Reloads info

[militant]

I got some reloads from a guy and want to know what you think about them. He said they were perfectly safe.
They are .357 mag
Powder used: HS 6
Weight of powder: 10.6 gr
Primer: fed march mag
Case: star
Bullet: 125 gr Speer

[AlaskaMike]

How much do you trust him? How much do you trust his attention to detail?

[mikld]

Personally, I don't shoot anybody's reloads. Max for a 125 gr. bullet, according to the Hodgon site is 10.9 and 10.6 is real close (a small oops or split second of loss of concentration can easily lead to an over max. load).

[madmo44mag]

Om occasion I have someone give me reloads for a gun they sold.
I'll knock a few apart and check the powder chg weight and if it is as stated I shoot them.
Those that the owner could not give me details on I used as components.
Knock them apart, toss the powder and reload them myself.

[nemesiss45]

I would be wary of shooting a near max load that someone else worked up for a different firearm.

Your gamble even if you know and trust the guy... wear goggles.

[JimDandy]

Your gamble even if you know and trust the guy... wear goggles.

And prosthetic hands.

If you know him well enough to trust his reloads, you know him too well to shoot them and ruin your friendship- either through his guilt, or your blaming him- if something goes wrong on that million to one mechanical failure of equipment.

If you don't know him well enough to trust his reloads, why would you consider it in the first place?

Tear them apart and recycle/reuse what you can.

[rclark]

If you trust the guy, then use your judgement. I wouldn't say yes or no. Sometimes at the range, I'll try another man's cartridges to see how the run in my gun and visa-versa. FWIW, I haven't tested that load as all I run is 158g SWCs in my .357s.

[Gster]

I agree with rclark, use your judgment. Most guns that go Kaboom, do so while shooting a load that was thought to be "perfectly safe".

[Nick_C_S]

This is not another admonishing post. I assume you got the whole point of shooting some else's reloads. That's for you to decide.

But I think what you are actually asking is if 10.6g of HS-6 under a Speer 125g bullet is safe (assuming it's loaded correctly). It just so happens that I have such a recipe. My max loading for a Speer 125g is 11.2g HS-6. It's nice and hot; yet shoots consistently; and it is in compliance with the Speer #14 manual.

I'm not a big fan of HS-6 in 38/357/44Spl/44Mag loadings. But the above-mentioned works fairly well.

[militant]

That's what i wanted to know ^^
Can the guns actually blow up? I watched a video on youtube of a mosin Nagant shooting a 7.62x54r hand loaded packed full of magnum powder that didn't explode.

[Nick_C_S]

I would be wary of shooting a near max load. . .

For my guns, I would not characterize 10.6g HS-6 as near-max. It's pretty much middle of the road.

It just so happens that I have chronographed the exact same (10.6g) recipe:
1237 fps though a 686 3"bbl
1273 fps though a 686 4"bbl
1284 fps though a 686 8-3/8"bbl
My notes state that there was some "yellow sand" (incomplete burning) - not a characteristic of a "near max" load. Nor were the recorded velocities.

My 11.2g recipe fared much better:
1271 fps though a 686 3"bbl
1315 fps though a 686 4"bbl
(didn't test through the 8-3/8")
My notes state that the burn was clean; variance was small; and the round is "set" (no further work-up required).

[nemesiss45]

It depends on a lot of factors, but yeah, guns do explode. I have a piece of shrapnel in my arm from just such a gun.

Granted, there were issues with the gun and the ammo was of unknown origin.... but that's the point. I learned my lesson and now I am very careful about what I shoot.

[green_MTman]

if we were talking about a .243 or 7mm-08 which are light for there action size.or a 25-06 or .270 which are also light for the long action size.
i could cautiously see it.if it were to over pressure it would most likely damage the shell casing.

but a hand gun,NO WAY

i dont recomend shooting max rifle loads for low recoil calibers relative to action size.honestly me personly i would put on goggles look away and shoot.

hand guns are not produced through action size and a series of calibers that fit that action size like 25-06, .270, .280, .30-06, .338-06, 35 whelen ect......
like rifles are. every hand gun is built unique to its caliber.

if you had a .25ACP in a .45 auto size gun,but a .25 or .380 is a super small purse or pant leg conceal carry not a heavy holster gun like a 9mm or 45

hand guns are designed only for the caliber there chambered for

[Nick_C_S]

Can the guns actually blow up?

The short answer is: "heck yes they can!"

But it's not easy. A gross overcharge generally results in a damaged gun - not a gun turned into multiple pieces of shrapnel.

(Either way, I don't wanna be the guy holding it at the time.)

