Wheel-Guns

marineimaging said:

I am reloading .357 and .45 right now with SWC for hunting and practice and used them to practice and qualify when I was on the police force. They worked great for speed loading but as for altering the chambers on the cylinder, I would not unless I had two cylinders for that same gun. One thing to know is that to avoid leading up your barrel you can't run them hot like jacketed rounds but for competition you won't be anyway. Some hard cast will allow you to run up to 1000fps but don't go above that unless your bullet maker specifies.

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Aryeh Jay said:

You should get a bit more than 580 fps out of a four inch barrel with 158 grain bullets, even .38 Specials. I would get 690-720fps out of four inches with factory 158 grain 38s.

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marineimaging said:

First, the bottom line is that the only thing that matters is what you and your gun do on the day of competition. If it works, good job!

However, since we are talking about reloading I would like to offer something to think about. First, I am not saying that HP38 and Win231 won't work. Not at all. I use both of them in .380 and 9mm because it is more economical to use less of a faster burning powder to get the same pressures. However, when I start getting into the more voluminous .357 and .44 cases I start looking for loads that give me more powder resulting in less of a void - and always use a magnum primer. (i.e. CCI 350 or 550).

The reason I am making this point is that an old time cowboy loader stated that if you want better consistency try to use a powder that fills more of the case. The best load is the one that produces the correct pressure (translating to speed which also means accuracy) with a full case leaving no void. If the powder is in contact with the primer, it will always ignite the powder with the same dynamic. Furthermore, minor variations will have less effect on the pressure/speed. Thinking in the extremes, a 1% variation of 2.9 grains of HP38 has a greater impact than 1% of 5.8 of Unique due to the way it plays out in the volume to burn rate ratio.

Next, a magnum primer has enough potential energy to push the bullet down the barrel. It may not clear the barrel, but it can start moving the bullet without any powder. So, if you have a very small amount of powder in the case and you are holding your gun downward, then bring it up to shoot, the powder is all at the front of the case. The flash has to jump to the front of the case to ignite the powder which means pressure has already started building to push the bullet, breaking the crimp.

Again, the final score is all that really matters. But if you don't see consistency with the faster powders in the larger case volumes, try a powder that will fill it more yet produce the same results.

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MarkRohfrietsch said:

I have been looking at the possibility of of buying a revolver for no other reason but to open up a couple other completion opportunities. I have been doing a lot of research and consensus was S & W and Ruger GP100 are the best quality for the money, and quite comparable. Some other cheaper options are out there; Armenius and Alpha Proj to name the two most common ones. .357 is desirable but shooting .38 SWC or HBWC will be the loads of choice as I will only be shooting paper.

I took the plunge. Ordered a brand new Ruger GP100 4.2" barrel, blued with rubber grip. It was a counter gun from a gun store, so it does have a bit of a drag mark on the cylinder (it would have one the first week I owned it regardless). They list for just around $950-1000 up here; I got this one for $600.00.

I'm excited. I thinking Safariland Speed Loaders? Thoughts?

View attachment 266273

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marineimaging said:

First, the bottom line is that the only thing that matters is what you and your gun do on the day of competition. If it works, good job!

However, since we are talking about reloading I would like to offer something to think about. First, I am not saying that HP38 and Win231 won't work. Not at all. I use both of them in .380 and 9mm because it is more economical to use less of a faster burning powder to get the same pressures. However, when I start getting into the more voluminous .357 and .44 cases I start looking for loads that give me more powder resulting in less of a void - and always use a magnum primer. (i.e. CCI 350 or 550).

The reason I am making this point is that an old time cowboy loader stated that if you want better consistency try to use a powder that fills more of the case. The best load is the one that produces the correct pressure (translating to speed which also means accuracy) with a full case leaving no void. If the powder is in contact with the primer, it will always ignite the powder with the same dynamic. Furthermore, minor variations will have less effect on the pressure/speed. Thinking in the extremes, a 1% variation of 2.9 grains of HP38 has a greater impact than 1% of 5.8 of Unique due to the way it plays out in the volume to burn rate ratio.

Next, a magnum primer has enough potential energy to push the bullet down the barrel. It may not clear the barrel, but it can start moving the bullet without any powder. So, if you have a very small amount of powder in the case and you are holding your gun downward, then bring it up to shoot, the powder is all at the front of the case. The flash has to jump to the front of the case to ignite the powder which means pressure has already started building to push the bullet, breaking the crimp.

Again, the final score is all that really matters. But if you don't see consistency with the faster powders in the larger case volumes, try a powder that will fill it more yet produce the same results.

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A Realist said:

Bought this a couple of weeks ago. Smith and Wesson 686 5" Performance Center. Gonna handload some rounds this weekend for it.

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