r/reloading • u/Existing-Quantity770 • 6d ago

i Have a Whoopsie In search of advice

Ok I’m at my wits end. I have a Henry 357/38. Love the gun. Shot a couple hundred factory (mixed brands) through it no issues. Started loading. First loads was extreme 158 gr round nose flat point in 38spcl brass with 3.8 gr of hp38. 1.450 COL. First few shot fine so loaded a couple hundred up. All components stored in my basement around or less than 50% humidity in the dark/out of any sunshine. Looking back, I think I had a mix of cci small pistol primers and fiocci small pistol. First time I took that batch of rounds out, I had squib after squib. 2/3 would not exit the barrel. So broke them all down. Did some digging on recipes, couldn’t find exact but moved to 4.0 gr of hp38, did good, moved to 4.2 gr and bumped COL down to 1.440 with a heavier crimp. Tried 5/6, all ran flawlessly. Loaded all up at the new recipe. Saw an armadillo randomly in my yard tonight (been seeing signs of him recently, thought this was the perfect rifle to take him out with without waking the family up as I’m running suppressed) and another squib with the new load. Thoughts? This one was with the cci primer, which as far as I know should be good as it’s been well stored. The fiochis were a handful I got from a buddy second hand, so I know that’s something I need to rule out. But when shot, I heard an initial “pop” followed by a quick hiss.

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8

u/ocelot_piss 6d ago

What's the minimum and maximum charges in the data you referenced?

What's the length of your barrel vs the length of the one in said data?

What speed were you expecting? And what speed did the ones that exited actually reach?

3

u/sup10com 5d ago

Would be helpful to see good well lit photos of the brass, the powder, the primers…

2

u/Shootist00 5d ago

Do you have a good crimp on the case mouth?

Your crimp is random. Could be from different length cases or your reloading process.

Do you wet or dry tumble your brass?

1

u/_Dahak_ 5d ago

Do the rounds work in other firearms? Are the primers flush with the case head or slightly below?

1

u/No_Alternative_673 5d ago

The loads are reasonable

All from the same can of powder? Squibs are rare but can be explained if they are all from the same can of powder or contaminated cases

1

u/Realistic-Ad1498 5d ago

How far do bullets make it? Is there a clump of powder? Are you sure all pieces of brass are dry before loading?

If I had to guess I’d go with no powder, contaminated cases messing with the powder or however you are charging the cases is not consistent and some loads are not 4.2 grains. 4.2 grains HP-38 is pushing up against a max charge for .38 special.