Anybody load with Triple 7?

[Mr_Flintstone]

I’ve got a couple pounds of Triple 7 that I use for muzzle loading; but I find that I don’t do that much anymore, and thought I might use it for cowboy loads. When I looked up the load data, it said to let the bullet contact the powder, but not to use any compression. I must admit that I’m not sure how to do that. I guess I could measure the powder level and seat the bullet to that approximate level, but that might either leave an air gap or slightly compress the powder. Once I seat the bullet I won’t be able to tell. Any advice?

 

[troy fairweather]

i would use a drop tube then seat the bullets about 1/8 below. what cartridge?

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

i would use a drop tube then seat the bullets about 1/8 below. what cartridge?

Probably 38 Special and 357 magnum. Maybe some 38 Long Colt.

 

[troy fairweather]

Probably 38 Special and 357 magnum. Maybe some 38 Long Colt.

1/8 inch of compression should do. you can use some wads or cards over the powder. should be fun to shoot what bullets are you going to use.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

1/8 inch of compression should do. you can use some wads or cards over the powder. should be fun to shoot what bullets are you going to use.

125 in the 38s probably 135 in the 357.

 

[J-Bar]

I have used 777 in cowboy action cartridges, shotshells, and percussion revolvers. It is not uranium or plutonium, it will not produce a mushroom cloud even if slightly compressed. As long as you are not mashing it down and trying to compact it you should not have a problem at plinking ranges. If you are competing at long range rifle target shooting with large powder charges the amount of compression would become a more important factor for accuracy.
When loading cowboy action .38 Specials, I held the bullet beside the case with the crimp groove even with the rim, then added powder to the case until it looked even with the base, then measured that amount of powder. The Lee 1.0 CC dipper which throws about 15 grains volumetrically was close enough. That has been my powder measure for all brands of BP and substitutes in the .38 Special for years, never a problem of any kind.

Edit:

I'm using a 125 grain Slim .38 bullet from Big Lube Bullets. It measures about 0.270" from crimp groove to base. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

I have used 777 in cowboy action cartridges, shotshells, and percussion revolvers. It is not uranium or plutonium, it will not produce a mushroom cloud even if slightly compressed. As long as you are not mashing it down and trying to compact it you should not have a problem at plinking ranges. If you are competing at long range rifle target shooting with large powder charges the amount of compression would become a more important factor for accuracy.
When loading cowboy action .38 Specials, I held the bullet beside the case with the crimp groove even with the rim, then added powder to the case until it looked even with the base, then measured that amount of powder. The Lee 1.0 CC dipper which throws about 15 grains volumetrically was close enough. That has been my powder measure for all brands of BP and substitutes in the .38 Special for years, never a problem of any kind.

Edit:

I'm using a 125 grain Slim .38 bullet from Big Lube Bullets. It measures about 0.270" from crimp groove to base. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks. The instructions from Hodgdon sounded pretty ominous and vague.

 

[J-Bar]

Thanks. The instructions from Hodgdon sounded pretty ominous and vague.

I suspect Hodgdon is trying to protect itself from those folks who think cramming large powder charges into a cartridge case or muzzleloader barrel improves performance. 777 has a bit more zip, but I doubt you could notice the difference without a chronograph.

EDIT:

Not to belabor the point, but here is a YouTube video I published to compare the amount of smoke generated by various black powder brands and substitutes. The cartridges were all .38 Special loaded with 1.0 CC/15 grains of powder. The percussion guns were charged with 15 grains also. I could not tell the difference in smoke or recoil when shooting the various loads. If a person is shooting very large powder charges, a difference between 777 and others might be perceived, but at the 15-20 grain level common in cowboy action shooting, forget about it.