Blazer .357

[Dan Morris]

I kinda inherited a case of mixed 125/158 grain of this stuff from an agency that hasn't used a .357 for about 5 years.Question is..on a cold cloudy day , you have a muzzle flash 2 ft long outta my M28.I did not dream this stuff was loaded that hot!No case problems and primers look ok.
Any one have any dealings with this ammo?
Dan

[SFC_E7]

Dan sounds like my old days of Wildcat Reloading and testing different Powders, Primers, and Cases. Depending on which powder you have selected and the particular brass and primer combined with the depth of the bullet will determine the Chamber Pressure. I remember when I was developing a load for a 30 Herrett with a 10" barrel that could not be over 2000FPS, but had to be able to knock over an eighty pound Steel Silhouette at 200 yards. By the time I got done I had a flame that was at least 3 feet if not more, but I had an average of 1995 FPS useing a 150 gr Silvertip, I was pushing that load in a 30-30 R-P cut down and resized for the 30 Herrett ignited by a Fed 210M Gold Match Rifle Primer.

Hard to say just what is the cause of your flames, as it could be a combination of components. Try reloading about 5 more and try it again and if you are like me you write all your loads down in your recipe book. You may want to back off 1/10 of a grain at a time.

Good Luck Dan

Don

[Dan Morris]

Don, this is Speer Blazer factory loads.......aluminum hulls.........
All my hand loads are warm but not like this stuff!
Dan

[Rew]

I have fired a few, very few, .357 blazers through my DW. They all have had a hugh muzzle blast, even with the 6" barrel. I don't have any idea why, but there is no way they are going to hurt your 28. Try them at night sometime, :D , make one hell of a 4th of July show :D

[Dan Morris]

Rew, at night, someone would call the fire dept!LOL.
I don;t know if it was storage or what, I've NEVER had a flame like this out of a pistol......thats why I used the N frame.......wasn't
sure of the history.
Dan
:D

[SFC_E7]

Sorry about that Dan

In this case what you are actually shooting is the CCI Blazer, the CCI Blazer is the same as a Speer Gold Dot only in an aluminum case. The main difference is the cost with the CCI Blazer being less than the Gold Dot, this is according to CCI. I believe there is a higher chamber pressure with the use of an aluminum case than that of a brass case. I guess I will have to buy some Blazers and give them a try and compare them to my Gold Dots. BTW I would not suggest trying to reload the aluminum cases, I believe they are a shot and they are done.

Don