The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 53 minutes ago, Mister Badly said: I use Trail Boss to visually verify the powder drop in my .357 cases. I load with a Lee 4 hole turret press. It's slow but I get feedback through the handle on every stage on one round. It helps me catch invisible splits in the sizing and belling stages. When I run out of TB I will switch to Clean shot, Titegroup, or HP38. The visual check will be a smidge more difficult but I wet tumble my cases so they reflect the light I have pointing at the case mouth pretty well. BIG difference between TB and the other powders you listed. I almost have to take the case out of the shellholder to see the powder level. Using Cleanshot in 45s and Titegroup in 38s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Badly Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 Yes. I'm using bullseye in my .38s. A local shooter passed away awhile back and his trailboss is up for sale. 5lb jug for $300. Seems a bit high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 8 minutes ago, Mister Badly said: Yes. I'm using bullseye in my .38s. A local shooter passed away awhile back and his trailboss is up for sale. 5lb jug for $300. Seems a bit high. Powder Valley catalogs 2-lb of Trail Boss for $90 so $225 would be the equivalent cost of 5-lbs. I would pay up to $200 for that jug if I wanted it. Regarding black powder and the BP subs, I agree they too offer safety from double charging. We had a local shooter who was banned from an indoor shooting range after destroying a revolver with damage as pictured in this thread. He switched to black powder and local CAS shooters were relieved. His smokeless reloads were noticeably erratic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 28 minutes ago, Mister Badly said: Yes. I'm using bullseye in my .38s. A local shooter passed away awhile back and his trailboss is up for sale. 5lb jug for $300. Seems a bit high. Here's a five pounder that recently sold for $858.99, shipped. https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1002705516 I've seen Trail Boss go for some pretty insane prices lately - apparently it's in demand by the sub-sonic/suppressor crowd, and they're really paying up for it. This auction was for two 9oz cans, nothing more. Not five pounders, not several more 9oz cans, just the eighteen ounces pictured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 2 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said: Powder Valley catalogs 2-lb of Trail Boss for $90 so $225 would be the equivalent cost of 5-lbs. I would pay up to $200 for that jug if I wanted it. PV shows out of stock, which is what they have said for well over a year. Same everywhere else I have looked. No matter where you get TB these days you are buying someone’s “new old stock” that is most likely a year or two old. I agree prices are ridiculous, but I am not a fan of TB anyway and thought it wasn’t worth the high price it commanded to begin with. Also buyer beware when buying on the secondary market as I just talked to a friend who bought a jug at a gun show that had clearly been mixed with a different powder. Accident or deliberate doesn’t matter, if he wasn’t a long time reloader and hadn’t noticed that could have been a disaster. Regards Gateway Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Lead Pepper Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 3 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said: This auction was for two 9oz cans, nothing more. Not five pounders, not several more 9oz cans, just the eighteen ounces pictured. I have two of these at home that I'm not using...didn't realize I was sitting on a goldmine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 17, 2023 Author Share Posted August 17, 2023 15 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said: I got a badge when I kaboomed this .38-40. How does one obtain such a badge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 4 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: How does one obtain such a badge? Blow a gun up and your butthead "friends" order one from eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jack Black Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 21 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: Started loading with WW231 since 1967. Been using a Dillon 550 since 1987. No issues.... Why, it's simple, I don't allow any distractions at all while loading. Phone OFF, TV OFF, no visitors! I may have a radio playing in the background at most. YOU, Have visitors? NO WAY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 14 hours ago, Texas Jack Black said: YOU, Have visitors? NO WAY My dog likes me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jack Black Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: My dog likes me That is a plus .I finally got my mother-in-law to like me I prefer the dog . Best Wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 2 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: My dog likes me That is only because he has figured out you know how to work the can opener. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusta B. Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 On 8/16/2023 at 11:05 PM, Three Foot Johnson said: If you leave the bench, either run the turntable empty or leave the handle down/ram up. This is a pretty good habit to acquire. