Reloading for 38. Special

[Athk01]

Anyone here own the Lee Safety Scale? Is the way I am setting up the measurement correct?

[sbninja]

Anyone here own the Lee Safety Scale? Is the way I am setting up the measurement correct?

I have that scale
First set it on a level surface. make sure the balance "beam" swings freely and only touches the base at the fulcrum point. Hang the tray. Pull out the black slider lock pin in the slider and set the whole number (lower numbers) to 0, and line up the white line above in the zero, push the black slider locking pin in(so as not to lose your set point). now turn the balance adjusting screw so the beam pointer lines up with the mark on the base.

Sorry if you already know this :)

Ok, you want 3.2 grains, unlock the slider (pull out slider lock pin) move slider to left until lower lines up with 3, then slowly continue sliding left until the upper white line lines up  in the .2 then push the slider lock pin back in. Now your set at 3.2

I hope I explained it correctly.

[DoubleMike]

Having a second scale is not a bad idea but also not required. I have both a digital and balance scale. I actually like and trust the balance scale more than the digital one. But I do check on both after making an adjustment for a new load.

[sbninja]

Having a second scale is not a bad idea but also not required. I have both a digital and balance scale. I actually like and trust the balance scale more than the digital one. But I do check on both after making an adjustment for a new load.

I also have a Gem Pro 250 digital scale. Yes trusting the Balance scale is a safe idea. But some of these digital scales are really that good. And a good one is not cheap. The Gem pro 250 is a jewelry scale. and has an accuracy resolution 0.0001 for grams, and 0.02 for grains.
Old will knots is a good place to buy from, the amount of different scales they sell is mind boggling

Here is the one I have, hmmmm a  bit cheaper than when I bought it
http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/my-weigh-gempro-250.html

[Cd662]

I had a little trouble getting my Lee Safety Scale set up initially and settled on an RCBS electronic scale. While scales may differ and can have discrepancies, I'm also a believer in trying to chronograph rounds ocassionally to account for any differences between scales. The good thing about 38 Special is that it's forgiving in terms of reloading.

[Postal Bob]

The good thing about 38 Special is that it's forgiving in terms of reloading. 

It certainly is as someone here can totally attest to that. 

[Athk01]

Thanks for your help. It gives me some peace of mind.

[xdguy]

who could PB be refering too?

[bob]

No idea ...

[Athk01]

How forgiving is the load if I am -.01 grain(s) under? Minus how much gives puts you in squib range?

[xdguy]

for a revolver and your are say 3.2 the .01 is not going to make a noticable difference.

[Postal Bob]

.01 grains is a normal variation. Don't even worry about that.
And to say what will give you a squib load with a particular powder and bullet is hard to predict. But common practice is to start at 10% less of a starting load. So don't go lower than that just to be safe

[Cd662]

I agree with Postal Bob, there is no real "cut off point" for what will cause a squib and there can be a lot of velocity variance in certain 38 Special loads. Even "case insensitive" Titegroup seems to exhibit this from my testing. Just as a heads up though, that Titegroup may end up being a smoky load for those cast bullets. I used to load 160 grain lead round nose bullets from various manufacturers (combination of soft and hard cast) and had some smoking issues. I ended up switching mostly away from lead, for health reasons and for a cleaner load.

[Athk01]

Ok do I thought I did everything right but something went wrong.

I de-primed the brass. I primed the brass, dropped the correct among of powder pressed the bullet head in. The tip of the bullet was able to slide into the cylinder but about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down it would not go further. I loaded about 18 with this problem. Out of the 18 I was able to load 2 rounds. Both were loaded with 135 grain cast 3.2 grains of tite group powder, both shots were snappy. Unlike the 158 grain with whatever load was not snappy. Please assist.

[bob]

Sounds like you are not resizing correctly.  Make sure your full size die touches your shell holder.