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Has anyone had experience loading the Hornady 148gr HBWC for the 52? If so; good or not so good? Currently using 2.8 gr. BE with ww primer. Results leave a little to be desired. With the Speer and Fed Match its a one hole group at 25yds. Off the Bench of course. Thanks in advance.
I had one of these pistols for many years and it was the most accurate handgun I have ever owned. Recoil was mild and it was a real pleasure to shoot. The spent cases also landed nearby so it was easy to pick them up. The load I used was 3.1 grains of # 231 with a 148 grain hollow base wadcutter bullet. You will have a great time with this gun.
For many years I have enjoyed shooting this pistol. It is truly a classic and it can work well with HBWC's, but it is possible that HWBC's do somewhat better in target revolvers. I however realized much success with the H&G #251, (not a HB),but a BBWC weighing 148 grains. With an H&G mold the bullet uniformity and quality is amazing. The 2.7-2.8 grains of Bullseye loading is a/the classic loading for the 38 special, (with a H&G #50 style WC) but I found the load to be a trifle warm because of the seating of the #251 bullet flat flush with the case mouth. Reducing the charge softened the recoil and improved the grouping, but I developed and finally settled on 2.6 grains of 700X which consistently shot the best groups for me...perhaps because it is a bit bulkier and improved the loading density. I sometimes used mil spec brass which was thicker so had to size my castings at .356. When using regular commercial brass such as WW or Rem, I sized bullets to .357. I lubed one groove(the bottom) only. I used two different lubes; my own mix of beeswax and vaseline or the old NRA 50/50 Alox/beeswax formula. Both shot the same. I'm sure that many other powder combinations are also possible. You are abolutely corrrect; off the bench at 25 yards it is one hole in the 10 ring all day long. It can be 1.0"-1.5" At 50 yards if you handweigh the bullets and the powder charges individually, adjust your trigger pull carefully, do a lot of synced breathing and loads of practice. All that takes a lot of patience and devotion; A shooting friend of mine did it, but it takes/took a lot of time as well. I'm currently working with a M952 which is a 9mm and supposedly in the same league as our 52's. We'll see. Good luck with/enjoy your targetmaster. JC
If you use mixed brands of brass in the S&W 52 you may have problems with functioning as some brands of brass is thicker than others. In this case use the Lee Factory Crimp Die. It resizes the case after the bullet is seated to what Lee calls high factory specs for loaded rounds. Have never had a problem again. Just don't load too hot with HBWW's as you can blow the bases off and ring you basrrel on the next round.
As mentioned the classic 2.7 load of Bulleseye under a HBWC and with PB'd WCs works very well in most revolvers. In the M52 with the bullets seated flush things can be a little different. A lot depends on the thickness of the the skirt and the depthof the HB along with the alloy used. With the soft lead swaged Hornady's I suggest starting at 2 gr and working up in 1/10 gr increments until accuracy goes south. In the event that accuracy is still poor to begin with at 2 gr and remains that way....well some guns do have their preferences so just get the Speer HBWCs.
Larry Gibson