194 Grain Powder Coated In 357 Magnum

[jwp475]

Shot from a New Model Python 4.25" barrel

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Holy shit Batman! What powder are you using? I can barely hit that with my home cast 160s and 296.

 

[jwp475]

I'm using W-296 15 grains if memory serves with the bullet deep seated and crimped over the driving band

 

[JimP]

Reminds me of a officer of the law that I knew.

Back in 1975 he purchased a brand new Colt Python, and wanting to get into hand loading he picked up all the necessary tools and components to do so.

After he had shot the first box of 50 that the store had given him he sat down at the table to put some rounds together. He started out and was doing fine until it came to measuring the powder. He poured a quanity of W296 into a pan, then dipped a cartridge into it and filled it to the brim. He then took a bullet and figured that he had too much powder in the case, so he dumped enough out to where the bullet would fit. He then seated the bullet, he proceeded to do this with the next 49 cases following the same procedure.....he had heard that he needed to be consistent in his loadings.

Well, at the range the next day he showed up beaming from ear to ear thinking of his accomplishment. When we called a halt to the shooting to replace targets he walked out and placed his up on the supports. He then walked back and saw the rest of us ogling over that brand new Colt Python.

He loaded up as we all watched to see how this spectacular firearm was going to shoot.

At the first pull of the trigger some of us felt that something was wrong. The report was almost double from what we expected and the recoil made the shooter step back some. The second shot was similar to the first, only he was more braced for the recoil. Shots three and four were something else.

Then on shot number five it happened. The cylinder split open just under the top strap and there was a bulge at the forcing cone. The shooter was shaken and just sat down on the ground.

A number of us went over to see just what had happened. One person picked up that Colt to examine it as the rest of us checked on the shooter. We all thought that he was shooting factory rounds since he took them out of a new looking box. He then told us that he had loaded them himself.

One of the others in the group took one of the cartridges and pulled the bullet thinking something was amiss. He weighed the powder and asked the shooter what kind of powder it was, when he said W296 there was a silence as we thought about his stupidity as he was telling us how he put them together.

I can attest to the strength of the Colt Python, it lasted until the fifth round of a load that was nearly doubl what any manual called for with a 158 grain jacketed soft point.

This is a true story and it still amazes me to this day.