BE86 38spl, 38spl +P and 357 mag Range report.

[Rifletom]

DsGrouse, you are on a roll! Very good shooting and write up using BE-86 and various bullets. Its still a newer powder to me, but, Like what I've seen so far. Good work.

[DsGrouse]

Today, we have a 2nd set of test data.
Cherry-picking the groups. I'll post the caveat that the groups were a secondary goal. I was chronographing my second set of loads using be86.
The gun used was the Dan Wesson 715 you've all seen before. The distance was 25 ft. Through the chronograph's port.
There are some stand-out groups, but, I will be the first to admit, I think the majority of the groups could be that good.
I've been slacking on my double-action revolver practice. I'll bust out my 617 and get to work.
Tomorrow I will shoot the same loads through my henry big boy x and Griffin Bushwacker v2. The idea is to develop a good load for both pistol and revolver.

New bullets to try, front and backwards.



Matts 125grn spire point with its wad-cutter edge makes clean holes

other bullets

sierra 125grn jhp

Sierra 158grn jhp

Various other rounds






I did find a pistol load where the DEWC from proof mark worked



Berry's HBWC plated



The back of my target board.

[Rifletom]

Lots of testing there D. Pictures #5 and 6 are super. Actually, good groups all around. Glad I have some BE-86 on hand.

[DsGrouse]

Yesterday was some mixed testing of the 38spl pistol loads via the henry big boy x using my Griffin Bushwacker 46 v2 as a can.
Again, all shots were fired through the chronograph, and not hitting my chrono took priority over group size. There are some things the Henry does not seem to like at all. I'm done with wadcutters from the Henry, even super-sonic; they are as accurate as thrown rocks at 50 yds.

First up,
Matts 125grn spire point gas checked. It's a great bullet, for 38 and 357 revolvers. Having to load only 1 in the chamber and 1 in the tube is a deal killer (same with Wadcutters <some function, sometimes, others jam every time>) 1148 fps


Matts 130grn Rnfp gas checked. This was a good performer in the revolver. I am a bit surprised I did not see better. I am going to load this again and give it a second go. I think most of the group is me. 1075fps If I can settle down, and this round groups as well as I think it can, I suspect this will be the most economical round for me to shoot.


Sierra 158grn JSPhp, 5.2grns be86 (+P) round averaging 1010 fps. This is the round I think I will go with.


Sierra 158grn JSPhp. 5.4grns be86 (+P) round average is 1102fps. Just a tad too fast for subsonic, but the kind of accuracy I want.


Hornaday 158grn JHP 5.0 grns BE86 (+P) round average is 940fps. The flyer is me; otherwise, yeah, excellent group.


Hornaday 158grn JHP 5.2grns BE86 (+p) round average 1000fps. something was going on in the cases. Low end was 980fps high end was 1030. It bears watching if i want to replicate this load and try it again.


Hornaday 158grn JHP 5.4grns BE86 (+P) round average 1050 fps, The rounds settled down the two fliers are me.


Here is a 20 shot string of Matts 165grain .358 gaschecked. Yeah, you can see that the Henry did not like the round. All the shots flew straight, but did not group. This has been consistent with B386, cleanshot, 4227, titegroup and bullseye. My goal is subsonic; over 1200 fps the bullet settles down and I get marginal 2.25" groups out of it. Yesterdays fps 1043


Onto the berry's hollow-based wadcutter rounds. they performed better than the proofmark, or matts wadcutter, but, as I said, for reliability, you have to either load them in 357 cases at 357 velocities, or load only one in the chamber one in the tube.

Berry's 148 grn HBWC 4.2 grns be86 take notice at the angle of the cuts. average fps 962


Berry's 4.4grns be86, average fps 1033 These flew a little straighter, but you can see, they are not doing well.


Berry's 4.6 grns be 86, flying true, but not in any form of a group. I could not find the 5th shot. 1055 fps


And because my dad asked me to, berry's hollow based wadcutters turned around backwards. (no can on the gun) 4.0 grns be86 (marked velocity increase over hollow based 4.2grns) 1040fps average. could not find the fifth shot. Three shots seem to have an oblong cut to them.



Okay, given the talk about ppc and shooting a revolver at 50yds. I did my best to do that. I used the berry's hollow-based wadcutters with 4.4grns of be 86, as you can see from the next two groups, it wasn't at all that great.



