So a little while ago I was wandering around FFF and decided to finally snag a pound of CFE Pistol powder. Figured I would use it with my plated/jacketed bullets.
I loaded up a ladder for .38 Special and am not overjoyed with the results:
***CHRONY DATA***
49 F, 29.97" Hg, 58%RH
.38 Special 158-gr X-Treme CPSWC 1.451-1.463" COAL CCI-500SPP
Ruger GP-100 with 4" barrel
CFE Pistol Powder:
4.6-gr - AVERAGE = 653 fps - ES = 97.1 - SD = 35.5
4.8-gr - AVERAGE = 662 fps - ES = 65.9 - SD = 25.9
5.0-gr - AVERAGE = 683 fps - ES = 82.2 - SD = 32.2
These are all slower than my W-231 and Red Dot loads. Same decently good crimp using Lee FCD. They also seem to be less consistent in terms of velocity. Only the 5.0-gr load seems even close to what I want in terms of average velocity.
Am I doing something wrong? This is the whole range that Hodgdon recommends for .38 Special. Going above this goes into "+P" range. Since I do own a couple of old .38 Special revolvers I never make "+P" loads in .38 Special brass; for that I just switch over to .357 Mag brass and data.
CFE Pistol chrono data
Moderators: Chuck, Mustang380gal, Coordinators, Moderators
- Morne
- OFCC Coordinator
- Posts: 10631
- Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:01 pm
- Location: Wayne County
CFE Pistol chrono data
Thus spoke Zarathustra.
Footsoldier in the Conservative Insurrection of the GOP.
Remember, only you can prevent big government!
Footsoldier in the Conservative Insurrection of the GOP.
Remember, only you can prevent big government!
- Morne
- OFCC Coordinator
- Posts: 10631
- Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:01 pm
- Location: Wayne County
Re: CFE Pistol chrono data
***CHRONY DATA***
55 F, 30.06" Hg, 34%RH
.44 Special 200-gr Hornady XTP 1.476-1.480" COAL CCI-300SPP
Taurus 44 with 6.5" ported barrel
CFE Pistol Powder:
6.6-gr - AVERAGE = 798 fps - ES = 51.8 - SD = 19.4
7.0-gr - AVERAGE = 826 fps - ES = 87.6 - SD = 34.2
These shot nice and soft. Not sure what, if any, significance there is to the ES/SD in this data. Since this was from a 6.5" barrel I imagine I will prefer the higher velocity so as to be sure to still be comfortably above the 700 fps floor even from a snubby.
55 F, 30.06" Hg, 34%RH
.44 Special 200-gr Hornady XTP 1.476-1.480" COAL CCI-300SPP
Taurus 44 with 6.5" ported barrel
CFE Pistol Powder:
6.6-gr - AVERAGE = 798 fps - ES = 51.8 - SD = 19.4
7.0-gr - AVERAGE = 826 fps - ES = 87.6 - SD = 34.2
These shot nice and soft. Not sure what, if any, significance there is to the ES/SD in this data. Since this was from a 6.5" barrel I imagine I will prefer the higher velocity so as to be sure to still be comfortably above the 700 fps floor even from a snubby.
Thus spoke Zarathustra.
Footsoldier in the Conservative Insurrection of the GOP.
Remember, only you can prevent big government!
Footsoldier in the Conservative Insurrection of the GOP.
Remember, only you can prevent big government!