Good morning, everyone. It's the next-to-last Friday in April, and I've continued making progress this week in my quest to find a soft-shooting 38 Special load which
1) uses one of the Hodgdon's pistol powder,
2) uses the Berry's 125gr Flat Point plated bullet and
3) which delivers reasonably consistent velocity from shot to shot.
For those who've not read ALL of my previous posts and responses, here is a recap:
1) I started off shooting a charge weight ladder test with HP-38 (aka Winchester 231). The ES values (and the SDs) were TERRIBLE throughout the entire range of charge weights. I tweaked the level of crimp, hoping for improvement, but no joy was found.
2) To make certain that my expectations for ES values are realistic, I conducted a test where I put several hundred rounds of FACTORY Winchester white box 130 grain FMJ and Remington/UMC 130 grain FMJ ammo through my collection of revolvers having barrel lengths ranging from 1 7/8" up to 6", with a 2.4" barrel, a 4" barrel and a 5 1/2" barrel positioned in between them. The results of this testing were two fold: a) I found that both manufacturer's advertised muzzle velocity of 800 fps is spot on, with this velocity being equalled and exceeded easily by any of my revolvers having a 4" or longer barrel. The snubbies were amazingly close to reaching the advertised 800 fps b) The 130 grain FMJ factory ammo from both manufacturers consistently produced ES values right around 100 fps, sometimes a little more, often times a little less. Therefore, I am setting the bar for my handloads at the same level, and hopefully will be able to beat it a little.
HERE's the NEW info: I am a little more than half way "up the ladder" in shooting a charge weight ladder test using Hodgdon's TiteGroup powder and the Berry's 125 grain bullet. I have also employed Winchester Small Pistol (WSP) primers as well as the CCI 500s in this test. ALSO, I am shooting rounds of equal charge weight using an older canister of TiteGroup AND a NEW canister of TiteGroup.
What I have observed thus far:
a) TiteGroup is delivering far more consistent ES values than HP-38, with ES values plummeting as the charge weights increment upwards (keep in mind that I want a SOFT SHOOTING load, so lower charge weights are "gooder" in that respect).
b) Equal charge weights from the OLD canister of TiteGroup and the NEW canister of TiteGroup produce almost the same ES values. I've expended the time and effort to make this comparison test in order to determine if poor storage conditions have caused my stockpile of powders to start degrading. The old canister of TiteGroup was stored right alongside my canister of HP-38, so this is an important issue to resolve. Right now, it looks like the answer is that there is no measurable degradation. More to come on this as I do further testing.
c) By testing identical charge weights with both CCI 500s and Winchester Small Pistol primers, I am starting to suspect that the CCI 500s are delivering higher ES values than the Winchester WSPs. It is a bit too soon to conclude this as a fact, but the data seems to point that direction. Again, more to come as I continue testing. d) Another suspicion that is forming in my mind is that the 125 grain plated bullet has a preference for powders on the faster end of the spectrum. I might conduct some more methodical testing (beyond just simply, "Oh. Let's try TiteGroup instead of HP-38!") to gather a little more proof that this is the case.
And, lastly, d) Despite the repeated cautions against crimping / over crimping of the plated bullets lest one "break the skin" of the plating, the 125 grain Berry's seems to benefit (with regard to producing consisten ES values) from a light-to-moderate taper crimp. I define a "light" taper crimp as having the case mouth pushed inward about .001". A "moderate" taper crimp is about .002" less diameter at the case mouth than further back on the case.
1) uses one of the Hodgdon's pistol powder,
2) uses the Berry's 125gr Flat Point plated bullet and
3) which delivers reasonably consistent velocity from shot to shot.
For those who've not read ALL of my previous posts and responses, here is a recap:
1) I started off shooting a charge weight ladder test with HP-38 (aka Winchester 231). The ES values (and the SDs) were TERRIBLE throughout the entire range of charge weights. I tweaked the level of crimp, hoping for improvement, but no joy was found.
2) To make certain that my expectations for ES values are realistic, I conducted a test where I put several hundred rounds of FACTORY Winchester white box 130 grain FMJ and Remington/UMC 130 grain FMJ ammo through my collection of revolvers having barrel lengths ranging from 1 7/8" up to 6", with a 2.4" barrel, a 4" barrel and a 5 1/2" barrel positioned in between them. The results of this testing were two fold: a) I found that both manufacturer's advertised muzzle velocity of 800 fps is spot on, with this velocity being equalled and exceeded easily by any of my revolvers having a 4" or longer barrel. The snubbies were amazingly close to reaching the advertised 800 fps b) The 130 grain FMJ factory ammo from both manufacturers consistently produced ES values right around 100 fps, sometimes a little more, often times a little less. Therefore, I am setting the bar for my handloads at the same level, and hopefully will be able to beat it a little.
HERE's the NEW info: I am a little more than half way "up the ladder" in shooting a charge weight ladder test using Hodgdon's TiteGroup powder and the Berry's 125 grain bullet. I have also employed Winchester Small Pistol (WSP) primers as well as the CCI 500s in this test. ALSO, I am shooting rounds of equal charge weight using an older canister of TiteGroup AND a NEW canister of TiteGroup.
What I have observed thus far:
a) TiteGroup is delivering far more consistent ES values than HP-38, with ES values plummeting as the charge weights increment upwards (keep in mind that I want a SOFT SHOOTING load, so lower charge weights are "gooder" in that respect).
b) Equal charge weights from the OLD canister of TiteGroup and the NEW canister of TiteGroup produce almost the same ES values. I've expended the time and effort to make this comparison test in order to determine if poor storage conditions have caused my stockpile of powders to start degrading. The old canister of TiteGroup was stored right alongside my canister of HP-38, so this is an important issue to resolve. Right now, it looks like the answer is that there is no measurable degradation. More to come on this as I do further testing.
c) By testing identical charge weights with both CCI 500s and Winchester Small Pistol primers, I am starting to suspect that the CCI 500s are delivering higher ES values than the Winchester WSPs. It is a bit too soon to conclude this as a fact, but the data seems to point that direction. Again, more to come as I continue testing. d) Another suspicion that is forming in my mind is that the 125 grain plated bullet has a preference for powders on the faster end of the spectrum. I might conduct some more methodical testing (beyond just simply, "Oh. Let's try TiteGroup instead of HP-38!") to gather a little more proof that this is the case.
And, lastly, d) Despite the repeated cautions against crimping / over crimping of the plated bullets lest one "break the skin" of the plating, the 125 grain Berry's seems to benefit (with regard to producing consisten ES values) from a light-to-moderate taper crimp. I define a "light" taper crimp as having the case mouth pushed inward about .001". A "moderate" taper crimp is about .002" less diameter at the case mouth than further back on the case.
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