I finally got around to picking up a chronograph and went out to do some testing on a bunch of my loads. Mildly overcast, 35 degrees, windy conditions. I got some seriously hinky readings and I'd like to see if anyone has some input.
My .38 special load is a 158gn plated round nose bullet with 4.0gn of HP-38. This is already a hair over the Lee manual's max of 3.7. Chronographed, I'm only getting about 500 fps, fired out of a 4" barrel. The manual claims this is good for about 800 fps.
Similarly, my .45 ACP load is a 230gn plated round nose bullet with 5.0gn of HP-38. 5.3 is the Lee max. I'm getting about 625 fps out of a 4.5" USP45 barrel, compared to the manual's claim of over 800 fps.
Why are my loads, already up against the manual's maximum, coming out over 25% slower than spec? I had individual .38 rounds as low as 435 fps. I could practically catch that in my hand.
My .38 special load is a 158gn plated round nose bullet with 4.0gn of HP-38. This is already a hair over the Lee manual's max of 3.7. Chronographed, I'm only getting about 500 fps, fired out of a 4" barrel. The manual claims this is good for about 800 fps.
Similarly, my .45 ACP load is a 230gn plated round nose bullet with 5.0gn of HP-38. 5.3 is the Lee max. I'm getting about 625 fps out of a 4.5" USP45 barrel, compared to the manual's claim of over 800 fps.
Why are my loads, already up against the manual's maximum, coming out over 25% slower than spec? I had individual .38 rounds as low as 435 fps. I could practically catch that in my hand.
Last edited: