357 with Blue Dot

[Goesfaster]

Did not want to thread jack so I will ask separate.

What is the best way to get all the powder to burn. Heavier projectile(more pressure required to move heavier bullet, burns more powder)or more crimp or ??? The load works well... I just get funny looks due to the cloud of smoke from what I think is unburnt powder

.357 magnum load
Standard primer
9.5 grains blue dot powder
158g lead SWC

686 4" revolver

[Bt Doctur]

try a different powder, cant have smoke from unburned powder.guessing that charge is around 900-1000fps

[promethean_spark]

I've gone through most of a pound of blue dot in 9mm (it was what I could get...) and it doesn't make noticeable smoke with 7.5g behind a 115g plated bullet. It could be the lube on your lead bullet, not the powder.

[rsrocket1]

The burn characteristics of Blue Dot is such that it does not burn completely in any pistol length barrel. It's just too slow and is meant to fill up the case, send the bullet out of the barrel fast and not generate excessive pressure. You are simply not going to burn more than 75% of it by the time the bullet exits a 4" barrel. If you bumped the charge to 10.2g and had a 16" barrel, you would burn about 95% of the powder by the time the bullet exits the barrel.

Don't worry about 100% powder consumption. Fast powders consume themselves quickly and generate high pressures without driving the bullet very fast. Slow powders do the opposite which allows you to drive bullets fast without going over pressure. The price you pay is more powder per charge and less efficiency.

If you are getting a big muzzle blast, it's not necessarily powder going off. The powder generates additional gases which ignite on contact with the oxygen rich environment outside the barrel. Some powders have a flash suppressant which reduces the blast. The real indication of unburnt powder is residual flakes in front of your shooting bench. If you increased the charge to the max (10.2g) you would also increase the powder consumption to 80%, but you'll probably make a bigger blast, more smoke and more recoil.

Frankly, if I am loading a big load for my 4" Ruger, I use Power Pistol. It also produces a nice big flash, lots of smoke and lets me know I'm shooting a big load. For target plinking 5g Unique in a 38SP case is just fine. 2.8g Red Dot or Clays is more like a rimfire.

Unless you are sure your lead bullets are fat enough for your barrel, I would not reduce the charge of Blue Dot very much or you might get a lot of lead in the barrel.

[Fishslayer]

It could be the lube on your lead bullet, not the powder.

I would say this ^^^. I use the same charge of 2400 under plated & tumble lubed cast. Not much smoke with the plated, with the cast it looks like I'm doing a War of Northern Aggression reenactment.