I determined to get more serious about reloading I needed a chronograph so I bought a Master Beta. What a great unit, I was able to set it up and get it running by only glancing at the user manual. Here is my loading data and performance:
S&W 686 with 6" barrel
Powder - 3 grains of 231
.357 mag case
standard primer
158gr DEWC
COL is really long, to meet the 38 special recipe I am using, I probably need to press the bullet in another 1/8" or so.
Based on the reloading book, I should have around 800 FPS out of this combo. Will pressing the bullet in farther increase the FPS? How do my stats look, are they considered consistent?
My load is the one on the right compared to a factory 38 special load.
A final closing thought was a weighed every round and they probably varied 4 grains from low to high, I shot all the heavy ones as a group and saw no difference in performance. I did weigh a couple of bullets and they do vary a few grains each.
Chris
S&W 686 with 6" barrel
Powder - 3 grains of 231
.357 mag case
standard primer
158gr DEWC
COL is really long, to meet the 38 special recipe I am using, I probably need to press the bullet in another 1/8" or so.
Based on the reloading book, I should have around 800 FPS out of this combo. Will pressing the bullet in farther increase the FPS? How do my stats look, are they considered consistent?
My load is the one on the right compared to a factory 38 special load.
A final closing thought was a weighed every round and they probably varied 4 grains from low to high, I shot all the heavy ones as a group and saw no difference in performance. I did weigh a couple of bullets and they do vary a few grains each.
Chris
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