Well now, the next chapter of the saga continues...
Took some light crimp, 3.3 grain Trail Boss loads to the local match.... What a disaster! I started with the 1851 .38s Kirsts on the first stage.
Shooting the 3.3 grains loads with the light crimp was like shooting a .22 Short!. All got was a "pop" and the 140 grain bullet just wiggled the knock down target! It was less than a "mouse f@rt" load. Talk about embarrassing! The cat calls and good natured laughter from the posse was relentless. For the next stage, I retrieved my 1860 Colt Kirst Saber River .45 and 1858 Remington NMA Kirst .45 from the truck. Shot clean with those.
I suspect the minimal crimp was the main culprit, with the reduced powder charge not building up much pressure. I now bumped it up to 3.8 grains, with a slightly tighter crimp, but not as severe as I was using. I also set the crimp at the very end of the case mouth. We will see how that does.
NOTE: When using the 140 grain heeled bullet in the .38 Colt case, it does not take up hardly any case capacity, so you really can't use the loading data for an inside lubed 140 grain bullet seated down into the .38 Colt case. With an OAL length of about 1.5", the .38 Colt heeled .38 Colt round is about the same as a 140 grain inside lubed bullet in a .38 Special case, and both rounds have about the same powder capacity. That's why I used .38 Special loading data.