Ah,come on!!!

[Ruger GP100 fan]

At 13.3gr these were my heaviest loads. Could I get some feedback? I'm still learning how to read brass. Thanks

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Although Winchester/Hodgdon list very different pressures between minimum and maximum loads for 110gr and 25gr bullets using 296/H110,a post by gamestalker on this thread has me wondering why he got no noticeable increase in ft/sec. If the bullet has already left the barrel before all of the powder burns,can pressures still rise? Perhaps it might not be appropriate to post this because of all of us new to reloading,but I can't help but wonder if it's even possible to load the lighter bullets too hot. At maximum recommended charges the case is already nearly to capacity when the bullet is seated and obviously the bullet is long gone if the powder is still burning and shooting flames. Why do they show increased pressures? Any thoughts?

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=578127

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Another pic...same 6 pieces.

 

[Walkalong]

Primers look great.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Primers look great.

Thanks for you feedback,Walkalong.
Guess I've found a good recipe. Might try another tenth of a gram or perhaps 2. BTW,I did not consider these rounds to be particularly "unruly". Not sure I'll be loading a lot of 180gr,but at least I'll have something to fall back on if I want a round with maximum stopping capability for the 357.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Here's a shot of the same rounds posted above but from a different angle,perhaps giving a better representation of where the bullet is seated in relationship to the cannalure. A couple of you suggested cranking the die down a hair further,but I'm not sure if you meant just the crimping die or to seat the bullet deeper. The col is currently at 1.575,so I just brought the crimping portion of the die down a hair and left the col the same. Look ok? Bullet still need to go deeper? I want to finish loading these tonight so I can move on to some 44mags.
Thank you all,again,for your help and moral support. What with my son-in-law working so many hours I have looked to you guys at THR for mentoring and I'm sure glad this forum is here. Learning to reload is no easy task with no help at all so I look to you for support. I want to learn reloading the right way the first time so I don't have to relearn and struggle to shake off back reload practices.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Wrong pic. Here's same col with heavier crimp.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Just returned from the range from firing some loads with one more gr H110. These are 180gr HP/XTP,CCI 550 primers,and 13.4 gr of H110 (.1gr below Winchester's max according to their reload data on their website)seated to 1.575. Shot from a Ruger GP100 with 6" barrel. Does anyone see signs of over loads? If not I intend to load some to Win max recommended powder of 13.5 and call it a day.
I am working on finding just the right chrono to fit my needs and am really excited about having the capability to get real ft/sec data for my hand loads! This reloading is great fun!!!

 

[Walkalong]

They look great. Still very nicely rounded on the edges. No sign of anything wrong with the firing pin indent.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

They look great. Still very nicely rounded on the edges. No sign of anything wrong with the firing pin indent.

Thank you. Are the primers the only indicator of a load too heavy or just the best. What else should I be looking for,aside from split case mouths that may or may not be directly attributable to loads too heavy?

And,again,I did not consider these rounds to cause overly strong recoil. I think the stock GP100 grips/design can be thanked for most of that.

 

[Walkalong]

You will notice the case having less blowby on it as the pressure increases. That will be a hint.

If the cases are sticky in the chambers, you can have high pressure, but it could be rough or cruddy chambers as well, or a carbon ring from shooting a lot of specials without cleaning.

Even the primers will lie to you from time to time. Good news is they will more likely show high pressure when the pressure is OK vs showing low pressure when it is not.

You can shoot factory loads and measure the case head for expansion. That will give you something to go by on your reloads. Trouble is this is a fine measurement, and easily misleading. With .38 Spl there will be high pressure long before you see any excess case head expansion. It works better with rifle loads/pressures. With full load .357 it might be helpful, but I have never tried it with pistol rounds.

Cases and primers only give us hints, they are not 100% reliable.

Cases split when they wear out. Hot loads will wear them out faster, but case splits in and of themselves mean nothing. (Unless you managed to split all your new brass the first firing *ouch*)

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Thanks. These cases have been reloaded several times and I've yet to get a single split case. The 13.4 gr loads fell out of the cylinder when I ejected them.
Not sure what you mean by "blowby" tho.

 

[Walkalong]

Soot and burn marks on cases from powder "blowby". The case swells under pressure and seals the chamber to keep hot high pressure gases from going backwards out of the action. (That's its job) With low pressure the case takes longer to expand and springs back in sooner than with higher pressure, allowing more gas to leak back along the case sooting it or even scorching it. Many great loads soot up cases, but in general, I like to see cases with not much soot and very little to no scorching.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Can a photo of the cases help you identify danger signs in reference to blowby or would you need to see cases shot with minimum amounts of the same powder? These were shot with either 13.3 or 13.4gr( I mixed them before I read your post). Winchester/Hodgdon website calls for a minimum of 13.0 and a maximum of 13.5 grains of 296/H110 behind a 180gr bullet. What,if anything,can you determine by this shot? The gun was thoroughly cleaned prior to shooting these,but not between just 6 at 13.3 and 13.4 gr rounds.

 

[Walkalong]

Look pretty normal to me.

I have a light load with a Berrys 125 Gr TrFP over 4.0 Grs of Clays that leaves the brass almost new looking. Enough pressure to seal the chamber tightly and burns quick enough to be gone when the case starts returning to shape and the seal gets broken. A short high pressure curve vs a long slow one using W-296/H-110.

A quick load comparison would be interesting to see.

Anyway, the brass looks fine.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Thank you for your input.