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Old August 27, 2010, 05:38 PM   #1
Back Yard Shooter
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Why is the Bullet sticking in the barrel.

I loaded a .38 sp 125 gr plated flat point (Rainer Bullet) .357 with 2.3 gr win 231 powder. I crimped it with a lee crimp die a 1/2 turn as the directions say and stuck a bullet in the barrel. Then I used 2.6 gr powder and a 1/4 turn on the crimp die and stuck one more in the barrel. Why are they getting stuck in the barrel? I am having trouble finding loading data for this bullet.
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Old August 27, 2010, 05:48 PM   #2
Edward429451
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How long is your barrel?
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Old August 27, 2010, 05:58 PM   #3
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Are they sticking in the barrel when you test chamber the round and then remove it or when you actually fire the round?
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:06 PM   #4
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By any chance are you loading this in 357mag brass ????
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:09 PM   #5
Back Yard Shooter
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Why is the Bullet sticking in the barrel.

The barrel is 2" long. It is a S&W .38 sp 442-2 Airweight. The bullets are getting stuck when I fire the weapon. I made 10 and 1 got stuck. I hand measured the powder for all 10 rounds.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:09 PM   #6
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You pose a most interesting question. I have never used these bullets and you got me interested. I went to the Rainer bullet web site and they recommended loading their bullets as if they were cast lead bullets. If you go to the Reloading Pages of M.D.Smith,you may find some answers. I hope this helps.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:10 PM   #7
Back Yard Shooter
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Why is the Bullet sticking in the barrel.

I am loading .38 brass, new, rem.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:11 PM   #8
Clark500
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Hodgdon's basic reloading manual lists 4.9 gr of 231 behind a 125 gr Hornady XTP. Different bullet but same weight, so it would seem you are using a pretty low charge.

The manual shows the load above at 934 FPS and 16,300 CUP.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:18 PM   #9
Back Yard Shooter
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Why is the Bullet sticking in the barrel.

Capbuster, I seen these at midway.com and checked them out, I am looking at M.D. Smith now.
My first crimp was way too much, the seconded seems ok except for the one that got stuck, so what I did was load a dummy and crimped it, then tried to push the bullet in the case, it did not go in. I will try again with crimper just not so much.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:22 PM   #10
Back Yard Shooter
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Why is the Bullet sticking in the barrel.

I am useing a 125 gr bullet and I was not sure if a 125 xtp was the same, Well I know it is not the same as a 125 pfp.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:44 PM   #11
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Those are pretty light loads.
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Old August 27, 2010, 06:48 PM   #12
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You're just running the powder charge way too low. It's about half what it should be. Powder needs to increase as bullet weight goes down. It also needs to increase as the space under the bullet is increased by having a shorter bullet that isn't so deep in the case.

2.8 grains of 231 is a normal load for a 148 grains wadcutter (heavier) that is seated all the way down until it is flush with the case mouth (less space under it). If you were shooting an automatic, you might get away with spitting the bullet out with your tiny load, but a revolver has a narrow gap between the cylinder and barrel and that gap bleeds pressure down some when the bullet gets past it. That is one reason you have enough pressure to start the bullet into the bore, but it doesn't stay high enough to get all the way through it.

I just looked at Hodgdon's web site. They say that if you seat the bullet to 1.445", then your starting load (minimum charge) is 3.8 grains and your maximum load becomes 4.8 grains. I don't know what COL you are using, but suggest you use the Hodgdon data.
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Old August 27, 2010, 07:10 PM   #13
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By any chance are you finding a lot of unburned W231 powder left in the cylinder/throat?

You're running about half the minimum required powder for reliable ignition of a coated/ball powder. If you're not pushing the bullet out of the barrel, you probably aren't igniting (much of) the powder at all.

Kick it up to at least 4.3gr W231 as per:
http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
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Old August 27, 2010, 07:49 PM   #14
Back Yard Shooter
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Why is the Bullet sticking in the barrel.

Thank You all for the help, My questions were all Answered. Thank You Again.
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Old August 27, 2010, 08:36 PM   #15
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When I started reloading I tried to go as light as possible with 44 Special loads in 44 Mag cases. I don't think I burned any powder with super light loads. The primer was just enough force to send the bullet into the forcing cone and get stuck. This sounds like the same thing. Glad you found the answer you were looking for.
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Old August 27, 2010, 11:19 PM   #16
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Wow, 2.3gr of 231. That's about what a 25acp uses.
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Old August 28, 2010, 06:52 AM   #17
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It may be time to polish that chamber, it may be gummed up with something.
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Old August 29, 2010, 05:49 PM   #18
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I was gonna say, I don't think I've ever loaded anything with less that 3.5 grains of any powder. Check your load data.
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Old August 29, 2010, 08:44 PM   #19
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Where did you get your load data? Did you just pick it out of the air, or from a published source?
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Old August 29, 2010, 09:11 PM   #20
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Dahermit asked a very important question. You have already figured out what happened, but for another beginner, that would be a good question.

Did you find it in a manual somewhere?
Online?
Recommendation from someone?

How did you come up with your original recipe?
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