Final group at 50yds with the dan wesson. Again I've never done this. Blue bullets 148grn RN using 4.2grns be86


Some thoughts about the berry's HBWC:

I noticed yesterday with the henry, and the day before with the dan wesson, that the Berry's HBWC were not obturating during fire, until, i hit 4.4grns of powder. even then, it was less 50%. The 4.0, 4.2 and half of the 4.4 grns of be86 did not obturate the cases. when I hit 4.6grns of be86, the obturation was 100 percent. but at 50 yds, the bullets still didn't seem to fly straight. The velocity of the berry's HBWC was also markedly lower, than my Proofmark 148grn DEWC. When I turned the berry's around, the velocity returned.

I think the berry's bullets need more speed or a faster burning powder for that skirt to flare and engage the rifling. I'll use them for light revolver work, at close distance, but, I'm don futzing with wadcutters in the lever gun.

[DsGrouse]

okay, I loaded up 100 rounds (and 30 I had left over.)

I have 5 loads of 20 rounds each.
First though, the end of my muzzle brake. I've not cleaned this since putting it on, so this is 600 rounds give or take. It is a mix of lead, copper jacket, and plated bullets.






I fired 30 rounds of my left over matts 130grn RNFP GC as a starter. I was able to clear my know your limit target several times. I did notice though, that the impact of the rounds started to climb after 20 rounds or so.

First up, a group of 20 Hornaday 158 grn JHP 5.4grns BE86. (+P) On a cold bore this round would be just low of the center dot.


By this time I have 50 rounds through the barrel. The barrel is hot, and things are shifting about.
20 rounds of Sierra 158grn 5.2 grns of BE86 (+P)


The barrel is definitely hot by this point, and the can is casting a bit of a mirage at this point. Normally the matts are dead on, maybe a tad to the right. You can see how the rounds have climbed and scattered a bit.
20 rounds of Matts 130grn RNFP gas check ammo 4.6grns of BE86


By now, even the fore-end cap is hot to the touch. I've 90 rounds through it at this point, with little time in between. Everything is hot to hold.
20 rounds Sierra 125 grn with 5.0grns of BE96 (+P round)


Finally, everything is hot. The can is smoking, and I had to change up my grip, as even the wood of the forend was getting warm.
Matts 147grn RNHP 4.4 grains BE86


All in all I am pleased. I've five very respectable loads that can function with extended shooting sessions. I typically shoot 100 to 200 rounds at a time. It is also interesting to see how each bullet type is affected by the heat generated by the semi-rapid fire.

[DsGrouse]

My son-in-law was here yesterday, and he's been jonesing for a revolver. I let him try out my more modern revolvers. Then it was gun cleaning time. Everything was a mess from the last month of load testing.

625 45acp


627 PC


686 + (though he didn't try my 686+ 5 inch)


Henry Big Boy X with can; obviously not cleaned yet in this photo


Dead air Odessa can,


Sig p225 2002 contract overrun, brought in by the late Jamie Afton



HK USP 40, my original duty gun. I stopped keeping records in 2010 when we moved to CT. At that time, it had just crossed the 50K barrier. I'd estimate about 56-58k now, as I don't shoot it regularly.



Dan Wesson 715



The Dan Wesson developed an issue during testing. The cylinder would occasionally lock up tight. Happened twice, so I knew it was ready for a full service. I thought you all might like to see the internals.

Can you spot the intermittent problem?


Here is a hint with the hand removed.


The trigger is removed along with the offending part, another hint.


Everything is out, including the offending part.


What was causing the problem? Well, it was the set screw that held in the rear cylinder ball detent. It had worked loose over the last decade (picked it up in 2013). Under certain circumstances, it would lay flat. That would keep the transfer bar from moving, thus keeping the hand, hammer, and cylinder from moving. A jostle and the transfer bar would right it, and you could shoot.


The fix was a good cleaning of all the parts, new grease, and a flat head bit from wheeler. How likely is this going to happen again? I'm not sure. I've over 5500 rounds through the revolver, with 30% of that being full power 357 loads. So take that for what you will. Over all, it wasn't terribly dirty in there. I did re-apply new grease as opposed to oil. Trigger was back to its normal smooth nature.

Anywho, i hope you all enjoyed.