BE-86 Review 38 Special

[Che762x39]

I wanted to get away from Unique while it is a classic powder it has never metered well.

I am trying BE-86 which meters very well and I am using it in 38 Special. The bullet is X-Treme's plated 125 grain Flat Point. My Bullseye load is 4.5 grains of Bullseye and a similar load is 5.4 grains of BE-86.

The handgun is a S&W 686 Plus four inch. From looking at the pictures I would guess BE-86 eliminates 50% of the muzzle flash. The accuracy is comparable.

[9mmepiphany]

I've found BE-86 to be every bit as versatile as Unique while metering better and being cleaner

[ireload]

Have you guys loaded 38spl +P level with BE-86? I currently use Unique.

[stevec223]

I have tried Be-86 against Cfe-pistol and Titegroup with 125gr jacketed and plated bullets.. 38sp,,, 38+p and 357mag lower loads ,,for my 2in S-W mod 60 and 6in Colt Trooper... The Cfe-pistol has a lighter- smoother recoil impluse in the 2in at the same fps as the other powders... . So Cfe pistol is what I use for my .38-357 reloads...

[stevec223]

^^^... Sorry posted to quick and left out,,,,
Cheers....

[ireload]

I’ll have the to look at CFE Pistol and try it out. Thanks Stevec.

[jellybeenz17]

i use 2.8 of bullseye with 148 wadcutter.

[Pitchfork]

[trackcage]

I’ve been using X-TREME bullets for my re-loads but my regular source will no longer carry them because of problems they’ve had with X-TREME. Now it looks like Rainier is the main choice for bulk bullets where I trade. Probably not much difference in performance. Any thoughts?

Since you're posting on calguns I'll assume you have access to the internet.

Xtreme has gone through some quality concerns in my opinion. It's the main reason I started looking elsewhere about two years ago. I now shoot hi-tek coated which are made/coated by a number of reputable shops. Plated is fine too although inferior and more expensive in my opinion, for what I do.

[at_liberty]

I wanted to get away from Unique while it is a classic powder it has never metered well.

I am trying BE-86 which meters very well and I am using it in 38 Special. The bullet is X-Treme's plated 125 grain Flat Point. My Bullseye load is 4.5 grains of Bullseye and a similar load is 5.4 grains of BE-86.

The handgun is a S&W 686 Plus four inch. From looking at the pictures I would guess BE-86 eliminates 50% of the muzzle flash. The accuracy is comparable.

My reference shows 4.5 Bullseye with a 125 lead bullet to be near max for +p, while the BE-86 at 5.4 not at all close.

[Che762x39]

My reference shows 4.5 Bullseye with a 125 lead bullet to be near max for +p, while the BE-86 at 5.4 not at all close.

Good point. With the X-Treme plated 125 grain bullet I got impressive accuracy with 4.5 grains of Bullseye. With 5.4 grains of BE-86 not so much.

So back to the reloading bench.

[Che762x39]

... Xtreme has gone through some quality concerns in my opinion. It's the main reason I started looking elsewhere about two years ago. I now shoot hi-tek coated which are made/coated by a number of reputable shops. Plated is fine too although inferior and more expensive in my opinion, for what I do.

When I finish the current stockpile of X-Treme I plan on getting Rainier Bullets.