levels. I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed that Lyman data on average seems to be hotter than most sources?
Even with jacketed bullets in 9mm (124 and 147 grain) they always have the highest max loads. Their loads are all listed in CUP rather than PSI too. I had to back down on some of their 9mm loads as well.
Is there any other cast boolit data out there that can be compared to the Lyman cast book? I like to have multiple sources which is easy for jacketed bullets, not so easy for cast boolits. The closest I've found is the Lee 2nd edition, with magnum powders like 2400 and 296/H110 their data is very close to the Lyman data, other powders are way off. Lee (and Hodgdon) list 7 grains of HS6 as max for a 158 swc, which is a glorified 38 special load. Hornady lists 8.2 which is much better. But Lyman is the only source I can find that goes that high with HS6 and cast boolits in 357 mag.
Maybe it's just that their data for the 160 RN is a better match for the 158s I have? I'm not looking to push it to unsafe levels and my plinking ammo is no where near max. I just want to make these boolits hit as hard as possible since they're for serious use. I plan to try 2400 next, maybe Accurate #9 if 2400 isn't available, since I'd have other data to compare it to and can get to where I want to go without all the second guessing.
Has anyone pushed HS6 that far with a similar boolit in 357 magnum and if so what was your experience?