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Does it makes since for a Newbie to start reloading now


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Check all your local gun shops.    Many will have used presses and even dies for a lot less than the cost of new ones.   If there are any gunshows, check 'em out.   They can be a good source for components.   And finally, as unlikely as it may seem, you can even sometimes find stuff at yard sales.

 

Other things to consider; if you happen to live near a military base, see if you can befriend someone who has ready access to all the brass that they would otherwise throw away.   You might wind up with half a dozen shotbags full of .38 Special brass.   Granted, since it's milsurp, you'll need a pocket swager, but I'll never need to buy .38s.   :)


And if you do buy loaded ammo, save the brass so you have a supply of it when you do start to load your own.

 

Good luck.

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21 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

If you are going light in .38 spl, it's hard to beat Hodgdon Clays powder (although Alliant Clay Dot does in my book, but not most loading manuals). 

 

Would you please expound on this a bit?
I'm always interested in learning about the cleanest, low pressure loads.

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11 hours ago, bgavin said:

Would you please expound on this a bit?

 

Clays has for many years been known for getting to low velocity loads well.   Bullseye used to have that crown - the king of pistol target powders.  Clays has taken that over in many ways, especially for gallery/cowboy/target loads.   But it can go up the scale a long way into medium velocity loads, too.   It's accuracy is very good - good enough to ring steel.  It meters really well in powder measures. And it's cleaner burning with less residue than many pistol/shotgun powders.

 

It's cheaper than other cowboy powders like Trail Boss per similar load.   The only thing Trail Boss really shines at is filling a case to prevent double charges.  But at 40-50% more powder cost in similar loads (pre-panic pricing used for this - I don't think it's even worth taking the volatile pricing today into account).  If you can adjust a powder measure and never double stroke a press (by paying attention) - there's no reason for a double charge - ever.  And I load with an RCBS Powder Lockout die which catches low powder charges as well as even 15% overcharging. 

 

It's useful for light shotgun loads as well.  Trail Boss has extremely little PUBLISHED data for shotshell loads.  Bullseye the same.    Red Dot and Titewad and ExtraLite have a lot of use in light shotshells.  But less use in light pistol cartridges.

 

After loading Clays for 10 years for shooters in highly competitive Cowboy shooting ranks, I've not found one other powder that is more generally excellent for main match ammunition loading.   Other powders can be very useful.  I really like WST for .45 auto target loads due to extreme accuracy with cast bullets.  Unique is great - but not at real low velocity levels or for general shotgun loads, or for being real clean.

 

But an outstanding and less commonly used powder even beats Clays in a few areas - that is  Alliant Clay Dot.  The only weak part for Clays performance that I have found is cold weather weakness in light loads.  Like at 70 power factor 125 grain loads in .38 special.  And by cold - meaning 40 degrees F or less.   When I replaced Clays with almost exactly the same weight of Clay Dot, I got that fixed, too.   Sometimes, data is not available for pistol cartridges with Clay Dot.   For the kind of very light pressures we use for cowboy shooting, I take Clays weight in a pistol cartridge, add 5% and get a load that's good for Clay Dot.  Your mileage may vary, but I'd bet not by much.

 

So, my real favorite for economical, clean, and consistent cowboy powders - turns out to be Clay Dot, usually slightly cheaper than Clays, and for the last 6 years or so, easier to find for sale, due to Clays production "changeovers" from Australia to Canada and import/transport problems.

 

But, of course, this kind of topic can be really subjective.  Everyone's needs from propellant seem to be different, and many times favorite choices are based on availability rather than cost-effective performance.   But, the findings above have been collected over about 15 years, and continue to hold up in my experience.

 

Is that what you were asking about?  GJ

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Absolutely.
Thanks so much for the schooling... much appreciated.

I wrote a routine to compare the cost of a given charge in grains.
My needs are 11,500 psi for the BHN=9 bullets I got from Ringer.
As you note above, the cost of Trail Boss is literally 2x higher per charge compared to Clays.
This is a Power Factor of 110.

The cartridge fill is 29% for Clays, and 86% for Trail Boss.
I'm well stocked with 8# of Clays, and 4# of Trail Boss
 

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