I have been reloading for rifles over 40 years and started reloading fort pistol s about 15 years ago. Been running rifle loads over the chronograph for 25 of those years but never have chronographed any pistol loads until today.
Well today I loaded up some 38 Specials with some Lee 125 gr.- FN cast bullets that I casted from wheel weights. Loaded to max of 5.3 grains of Unique as per Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. Book says I should be getting 944 FPS at the muzzle but the chronograph today says I am only getting 575 FPS. My pistolla only has a 2” snout rather than the 4” barrel Lyman used.
Have any of you chronographed your pistol reloads?
Do I add more Unique and work up to near spec velocity or do I live with what I am getting????
I'd probably experiment with some other loads from other manuals first. Adding more Unique is only wasting powder in a snubbie imho. I'd have to look but you might have better luck with something like N120 or one of the other slightly faster powders than Unique .... although I love Unique in just about everything non-mag pistol.
You might actually get decent results with something like Trail Boss for your particular load although ... I dunno, with a snubbie ... I never try to do too much with a snubbie. My wife's AirLite is loaded with some WCs I rolled up for her, low recoil slow I wanna say 148 or 158 grain wad cutters from Missouri Bullet traveling at something like 700 fps ... accurate as heck but not super fast. It will be all she needs should the need arise hopefully. She's very confident with it. You gotta remember 700 fps is more than two football fields ... per second. It's gonna leave a mark and it's plenty in a snubbie. Muzzle flash and blast alone is going to make the bad guy soil his britches.
