Had a less than pleasant surprise today when shooting my NAA Pug .22WMR. The hammer was cocked all the way back, but for some reason the cylinder did not rotate all the way into position. Not sure if it was the fault of the pawl or if it was something else, but my support hand’s thumb got peppered with debris. Looks like I’m gonna be sending it in for warranty…
I’m pissed at Federal for discontinuing the .38SPL+P HST Micro. So I wanted to see if I could make my own version, because I can. Since most backwards wadcutters on the market don’t expand well at .38SPL velocities, I decided to load them into .357 cases and use H110 instead of TiteGroup or another fast-burning powder so I could make better use of my revolver’s barrel length and get some hotter velocities. I couldn’t find any tests online using .357 wadcutters with H110/W296, let alone backwards ones, so I said “fuck it” and did it myself. With no load data to go off of, I cut a window into a .357 casing and taped it over so could see how much H110 would fill the case with the backwards wadcutter fully seated. After some trial and error, that amount was found to be around 12.0gr. For those who don’t know, H110 likes a nice full case of powder and does not like to be undercharged, as secondary detonation and pressure spikes are common when charged too far under the max case volume. The farthest below max volume I was willing to go was 11.5gr, which used as my starting load. I did 5 rounds of 11.5gr, 5 rounds of 12.0gr, and 5 rounds of 12.5gr, all of which were loaded into GFL .357 Mag casings, primed with CCI Small Pistol Magnum primers, and adequately crimped with my Lee Factory Crimp Die.
All 15 rounds were tested out of my 4.2” Ruger GP100 at a distance of 25 yards. All of them ignited perfectly with no signs of overpressure.
The 11.5gr load yielded an average velocity of 1003.9 FPS / 331 FPE. The 12.0gr load yielded an average of 1057.5 FPS / 368 FPE. The 12.5gr load yielded an average of 1084.6 FPS / 387 FPE.
I figured the higher velocity using H110 would offer more spin stabilization (better accuracy) for the backwards wadcutters, but the accuracy overall leaves something to be desired. At 25 yards, the best grouping was with the 12.0gr loading measuring roughly 2” CTC. All rounds landed left of my point of aim (gun is zeroed for 125gr XTP max loads). Not the best, but not the worst either considering the fact that these are being used exactly the opposite of how they were intended.
I bet these would expand very well in a ballistic medium due to the wide and deep hollow cavity, which could make them good for pest animals like raccoons and groundhogs. In desperate times, they could also be a solid close range defensive load. They are cheap to load for what they are, costing around 25 cents per round to make. Overall, I’m happy with the results and will continue to make these as a fun and unique range load. I’m likely gonna mess around and do some heavier charged loads like 12.5gr, 13.0gr and 13.5gr to see at what point overpressure signs start to show. I’ll make a separate post about those when I get the results.
Shown are the different color/shine, nose shape, as well as projectile length and hollow tail geometry. Just starting to reload wadcutters and bought both brands to see which one I liked more. I have not loaded or tested either of them yet. Based off of how they look, I’m guessing that the Campro will be more accurate based on how thin the bullet gets towards the tail. I think the thinness could allow the expanding gases to expand the bullet more uniformly to the bore, making it more accurate. I think this thinness could also seal the bore better, reducing gas escape and making better use of the propellant. This could give it a slightly higher velocity over the Berry’s when loaded with the same powder charge. The edges of the Campro’s nose is sharper than the Berry’s, which could lead to cleaner impact holes when shooting at paper.
I have very particular plans for these, and will be posting the journey as it unfolds.
My collection of stainless revolvers. From top to bottom: S&W Model 500, Ruger GP100, Ruger SP101, North American Arms Pug
Beretta 21A Bobcat Inox and NAA Pug .22 Magnum. Only two mouse guns I have as of now, but I plan on getting a few more in the future. I love how compact these are, and I especially love the power-to-size ratio of the .22WMR Pug!
A good client of mine inherited this from his father almost a decade ago. Stamped “76” on the barrel, made in West Germany (super cool to me as I’m fascinated with world history) and with the original box, papers and test target. Since getting it from his father, it just sat in the safe all for about two range trips. I asked how much he wanted, he told me to give him a number. I jokingly replied “$200” as I’m short on cash at the moment, and he said “deal.” He’s aware of what this could be worth ($500-$700), but told me that money is not an issue, and that he wanted to get rid of it to free up space in his safe for other guns. I couldn’t pass up on the offer. I took it to the range today and it was a blast! It will be shot semi-regularly and will be very well taken care of, just like my other guns. (PS, I told him if he ever wants it back, I totally understand and would gladly give it back. I’m not a scum bag I promise. Just a guy with a love for guns and history.)
Grandma said she was gonna dump these all down the sink as she hasn’t drank hard liquor in a very long time. She said take whatever I want, so I took all of what was unopened. Many of these are dating back to the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s based off the import label on some of them. The only one I’m familiar with is the JW Black, all the others are mystery bottles to me. Are there any good collector’s items in here?
3lb of fresh H110 and 2000x CCI SPM #550’s. These will be getting turned into some heavy hitting .357 mag loads, and then some even heavier .500 mag loads using the LRM primers that I have. Feels good to be restocked after having no H110 for the past 2 weeks.
We had a conversation about these pickles and he said they were great. Then 2 hours later he comes in with these in his hand. Can’t wait to chill them and crack them open. Will post review in the comments.
125gr Sierra SportsMaster crunched and crimped onto 22gr of Hodgdon H110 and primed with CCI Magnum primers. Shot through my 4-inch barrel GP100. I used 125gr XTP data which placed the starting load at 21gr and the max load at 22gr, so I made both. Here are the results! Consistent ignition, decent velocity, solid accuracy, and no serious signs of being over pressure. The average velocities are satisfactory aside from the extreme spread. This was my first time making compressed loads so the extreme spread is pretty large due to varying OAL. Next batch, I’m gonna do an initial crimp while seating instead of only using my Lee factory crimp die. This way the bullet will not get pushed out by the compressed powder. PLEASE NOTE: Even though the primers are a bit flat after firing, the black stuff seen on and around them is permanent marker to mark that they were the max loads. It is not escaped carbon.
Turns out my 158gr JHP’s loaded with 16.5gr of H110 on top of a CCI magnum primer only go about 1060fps out of my 4” GP100, which is just shy of 400 ft-lbs. That’s pathetic. Anyone have any load recipes they’ve used and tested that will push a 158gr bullet to 1300fps out of a 4” barrel? I figured H110 would do the trick but I guess I’m mistaken.
Saw this nickel finished Stoeger Coach Gun on the “used” rack at my LGS for just over 400 beans and I had a vision. List of mods, all of which were bought from Amazon minus the light:
Was planning to buy a separate stock to chop down and make a PGO but found out those are outlawed in my state. Wack.
I think it’s a nice modern touch to add to a traditional design. Not only does it look cool (imo), but it also adds to the long range accuracy potential that revolvers already have!
Went to my LGS to pick up a factory new SP101 and it came with the same defects that I’ve seen on four other Ruger revolvers that I’ve purchased. Off-center barrel, off-center front sight, and contact between the cylinder face and the forcing cone. Starting to think the Beretta takeover wouldn’t be too bad at this point.
S&W Bodyguard 2.0 or Glock 42? I know which one I’m picking…