I FINALLY got to shoot my first reloads . . .

[Lufbery]

Hi all!

I finally got out to shoot my first reloads today. The outdoor shooting ranges are still open at my club and the weather was beautiful.

I loaded two bullets with three different loads in .38 Special:

• 125 gr. lead flat point w/ 3.5 gr. Trail Boss
• 125 gr. lead flat point w/ 4.0 gr. Trail Boss
• 125 gr. lead flat point w/ 4.5 gr. Trail Boss
• 158 gr. lswc w/ 3.0 gr. Trail Boss
• 158 gr. lswc w/ 3.5 gr. Trail Boss
• 158 gr. lswc w/ 4.0 gr. Trail Boss

My test revolver is a S&W Model 67 with a four inch barrel. I shot for accuracy from a rest — not a very steady one, though. Only a portion of the barrel was supported. Of the 12 targets I shot, 5 had flyers. Just for reference, yesterday on the same rest I got a 1.5 inch group from my Ruger Single-Six with 6.5" barrel.

For this test, I shot two targets of five rounds each from each load. I shot the first target and then immediately went to the next firing point and shot the second target. For what it's worth, none of my second targets had flyers. The flyers were all me, not the loads.

Anyway, here were the results from smallest group to largest with flyers thrown out:
[table=][tr=][td=]Load and Target[/td][td=text-align:center]Group Size (inches)[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]125 gr. FP 4.0 gr. Trail Boss Target 1[/td][td=text-align:center]1.25[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]125 gr. FP 4.5 gr. Trail Boss Target 2[/td][td=text-align:center]2.0[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]158 gr. SWC 3.5 gr. Trail Boss Target 1[/td][td=text-align:center]2.0[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]125 gr. FP 4.0 gr. Trail Boss Target 2[/td][td=text-align:center]2.125[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]125 gr. FP 4.5 gr. Trail Boss Target 1[/td][td=text-align:center]2.25[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]158 gr. SWC 3.0 gr. Trail Boss Target 1[/td][td=text-align:center]2.25[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]158 gr. SWC 4.0 gr. Trail Boss Target 2[/td][td=text-align:center]2.375[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]125 gr. FP 3.5 gr. Trail Boss Target 1[/td][td=text-align:center]2.5[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]158 gr. SWC 4.0 gr. Trail Boss Target 1[/td][td=text-align:center]2.75[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]158 gr. SWC 3.0 gr. Trail Boss Target 2[/td][td=text-align:center]3.0[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]158 gr. SWC 3.5 gr. Trail Boss Target 2[/td][td=text-align:center]3.25[/td][/tr]
[tr=][td=]125 gr. FP 3.5 gr. Trail Boss Target 2[/td][td=text-align:center]4.0[/td][/tr][/table]

For today, anyway, this revolver seemed to like the 125 grain bullets with no real difference between the 4.0 and 4.5 grain Trail Boss loads. Only one 158 gr. load made it to the top 5, and my second group with that load was more than an inch larger.

A final note on group sizes: my average group size for all targets, including flyers was 3.42 inches.

Trail Boss turns out to be pretty clean when fired. A lot cleaner than factory ammo!

Thanks for reading! Regards,
-Drew

[Ranch Dog]

Good to see someone getting out to shoot! Looks good, the light loads being the best with each bullet.

[GasGuzzler]

Glad you got to test. Might pump the 158s up quite a bit with some more efficient pistol powder and watch the groups shrink.

[Lufbery]

Glad you got to test. Might pump the 158s up quite a bit with some more efficient pistol powder and watch the groups shrink.

I've thought about that. I was considering picking up some Winchester 231, CFE pistol, or Unique powders.

[larryw]

Alright Drew!!!! Now that you have gotten your first fix, your done for !!!
Congratulations, nice work. I agree, a different powder & a bit more, those
groups will shrink nicely.