HP-38 question

Steve600

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I bought some HP-38 and loaded some 45 acp. After shooting it the other day, I noticed my 1911 had yellowish flakes inside the receiver. I had changed springs and I originally thought the paint had come off the recoil spring. (They came color coded in a set). But today I went out again and same thing, little flakes of yellow. Is this normal for HP-30? I have used Winchester 231 before and never saw this, and I believe they are identical except for branding.
 
Sounds like unburned powder. Were your loads in the lower range? Did you load 185 grain bullets? That might account for some unburned flakes.
 
.45 acp, 185 gr swc, 4.8 gr hp-38

I would say this is a light load, just for plinking at the range. Do you thing the yellow crap is an issue? I do usually use 200 gr swc but was just using up some odds and ends
 
.45 acp, 185 gr swc, 4.8 gr hp-38

I would say this is a light load, just for plinking at the range. Do you thing the yellow crap is an issue? I do usually use 200 gr swc but was just using up some odds and ends

I figured it was a 185, definitely unburned/partially burned powder. Obviously not efficient but as long as your gun is going off reproducibly, sending the bullet down range and cycling the next round it’s fine.
 
I figured it was a 185, definitely unburned powder. Obviously not efficient but as long as your gun is going off reproducibly, sending the bullet down range and cycling the next round it’s fine.
Thanks. I will load up a few 200 gr swc @ 5 grains and give them a try. The 185’s actually worked pretty good although it took me several tries to find a recoil spring that worked well. I ended up using a 11 pound and could have probably used a 10 but didn’t have one with me.
 
If you have a faster powder you can switch to that.
HP-38 isn’t the best for light bullets and slow loads.

Move up to a 230 or a lighter powder if you can.
 
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