The Eastern Edge of the American WestSeptember 25: On the road again, along Oklahoma 10:  With the Hornady load, my 38/357 revolver's recoil feels nearly as substantial as the 40 auto's 165/TiteGroup, which is the biggest load that I can handle quickly and effectively (emptying the gun, on target at 7 yards, without losing grip). To more closely match the feel of the two pistols, I reduce Speer's "40 Lite" load 6% to 4.7 grains of TiteGroup:
Decorating for the fall harvest, north of Tahlequah, capital of the Cherokee Nation:  It's interesting to note that the 38+P minor load's recoil feels like the 40/165 major load's in their respective firearms. A recoil spring is certainly A Good Thing: not only does it absorb/store much of the recoil coming back, but it then releases that energy going forward and in the process gets the sights back on target faster. After picking up OK 82 South, to I-40 West, then OK 2 South, looking west near the Sans Bois mountains:  The Speer manual uses TiteGroup from 4.0 to 4.7 grains for 793 to 917 fps in 40/180. After double-checking that I'm in the middle of their velocity range:
I next try 3.7 grains of TiteGroup because I would like to be on the low-pressure side of Speer's performance range. I also reduce the crimp, keeping just enough to eliminate any sign of belling at the case mouth. This drops the velocity (and maybe the impulse pressure) under Speer's 793 fps, and a packed-to-capacity pistol does not cycle quite enough to feed the second round: a lighter recoil spring or 3.8-grain load may be worth trying. Still, I typically download a round or two, so this glitch is not a priority.
North of Wilburton:  I had planned to use the 165-Lite as a major load in IPSC's Limited-10; major scoring has been the main appeal of that division over Production to me. But my accuracy goals (3 A's for every C, no D's; for both IPSC and IDPA) do not benefit appreciably from major's extra points, so I switched to the more accurate 180-minor load -- and eventually to Limited. My current loads are:
A late lunch at Pizza Hut, then back on scenic OK 2, picking up OK 1 East, humping over 2400-ft Talimena Mountain (the other end of the Ouachita Trail), and screaming down 21% grades between overlooks:  The 38-plink and 40-practice loads have ballistics close to Winchester's respective Value Packs at less than half the cost (if I donate my time spent recycling copper and zinc); while the 38-match and 40-match loads (i.e, my sporting ammo) are unavailable from any factory. So perhaps handloading is worth the effort after all. Then south on scenic US 259, past the Three Sticks Monument:  Rather than sorting my brass by headstamp, I sort them by their relative "bullet pull", as identified/felt in the expansion step of the handloading process. The more the mouth grips the expansion bell, the better it will grip the bullet, which in turn acts as a better -- not just more but actually better -- crimp. Thick cases are case-length checked because overly long cases will appear to be grippy. Thin cases are set aside for plink loads and lost-brass matches. On the road to Broken Bow for the night:  A friend sells me his 44-magnum Winchester 94 Trapper rifle. I can shoot it in Cherokee's pistol bays and learn about Elmer Keith's work with this caliber. I get his 250-grain, cast semi-wadcutters from Magnus via MidSouth and load them in grippy 44-Special cases with a separate, heavy roll crimp. Using Speer's pistol data, the start load with AA No. 5 proves more accurate at 30 yards than Power Pistol. My first shot misses the 40-yard plate rack, but the second knocks down 4 plates. At the duelling tree from 30 yards, I'd hit one plate and several would change sides, sometimes twice. Momentum transfer is pretty cool. (The rifle's longer barrel boosts the velocity an extra 140 fps to 1007.) On the 225-yard range, the only steel is an 18" gong, so I slide the rear sight all the way up and miss 2 of 3 times (benchrest). I slide the sight down a notch and hit all 3. Whoa. September 26: The last sign of the West on this trip, in Texas:  More 44 Special data (8.5 grains of AA No. 5 pushing a 250-grain Keith bullet out a 16" Winchester 94 at 1007 fps): flat out to 50 yards, 11" drop at 100 yards, 4" group at 225 yards -- not bad for an action and cartridge over 100 years old. Eventually, I hope to work out a 44-Special +P load for the 94 that I'm calling the "44 Elmer": 2400 pushing the 250-gr Keith bullet at 1250 fps -- his favorite hunting load -- but out of a rifle to lessen the recoil. I-20 across Louisiana, another tankful (561 miles, 51.2 mpg, Sinclair), to Jackson, north on the Natchez Trace parkway, and Columbus for the night. September 27: Another tankful (527 miles, 53.3 mpg, Chevron) back in Atlanta where, after a 2000-mile trip without incident, I get a flat tire. Last modified: 9/25/2008 |
