Just starting out and I'd say I'm smart enough to really mess this up. I have a Lee Classic Loader for .38 Spl, tons of Remington once fired brass, Wolf primers, and a jar of HS6 (because alot of the loads on the card that comes with the Lee loader used HS6 and its what they had.) Went to get some bullets, but local selection is limited - either a box of 100 158gr. FMJ or a box of 500 158gr. lead. I went with the FMJ as it was cheaper. I also have an old box of Lyman 168gr. .357 cast bullets that I got from a guy at the range who was getting out of the caliber. And of course the 2008 Hodgdon Basic Manual.
I will be shooting these with 2 K-Frames (10 w/4", 14 w/6"), 2 Tauri 357's (66 w/6", 606 w/2.5"), an N-Frame 357 (627 w/5") and a TC .357 Max 10". Here are my questions:
1. Hogdon lists the max load for a 158gr XTP (hoping that's comparable to an FMJ) as 6.6gr (18,700 CUP) - the .5cc dipper delivers 7.0gr of HS6. With all the tools listed above (don't have a scale, measure, or any other dippers) is there a technique to get 6.6 out of the dipper? Or should I just order the Lee Improved Powder Measure Kit and get the rest of the dippers? I know I should be starting lower and working up.
2. I'm not certain if the Lymans are the 358429 bullet; is there a way to tell? They are not in the original box. Can I use them in the .38s (K-Frames) or should I use those solely in the heavier framed .357s with .38 brass? Anybody have a load using HS6 and the 168gr bullet?
At this point I've not reached the economical advantage point of reloading, as my wife very graciously pointed out. She does however recognize the therapeutic value, especially when I deprimed 500 pieces of brass manually one at a time with a smile on my face.
S/F,
Chaps