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Ridge Regulator Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 Interesting that you were using 231, I bought a bottle of that last year and loaded 50 reduced power rounds using a 200 grain bullet, the loads were on the lower end of the load data and I was firing them at a slight downward angle towards my targets on a chilly fall day. I only shot 10 rounds because I had 3 or 4 rounds that sounded and recoiled waaaay different than the rest. Since these were test rounds for a new load I weighed every one by hand. That powder is under the bench and I have not used it since, I believe it may be position sensitive in a high volume case and not a powder I want to try in my 45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 11 minutes ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said: Interesting that you were using 231, I bought a bottle of that last year and loaded 50 reduced power rounds using a 200 grain bullet, the loads were on the lower end of the load data and I was firing them at a slight downward angle towards my targets on a chilly fall day. I only shot 10 rounds because I had 3 or 4 rounds that sounded and recoiled waaaay different than the rest. Since these were test rounds for a new load I weighed every one by hand. That powder is under the bench and I have not used it since, I believe it may be position sensitive in a high volume case and not a powder I want to try in my 45 If you go to the Hodgdon Reloading site you will find myriad loads for 45 Colt. 231 is an excellent powder that meters superbly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Ridge Regulator Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 It does meter great and yes there are lots of loads but 3 or 4 rounds out of 10 on hand weighed charges is enough to keep me away from using it on a 45 colt, I have not used that can of powder for anything else because I’m a bit suspicious of the powder in the can I know a lot of people who use 231/hp38 with great success but there are lots of good powders out there. I just find it interesting that he was using 231 and new loads is all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 One of our shooters blew up an original model .45 Vaquero, and swears up and down they were his regular CAS loads and "there's absolutely no way I could have double charged one". I don't recall the powder he used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 I was running the minimum load of 231 with a 200 grain bullet, 5.9 grains. I felt that these loads were quite "wimpy." The max load is listed as 8.0, so I upped to 6.5. Still light, but more respectable. But even a double of the min load exceeds the max. But yes, there would occasionally be a cartridge that seemed lighter, somehow. All of this add up to why I am gonna pull everything apart and start over. Interestingly, way back when, I used 231 in .45 ACP to good effect. The minimum load with a 200 grain bullet would not reliably cycle a 1911, so I found some 230 LRN (is that "softball?) and went with a mid range load, and it runs great in all my 1911's. I still use the 200 grain light load for use in shaved Webleys and 1917 revolvers. I had similar results with Trail Boss in the ACP. The 231 also worked very well in .32-20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 I'm sorry to hear you kaboomed a couple of revolvers, but glad nothing more than pride and nerves were affected. I was loading for my 45 Colt rounds and my balance beam scale kept giving me very divergent readings for the same powder drop. It might be consistent for 3 or 4 drops, then show heavy or light, then back. I stopped and called RCBS. At the time this was a 42 year old scale. No longer in production. They gave me a return authorization and said if they couldn't rebuild it, they'd replace it with their next better model. Turns out my bench was also not level. 2 weeks later I got a new RCBS 10-10 scale. Invoice in the box was stamped "Warranty" with "n/c" in the price column. I also have an digital scale, and the one thing they share is that before each use they get calibrated with a set of check weights. , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 19, 2023 Author Share Posted August 19, 2023 On 8/17/2023 at 3:26 PM, Three Foot Johnson said: Blow a gun up and your butthead "friends" order one from eBay. Don't seem to find it on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 19, 2023 Author Share Posted August 19, 2023 Ah, found it! I think I'll order one for each of my friends, and myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jack Black Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 On 8/16/2023 at 5:36 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Sadly, that's how I reload ALL my ammo. (Well, I use a turret press, but I do measure the powder charge for every cartridge.) Takes a bit longer, I think, but worth the effort. I must have measured a charge, dropped it in the case, and then repeated the process without realizing I had done so. Don't know how I made such a stupid mistake. If I made a list of all the mistakes I have made in life I would run out of paper. Best Wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunleather, SASS #46543 Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 Wow I sure glad to see I ain’t the only one to KFB a pistol. Dbl change of 231. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 9 hours ago, Gunleather, SASS #46543 said: Wow I sure glad to see I ain’t the only one to KFB a pistol. Dbl change of 231. KFB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 Ka F*****g Boom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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