Chasing statistics will keep you testing for a long time, trust me. One thing to keep track of is the grouping of these loads in addition to the data produced via the chrono. I'll bet beers group size doesn't correlate with better ES or SD numbers (for pistol).
Absolutely. In a low pressure cartridge such as 38spl, a faster burning powder at the upper half of the charge range is a better idea than trying to get a slow burning powder to operate at the low end of the charge range, even though they may give roughly the same velocity.Regarding CFE Pistol, again, it'll work, but if your intention is a plinking load, grab a faster powder. Clays, IMR Target (really good for .38 and plinking), BE, WST, N320, AA2, 231/244, will all do really well in .38 and a light plinking load. You don't have to load the faster powders at the top end of their load data and still have very well rounded loads.
Right! I didn’t mean to imply you should ignore statistics, especially if either the SD or ES indicate a problem. When I first got a chrono I was solely focused on the load with the lowest SD thinking that would be “the one”. After all, how can statistics lie??? After that I focused on precision first, with ES and SD being tolerable.However, all else equal, there is no reason not to pick a load that will give lower extreme spread.
100% agree with that! My journey with the chrono was much like yours.Right! I didn’t mean to imply you should ignore statistics, especially if either the SD or ES indicate a problem. When I first got a chrono I was solely focused on the load with the lowest SD thinking that would be “the one”. After all, how can statistics lie??? After that I focused on precision first, with ES and SD being tolerable.
Agreed.After that I focused on precision first, with ES and SD being tolerable.
I tend to look at the SD of pistol loads as an indicator of how "happy" a powder is for a given load. Some powders just don't do well at lower pressures.
That MF term has finally died, a slow, painful, and lingering death, please-please-please don't repeat/parrot itFor "mouse fart" loads (as one member put it), in .38 Spl with 158 Gr bullets I highly recommend WST or Competition. Accurate, much less position sensitive than many powders in this application, and very accurate.
The Franklin Armory Rotary Tumbler took over that complete name nomenclature themeWould you prefer "lighter than a popcorn fart"?
Do yourself a favor and don't waste time on CFE P in 38s. It is very poor in it and it's only tolerable in 357 at Max charges. I do like it in 40S&W.I agree Toprudder. I'm just looking for a good combo that the data tells me is burning efficiently and safely. I really don't like to see duds like the one I had at 250 fps. The only reason I'm looking at using CFE Pistol is that i have some handy. Most handgun calibers I load for Unique and CFE handles them all and this is the first one that didnt seem right with that combo. I loaded up the same test rounds as before with 10 of each headstamp to try out next time at the range using CFE. If those results still aren't satisfactory I'm going to look into HP38, Clays or Bullseye
At the risk of contributing even more geezer speak,Am I missing something here?
What’s wrong with the phrase “mouse farts”?
I’m 68 years old and grew up in the deep south rural farm country.
I don’t see an issue.
Just curious
I resemble that! I found it even funnier that @Catpop likes mouse farts.At the risk of contributing even more geezer speak,
OK, you guys need to STOP piling-on and drifting here, and get back on subject...Butterfly burp loads