Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
Have used 3.4 grains of Win 231 with 148 grain lead wadcutters for years with excellent success. Mild recoil, mild report, better accuracy than I can shoot.
Happened to get hold of a box of 158 grain semi-wadcutter cast lead bullets; thought I'd try them. So began researching loads to use.
Winchester reccommendation is for a max of 6.7 grains of 231 with 158 grain lead bullets. Couldn't find any other recipie than Winchester's for using 231 with 158 grain cast bullets, so nothing to compare it with. The Lyman books (47th, 48th, and Pistol & Revolver) don't mention using 231 in .357 magnum, Loadbooks of course repeats the Winchester reccommendation. My Sierra and Nosler books don't cover cast bullets.
OK, they know their own product I expect. Loaded up a series of 10 each of 6.0, 6.1, 6.2. 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, and 6.7 grains of 231 with my 158 grain cast lead bullets. To the range to try 'em out.
The 6.0 grain loads produced a tremendous report, a tremendous kick, lead on the outside of the cylinder of my revolver, and mediocre accuracy. Geez, that seemed like a lot of noise and recoil. (Far more so than my loads of 180 grain hard-cast bullets with 2400 powder. I had thought that that load barked loud.)
And I know that 231 is known for Kabooms if double-charged, which is doable because it takes very little space in the cartridge case.
So I stopped the testing. Asked the experts @ the range--One of 'em took a Hornady book off the shelf and found a max load of 231 with 158 cast bullets of 4 point something grains! Everybody agreed that the 6-plus grains of 231 was a huge overcharge.
And 4 plus grains of 231 sounds about right for a 158 grainer, since Winchester's reccommendation for a 200 grain lead bullet is 5.5 grains of 231. So why reccommend so much more powder for the 158 grainer????
Any comments or suggestions? I reload quite a number of rifle loads, and feel I know what I'm doing there, but to the present have only loaded a couple pistol loads, so I'm kind of in unknown waters as it were.
Is Winchester's recipie for 231 with 158 grain lead bullets excessive? Or is a huge noise and recoil and lead deposit to be expected and this is normal? Should I be using a different powder altogether?
Now I have 70 crimped rounds to pull the bullets from, so as to use the powder in my nice tame target loads. Bah! But I sure don't like the thought of Kabooming my nice Smith & Wesson!
Happened to get hold of a box of 158 grain semi-wadcutter cast lead bullets; thought I'd try them. So began researching loads to use.
Winchester reccommendation is for a max of 6.7 grains of 231 with 158 grain lead bullets. Couldn't find any other recipie than Winchester's for using 231 with 158 grain cast bullets, so nothing to compare it with. The Lyman books (47th, 48th, and Pistol & Revolver) don't mention using 231 in .357 magnum, Loadbooks of course repeats the Winchester reccommendation. My Sierra and Nosler books don't cover cast bullets.
OK, they know their own product I expect. Loaded up a series of 10 each of 6.0, 6.1, 6.2. 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, and 6.7 grains of 231 with my 158 grain cast lead bullets. To the range to try 'em out.
The 6.0 grain loads produced a tremendous report, a tremendous kick, lead on the outside of the cylinder of my revolver, and mediocre accuracy. Geez, that seemed like a lot of noise and recoil. (Far more so than my loads of 180 grain hard-cast bullets with 2400 powder. I had thought that that load barked loud.)
And I know that 231 is known for Kabooms if double-charged, which is doable because it takes very little space in the cartridge case.
So I stopped the testing. Asked the experts @ the range--One of 'em took a Hornady book off the shelf and found a max load of 231 with 158 cast bullets of 4 point something grains! Everybody agreed that the 6-plus grains of 231 was a huge overcharge.
And 4 plus grains of 231 sounds about right for a 158 grainer, since Winchester's reccommendation for a 200 grain lead bullet is 5.5 grains of 231. So why reccommend so much more powder for the 158 grainer????
Any comments or suggestions? I reload quite a number of rifle loads, and feel I know what I'm doing there, but to the present have only loaded a couple pistol loads, so I'm kind of in unknown waters as it were.
Is Winchester's recipie for 231 with 158 grain lead bullets excessive? Or is a huge noise and recoil and lead deposit to be expected and this is normal? Should I be using a different powder altogether?
Now I have 70 crimped rounds to pull the bullets from, so as to use the powder in my nice tame target loads. Bah! But I sure don't like the thought of Kabooming my nice Smith & Wesson!