38 special, campro 158 and Clays.

Craig0ry

Craig0ry

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
236   0   0
Location
Southen Alberta
My nights now seem to consist of reloading since there’s no where to go and the local range is closed down.
I’ve loaded all the 9mm I had the components to do. Now I’ve reconfigured the press for 38 special.
I have a good amount of 158gr campro and an abundance of clays powder, I don’t really want any other suggestions as it’s what I have to work with,
My book list the load at starting at 3.1 and max 3.6( I’ll double check that when Iam home from work)

My question, anyone had any issues with this load?(Clay’s in general) The intarweb tells me it’s a very nice soft shooting load. I was wondering if anyone had issues with unburnt powder or anything like that?
 
You can't really predict how a load will perform until you've tested it in your guns.

If I don't have time to work up a load, I'll typically go with what I call, the 80% rule.
That is 80% between the min and max charge ( 0% being minimum charge, 100% being max charge).

I've played around with a ton of different gun/caliber/powder/projectile combinations and majority of my guns seem to shoot well in the 75-80% range.
With that said, it's certainly not the safest way to develop a load, so use this technique with caution.
 
Craig0ry said:
My nights now seem to consist of reloading since there’s no where to go and the local range is closed down.
I’ve loaded all the 9mm I had the components to do. Now I’ve reconfigured the press for 38 special.
I have a good amount of 158gr campro and an abundance of clays powder, I don’t really want any other suggestions as it’s what I have to work with,
My book list the load at starting at 3.1 and max 3.6( I’ll double check that when Iam home from work)

My question, anyone had any issues with this load?(Clay’s in general) The intarweb tells me it’s a very nice soft shooting load. I was wondering if anyone had issues with unburnt powder or anything like that?
Click to expand...



What type of shooting do you normally do with your .38s? I shoot PPC, and go with light loads with minimum recoil.

I used a lot of Clay's in 9mm and and .38 S & W I never noticed it much in the 9mm but there did seem to be a bunch of it laying on the shooting bench table when I was shooting the .38 S & W. Powder charges were somewhat similar, the .38 were a heavier bullet, and were crimped in more solidly than the 9mm. One would think that the higher pressure might give a more complete burn. It did not seem so.

Hodgedon give 3.0 - 3.1 for std. 38 special, and 3.2 -4.6 for .357 mag. It has a fairly low bulk density, so should work very well.

Maybe use Magnum primers for more complete burn if it becomes an issue.

People tell me HP38 is dirty; that is all I have been using for the past 2 years in everything; 9mm, .40, .45, .38 special, and I will soon be loading some .357 just for fun. I use just cheap S & B primers (large and small) and I don't find it dirty; people tell me that the bulk density is too high for light loads and will cause ignition problems; have not found that either. LOL.

I have used 700X and a bit of 800X as well, and find it harder to meter than Clays or HP38, and not as clean.

Your clays will be just fine!
 
This 38 will merely be plinking ammo, decent accuracy will be a bonus, Gave my brother a 686 for x mas and he’s not much of a shooter, so just some ammo for him to have on hand when he does decide to go, Iam not overly worried that it won’t perform well, 686 seems to shoot just about anything well, And I need something to fill my time.
 
The 2019 Hodgon reloading manual shows a plated type 158 grain bullet with 3.0 - 3.1 grains of Clays.

I really like Clays or (Alliant) ClayDot with 148 grain wad cutters. If you are searching for a light recoil, target quality load, you might try some wad cutter bullets. And you don't have to seat them flush either. 2.5 grains should punch out the X ring at 25 yards if your revolver is quality & you do your part.

I've always found Clays & ClayDot to be really excellent powders in 38 special when the grains are 3.0 & under. Over 3.1 grains (like the cited manual above) I would always switch to another powder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom