Test shots

M

Micro man

New member
Just reloaded some 38sp and test fired them today.my load was 125 gr lead flat point in front of 3.2 grains of Bullseye. COAL was 1.445. I noticed that I was getting a lot of soot(for lack of a better word) on one side of the cartridge. Same thing with 3.5 grains of powder.
I shot factory ammo during same session without the soot problem. Gun is a sp101 snub nose .
I was wondering if any members has the same problem or knew of a solution.
Hopefully photo shows the problem.

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j391/brooksdjlk/image.jpg1_zpslenctiaf.jpg
 
Thanks for asking our advice

Yarddog is right. Alliant's web site list...

guard agains my typos by going to their web site)
http://www.alliantpowder.com/reload...owderlist.aspx&type=1&powderid=1&cartridge=26

Alliant lists 4.5 grains giving 914 fps with a jacketed bullet. You are 20% below that manufacturer's recommendation for that bullet. Even though we all know that lead bullets require less propellant than jacketed, 20% is quite a drop.

For a lead 158 grain, they recommend 3.5 grains of Bullseye for 814 fps. Knowing that lighter bullets require more powder, your 125 grain lead vs the tested 158 grain lead should be a bit above that charge weight.

Go to your bullet manufacturer's web site to see if they have load recommendations.

The pressure expands the brass' mouth and body to seal the chamber. What you are seeing is scorching/soot from blow-by. Your brass needs more pressure to seal the chamber. Note that some brands of brass are thicker or stiffer than other brands, which can also affect this phenomenon.

Good luck.

Lost Sheep
 
YARDDOG(1) and Lost Sheep thanks for the reply. I thought that maybe I had a crimping problem. I'll boost my next reloads by .3-.5 and see if that solves the problem .
 
It should. Loads on the order of 3 grains are commonly used with 148 grain wadcutters, and they seat much deeper so the powder is burning in a much smaller space. QuickLOAD thinks you were likely down in the 7,000 psi range. As a general rule of thumb, I try to avoid anything under about 10,000 psi, and even those can get some case mouth soot. That ought to be at somewhere around 4.0 grains.
 
Your rounds are underloaded (as Unclenick alluded). No doubt about that.

But. . .

Bullseye never runs squeaky clean. It's a naturally "residuey" propellant and never cleans up as much as its contemporaries (AA2, W231/HP-38, Zip, etc.). I've run it pretty low and never got what I would characterize as "soot."

In my 30 years of loading with Bullseye, I have found it to just be residuey, no matter how hard of soft I'm driving it. It's real consistent that way; as its performance is real consistent - probably not a coincidence.

Point is: although there's no doubt you need to pump up your grainage a little; don't expect miracles with it cleaning up once you get your rounds running at higher pressures. Cleanliness is not Bullseye's strong suit.
 
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