Did I screw up on some reloads???

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okiefarmer

New member
Years ago, I bought the inventory from a fellow reloader who died. Told his wife he wanted it to go to another reloader who would use it and not just piece it out at a sale. 'Twas a batch of 148 grain wadcutter bullets all lubed up, about 500+/-. I finally had some time to get serious with some brass this winter after my hip was replaced and kept me from the farm. I got them all loaded up, after trying a handful at the range, with some 30+ year old Red Dot, at 2.3 grains under the WC projo. Never thought about the sizing, figuring most boolits for the 38 are gonna be around .356 to .357. I slugged my bore years ago, S&W Model 10, and if ya remember, the S&W are a bit hard to size but for the 5 groove barell, but I settled on .355 to .356, or thereabouts. I micced a boolit after all was loaded, and it was .355 I size almost all my own with a .357 H&I, and they come out somewhere between .356 and .357.

Am I gonna lead out the wazoo on these rounds. Not loaded very hot, just plinkers, so unlikely to melt much of the rearend of the bullet.

Just want someone elses' two cents on this.

TIA,

Okie out
 
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okiefarmer

New member
Well, lube night have been a concern too. They were lubed, a yelloe looking stuff, prolly 90% still in grooves, some had flaked off, but for the most part, still there. To be positive about things, mebee I should have just tossed them all in some alox as a safety. They are pretty low power, loaded them up for the wife unit, so she could start off with smoething light.
 
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Lost Sheep

New member
As I understand it, undersized lead bullets produce more leading than ones that are tight in the bore. The hot gasses get around the sides of the bullet and melt them. If your .355 bullets are not too hard, they should upset enough to make a good, proper seal in your .356 bore and you should have no problems

I would just shoot a cylinderfull or two and check for leading to be sure.

Good luck.


Lost Sheep
 
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Sport45

New member
You really won't know until you shoot them, but I think you'll be okay. It's not like lead is that hard to get out of the barrel anyway.
 
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lockinload

New member
That red dot is going to be some dirty powder. It would not be my choice of powder for anything other than 12 gauge. In any case if they are already loaded, it's too late now.
 
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orionengnr

New member
First manual I grabbed (Modern Reloading, Second Edition, copyright 2003, reprinted in 2007) shows 2.4 gr of Red Dot and a 148 gr WC to deliver 729 fps (no test barrel length noted, as far as I saw).

At that velocity, I think you will be fine, but there's only one way to find out for sure. Fortunately, it's a rather enjoyable process. :)

Please let us know how it works out.
 
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