Even the dreaded "double charge" (when the loader charges the case with powder twice, instead of just once) usually results in a pretty much destroyed gun, but it wouldn't leave nearby shooters ducking for cover. Guns are pretty though. But yes, they can, and have, blown to pieces.

BTW, 10.6g of HS-6 can not double-charge. A single charge exceeds 1/2 of the 357 case volume; thus, two charges worth would overflow the case. HS-6 is kind of fluffy.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by green_MTman

if we were talking about a .243 or 7mm-08 which are light for there action size.or a 25-06 or .270 which are also light for the long action size.

i could cautiously see it.if it were to over pressure it would most likely damage the shell casing.



but a hand gun,NO WAY



i dont recomend shooting max rifle loads for low recoil calibers relative to action size.honestly me personly i would put on goggles look away and shoot.



hand guns are not produced through action size and a series of calibers that fit that action size like 25-06, .270, .280, .30-06, .338-06, 35 whelen ect......

like rifles are. every hand gun is built unique to its caliber.



if you had a .25ACP in a .45 auto size gun,but a .25 or .380 is a super small purse or pant leg conceal carry not a heavy holster gun like a 9mm or 45



hand guns are designed only for the caliber there chambered for

Are you saying that you don't believe a handgun can be blown up?

[militant]

The guy claimed to be getting 1600 Fps out of his Rossi 20 inch. I got this ammo with a Ruger Black Hawk for home defense and am hoping these loads will do their job if needed.

[chris in va]

The guy claimed to be getting 1600 Fps out of his Rossi 20 inch. I got this ammo with a Ruger Black Hawk for home defense and am hoping these loads will do their job if needed.

An, the jist of the question comes out.

For HD purposes, get some factory ammo...not someone else's reloaded ammo.

[Nick_C_S]

I got this ammo . . . for home defense and am hoping these loads will do their job if needed.

If the loader did his job; and you do yours; the ammo will definitely do its.

[green_MTman]

@Brian_Pfleuger

of coarse hand guns can be blown up.that is what i was saying.hand guns are fragile and are designed for the caliber they shoot.

A hand gun is much more likely to explode then a rifle.
what i meant by they are designed for the caliber they shoot is for instance.

you have a super heavy 12.5 lb varminting rifle in a ultra light caliber like 22-250,some guys out west will stuff those things with powder untill the primers pop out.(not that they should do that)

i was just showing how much more fragile hand guns are than rifles and to never take risks handloading a pistol.

[Goatwhiskers]

Militant, I have one iron-clad rule: I NEVER shoot someone else's reloads, and I NEVER reload for others, tho I will cheerfully teach someone how to reload. As far as guns blowing up, I have in my years seen rifles with ruptured chamber area, blown out receivers, stock destroyed, and even with the bolt blown completely out. I have seen revolvers with blown out cylinders and frame destroyed, semi's with slide destroyed, magazine blown out and side panels destroyed. Let's not even talk about the injuries incurred. Anybody that loads rifles to the point that the primer is blown out is an IDIOT!! that doesn't understand interior ballistics and should only shoot factory ammo, maybe not even that. GW

[steveNChunter]

Can the guns actually blow up? I watched a video on youtube of a mosin Nagant shooting a 7.62x54r hand loaded packed full of magnum powder that didn't explode.

A powder with a very slow burn rate suitable for a large magnum cartridge would probably be a light load for the 7.62x54R since you would normally use a powder with a bit faster burn rate for that cartridge. Now a 7.62x54R case full of a handgun powder? That would be something to see. But only from a great distance with a string tied to the trigger! PS don't try it

The guy claimed to be getting 1600 Fps out of his Rossi 20 inch. I got this ammo with a Ruger Black Hawk for home defense and am hoping these loads will do their job if needed.

If the guy is being honest with you and the load was safe in a Rossi, it should be fine in a Ruger since they will actually tolerate more pressure than most revolvers. But as for the home defense part, I'd definitely be using factory ammo for that.

[buck460XVR]

Personally, I don't shoot anybody's reloads. Max for a 125 gr. bullet, according to the Hodgon site is 10.9 and 10.6 is real close

According to Speer with the bullet used, they show a max of 11.3 and they are generally on the conservative side. 10 gr is their start....so 10.6 is only mid-way and also a conservative load. They show this recipe using a Mag primer as did the OP's source. As for shooting someone else's reloads, it comes down to trust. While I would never shoot reloads from an unknown source, or from folks I don't trust, I do shoot reloads from folks I know use the same kind attention to detail as I do when it comes to reloading. This forum itself is testament that there are some folks out there other than me that can make safe ammo.