Critique This .357 Round

Depth and crimp look ok to me - from the pictures. What is your OAL?

Have you tried 4227 in a 3" before? I have not - won't it be too slow for a 3"?

Cheesemaker said:

Depth and crimp look ok to me - from the pictures. What is your OAL?

Have you tried 4227 in a 3" before? I have not - won't it be too slow for a 3"?

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What does the OAL have to do with anything? That is set by the manufacturer's provided crimp groove.

Also, why would you think you need a fast powder for a shorter barrel? The powder that delivers the highest velocity in a 4" barrel will do the same in a shorter barrel. Stick with the powder that delivers the highest velocity or the best accuracy depending upon what you're looking to do.

IMO that crimp looks a little too tight. (not much but a little)

How do they shoot? Accuracy? (did you shoot them yet?)

Well then, I think you should load up some live rounds and give them a try. It looks like you are on the correct path with this ammo...

What powder charge range are you going to use and which primers. (just curious)

Imr 4227 is very forgiving of max loads (published) and compressed loads, i wouldnt worry a bit about it just work up from minimum and be safe! Be sure to use a magnum primer for consistent velocities and powder burn with a slow magnum powder like 4227. Do all the above and that sp101 wont flinch a bit, i did a similar load work up in my wife's 4.2" model about 2 years ago.

I think you may have over crimped it a little and the may have it seated just a tad to deep. I like to see just a little cannular/crimp groove to accommodate longer cases in case their not all trimmed exactly the same.

Be sure to try them in your cylinder to make sure the OAL isn't to long for your cylinder some strange reason. They shouldn't be being their only 160gr.

Shoot them and give us a report.

I looked up the bullet and there is indeed a cannelure. As stated above a hair of this groove is usually seen on a finished bullet so you may be slightly short on your OAL. This is probably not a big deal. I also noticed your particular projectile is listed as made for .38 S&W if that makes any difference or not.

Lastly and sadly it appears that company is up for sale, the owner is injured and can no longer maintain it.

http://www.montanabulletworks.com/home.html

I would crimp a bit lower into the canelure, or about the center of the canelure, and increase the crimp depth some. This is because when running slower burning powders that produce typical full pressure loads, such as with 4227, bullets will be more prone to jumping the crimp under recoil.

So, try to crimp into the center of the canelure, and apply a fairly stout roll crimp, nothing that puts you on the edge of collapsing cases, just a good firm roll crimp. This also helps in producing consistent powder burns, which relates to consistent pressures / velocities.

Other wise, your golden, no worries with these slow burning powders as long as you are within published data, you are good to go!

GS

You can forget the cannelure altogether. Compressed loads are nothing to worry about. Load for the bullet weight(158 grain data will do for a 160) and the max OAL given in your manual and you'll be fine. You don't have to go to max loads either.
No cast IMR4227 data on Hodgdon's site.

What dies the OAL have to do with anything? That is set by the manufacturer's provided crimp groove.

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My OAL question related to the cylinder length of the SP101 not specifically the cannelure/crimp. I recall several discussions (some on this forum) about this topic (I do not recall the details) - that the SP101 does not (did not?) have the longest cylinder compared to other .357 mag revolvers.
If the ammo chambers and does not bind up - good to go in that respect.

I got a email from Dave today . In it he says that he is going through a divorce and his wife got the house where is shop is located and that is why he is closing up

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Interesting. I had bought a lot of .40-65s from Dave Jennings and accepted the bad back, operation on Christmas Day, etc., story.

As long as it fit the cylinder and is crimped well enough to not pull the bullet, the OAL determined by the crimp groove is correct.

I shot a good deal of 4227 in .44 Magnum. It is marginally slow burning for even magnum revolvers and does not give the velocity that 2400 or 296 will, but it was more accurate in my gun. So don't reduce the load more than Hodgdon says.

I've looked at the load books I have on crimping, nothing really that helps out. I would say I crimp slightly lower, but only so none of my 38's or 357's go above the grove. I use a roll crimp, I think I go light, some may say I go heavy. If I get crimp creep, I slightly tighten the crimp. At this point I haven't had crimp creep in a while. I've seen no real good guide on crimping, so to me it's all guess work.

The bottom of the brass is .3730, at the crimp it's .3625 to .3690 as best as I can measure (very hard to measure that small crimped part).

It seems to shoot fine, as fine as I can shoot, that's the only way I know to measure.

Your brass is much shinier than mine, how do you clean it?

I had very good results using 4227 and 160 gr. LRN. Magnum primers and 15.0 - 17.0 gr. All shot very good. 4227 usually gives the best results when compressed. Just be ready for a good push on your wrist.

I don't see any crimp in the latest photos. How far are you screwing the die in after it makes contact with the mouth of the case? 1/2 a turn? Less? More? I go about 1/2 a turn and adjust from there til I get the crimp I want, but it's not far off 1/2 a turn.

Seated ok, now crimp.

First pics looked great...go back to that setup and load some live rounds.

I like you're first ones the best, but set them at the height of these latest shots. That said, you could try them and if you don't get crimp creep, then it's probably ok for the load you're using. I personally like the picture in the last set that you have on the far right. Could be the lightening if they're all crimped the same.