Big difference in information.

[Goomba]

I'm looking at a book here on reloading a .38 and it says...

125grain jhp ...

and all the powders and grains per powder... min-max

this one book i have here says..


Book A single .38 reloading info small book
clays 4.8gr 5.0gr 5.3gr *5.5gr max 5.8gr

Lyman book
Clays 3.2 - 3.8gr


i was just looking (cross-referencing) the 2 books and i saw this.... and that's a big difference and it makes me question if i should get another book to cross-reference.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Maybe sometime when you aren't too busy, you'll come up to southern Maine, and take the class. All will be made known.

 

[Goomba]

Maybe sometime when you aren't too busy, you'll come up to southern Maine, and take the class. All will be made known.

i will be at your area of work soon enough, im saving up money every week for it right now, i will be there sortly

about OP, if you put clays 5.8 max grains it won't blow up or anything will it? it just confused me when i saw what my books said.

 

[bpm990d]

The confusion is because manuals are not recipe books. Somewhere buried in all the books is a disclaimer stating that the loads were safe in the testing equipment they used. The problem is that there are differences in the testing gear that was used to create the data in each of the books. It's always best to start with a starting load and work your way up.

B

 

[Goomba]

The confusion is because manuals are not recipe books. Somewhere buried in all the books is a disclaimer stating that the loads were safe in the testing equipment they used. The problem is that there are differences in the testing gear that was used to create the data in each of the books. It's always best to start with a starting load and work your way up.

B

ok , but one books starting load is 4.8 and the other is 3.2

what if i only had the book that says 4.8?

 

[BossHarley]

Does one by chance say 'universal clays' and the other 'clays' - or is the wording any different?
These are different powders, and the first time I went to buy clays I ended up with universal (not paying close enough attention). I caught it before I used any.

J

 

[Goomba]

one book says clays uni. which is the higher grain, and the other says clays..

someone said clays uni is a shotgun powder, but if you search it, it has pistol calibers on the label.

ETA: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=335313 (good discussion on topic.)

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Boss Harley has it right. There are LOTS of that sort of thing when it comes to powders. You have to be careful about getting EXACTLY what is described.

 

[Goomba]

Boss Harley has it right. There are LOTS of that sort of thing when it comes to powders. You have to be careful about getting EXACTLY what is described.

some guy at riley's told me clays was a shotgun only powder, i later found out he did not reload, is he incorrect?

 

[coastie]

Check the powder manufacturers websites. They have lots of info on what powders do what and also a lot of loads. You really need to read up more on this stuff before you try to load and probably take a class. There is a huge difference between Universal Clays and Clays. I use a lot of Clays in my .45 and like it.

 

[bpm990d]

ok , but one books starting load is 4.8 and the other is 3.2

what if i only had the book that says 4.8?

It might be fine. What was the max load in the book with the 3.2 gr.

B

 

[m4bushy]

if your using hodgdon powder, got to the hodgdon sight and download their latest data. I use the hodgdon site all the time for load data. What better source than the manufacturer of said powder.

 

[T(1)of(3)]

As already stated Universal Clays and Clays are two different powders. You said one of the load manuals referred to the power as Clays uni. That is Universal Clays which is also sometimes just referred to as Universal. The other powder is just plain "Clays". They both can be used in some pistol calibers including 38. The loads you stated are in the proper range for each of those powders...just don't mix the data of Universal and Clays since as you noticed, there is quite a bit of difference. Also, both of these powders can be used for shotgun shells.

I personally like the Clays for .45, I think that it burns fairly clean compared to some other powders.

 

[EddieCoyle]

What T(1)of(3) said.

Clays and Universal Clays are two entirely different powders, and need to be treated as such. The data are not interchangeable.

Just because the names are similar doesn't mean they load the same.

For example, here's what happens when you mix up AA7 and RL-7:

(That isn't my rifle - I copied the photo from another forum)

 

[drgrant]

Get the Speer manual and stop wondering. That one has never set me wrong. The loads in there are less lawyerismed, too.

I also agree with what Jim says... watch the powders with the similar names!

-Mike

 

[Jose]

some guy at riley's told me clays was a shotgun only powder, i later found out he did not reload, is he incorrect?

Yes, he is incorrect. Hodgdon has MANY published handgun loads using Clays.

 

[center442]

Does one by chance say 'universal clays' and the other 'clays' - or is the wording any different?
These are different powders, and the first time I went to buy clays I ended up with universal (not paying close enough attention). I caught it before I used any.

J

What T(1)of(3) said.

Clays and Universal Clays are two entirely different powders, and need to be treated as such. The data are not interchangeable.

Just because the names are similar doesn't mean they load the same.

>Snip<

These gentlemen are correct. You have to be very careful about using the exact powder specified. Popular powders are often "imitated" by companies. IIRC, Hodgdon produces H4350, which uses almost the same load data as IMR4350, but they are still two different powders. Just buying "4350 powder" isn't being quite specific enough. Most reloading manuals, even older ones, are usually quite specific about exactly which powder(s) they're referring to, but it's still a good idea to consult the most up-to-date information.

Unless you want to customize your gun like the picture EC posted.

 

[WILDCATT]

powder

I like to keep it simple and to me there are to many powders.sure there are new ones but so many are close to each other.
I use 700X in all my pistol except the 45 colt I use unique.in rifle I am now working on reduced lead loads so have not settled on a powder.but wexpect it will have to be three.AAC 2230 ,1680, 2520.and one other for the 1880s big boomers.