OT - Been doing a little reloading...

[Ysabel Kid]

... when I haven't been working so late. Knocked off at 1:00am this morning - after starting at 7:30am yesterday. Did take a couple hour break around dinner. Shouldn't complain though - I know a lot of folks are still looking for work.

Last year I bought some Whyte "Big Lube" bullets for use in black powder cartridges. I bought 250 each of .250-grain .45's, 200-grain .44's, and 160-grain .38's. Picked up some new Starline brass for the .38 Short Colt and .38 Long Colt too, so just figured they had to go together. So, over the course of the last month, here and there, I loaded up 100 rounds each of the .38 Short Colt and .38 Long Colt, and 45 round of the .38 Special (I had previously used 5 of these bullets with Y2K's science fair project).

To load these I used the Lyman 55 powder measure. No need for a drop tube with pistol cartridges.



Here they are, side by side, starting with the .38 Special on the left, then the .38 Long Colt, and finally the .38 Short Colt.



And another view:



I can't wait to get out to try these loads.

This brings me to a question. Finding genuine Goex black powder - or any real black powder - around here has become next to impossible. I blame the lawyers and regulators - and a lack of demand. Combine all three, and the stores in my area just aren't stocking any. I'm working off older supplies. Where do you all get your "black gold"? I would have to think that shipping it mail-order would have to be cost-prohibitive due to the hazmat (or other) fees.

Help! Loading black powder cartridges is addicting. I want to do some more (I'm loading up some .45 Schofield rounds now, and I previously loaded up some .44 Russians).

[stew71]

Hmmm....I have no problems finding BP around here...in Sacramento, CA of all places. But then, we have a Bass Pro Shop and a Cabela's only a couple of hours away in either direction. There are also a couple of local shops that seem to have a few cans of the stuff on hand when I need it. Plus, our shooting club is going to start carrying more BP supplies in the store as it becomes more and more popular.

When I can, I buy in bulk to minimize the hazmat fee.

Nice looking handloads. I've thought that if I ever pick up a Trapdoor, I'd take up reloading BP cartridges. But then I need another hobby like I need another hole in my head.

[hightime]

I'm not having trouble getting it around here in Northern MN. I use Goex FG and FFG. I shoot 45-110 Sharps and some 45 colt BP.
I like your ammo. I don't have much in 38. Maybe that should be my next mission. I've been limiting the BP to the single shots. I didn't want to mess up the lever guns.

Owen

[Pitchy]

Cool.

[Griff]

It mostly depends on two things... local fire ordnances, state law and skeered shop owners. SOME Bass-Pro Shops and Cabela's carry it... others don't.

Both a local range carries Goex, and our club does a "group buy" once a year or so to get our BP shooters a break and cover what would be a bunch of very small orders with each their own haz-mat fee, into one larger order and one haz-mat fee. I'm even thinking of making a trip to Powder, Inc. and pick up an even larger order if I can organize a group buy big enough for that and some lead... along with visiting a shoot or two enroute!

[Chas.]

It's my understanding that the laws that govern black powder are a bit different that those that govern smokeless because black powder is classified as an explosive. Don't know if that's true or not.

[Shasta]

Our local muzzleloading rifle club just gets together several guys who need powder, then order it by the case and divy it up when it arrives. The hazmat fee and shipping cost is averaged in. Last time cost was under $15 lb.

Here is one source we have used:

http://www.powderinc.com/


SHASTA

[Terry Murbach]

THE CARTRIDGE ON THE LEFT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT HAVE A SLIGHTLY HIGH PRIMER ON THAT "TOP" CORNER.

[Griff]

THE CARTRIDGE ON THE LEFT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT HAVE A SLIGHTLY HIGH PRIMER ON THAT "TOP" CORNER.

Now that you mentioned it... it looks like it's leaning a little in the top picture. Maybe an optical illusio?

[mran1126]

Can the same dies load the .38 long colt and the .38 special?

[Ysabel Kid]

THE CARTRIDGE ON THE LEFT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT HAVE A SLIGHTLY HIGH PRIMER ON THAT "TOP" CORNER.

Now that you mentioned it... it looks like it's leaning a little in the top picture. Maybe an optical illusio?

No - just my really, really poor photography skills...

[Ysabel Kid]

Can the same dies load the .38 long colt and the .38 special?

You might be able to - I use the same dies to load .38 Specials and .357 Magnums, or .44 Specials and .44 Magnums, but I don't have a need to. I picked up a set of .38 Short Colt/.38 Long Colt Lee Precision dies a few years back, and used them for both of those.

[M. M. Wright]

Ysabel,
I buy mine from Powder Inc., 25# at a time and he will let you mix it so I get mostly Goex and maybe 5# of Swiss for the more accurate loads. Most of my black goes downrange at cowboy targets so don't need extreme accuracy. The long range rifle side matches need to be as good as you can make them. You can buy 50# at a time if you have some buddies get together to make up an order.

[damienph]

Can the same dies load the .38 long colt and the .38 special?

You might be able to - I use the same dies to load .38 Specials and .357 Magnums, or .44 Specials and .44 Magnums, but I don't have a need to. I picked up a set of .38 Short Colt/.38 Long Colt Lee Precision dies a few years back, and used them for both of those.

I've used my RCBS 38/357 dies to deprime and resize 38 Longs but the brass wont go far enough up into the die to crimp. But since I was loading very light for a 1901 Army, not having the bullet crimped wasn't a problem.

I could turn the seating stem down far enough to seat and I could flare (bell) the cases but then after seating the bullet I would run the loaded case through the sizing die again with decapping pin removed.