Lead bullets are great for such high-volume shooting. their 158 grain bullets to a MV of 1151 fps, and 15.5 grains of H110 Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. Any thoughts? I think 2400 is the most versatile and forgiving of the propellants commonly used in magnum pistol powders. I'd have to agree with some , 2400 and unique . Rottiejake said: I'm caught up with all my loads except .357 mag. At the VERY least, use a copper Gas Check lead bullet or a copper plated bullet. Rhode Island Department of Fish & Wildlife, State Agency: The .357 Sig handloads could have been loaded even hotter. JSP, .357 with JHP, .357 with JSP. For me, I use 231 for light plinkers in .357 mag with 125 grain cast bullets. Customer experience was, and still is, the primary focus, a key to the firms longevity and success. I used 13 gr of Alliant's 2400 under a 125 gr. bullets to a MV of 1335 fps, and 17.5 grains of 2400 will drive the New. Christian, Conservative American, Male, all three of which are currently under attack! No substitutions or transfers to third parties allowed. The .357 remains the best selling of Every cowboy needs a revolver. Handloading also lets you utilize a vast library of .38 Special loads, one of the .357s biggest perks. These two have always worked best for me. The action was not as smooth as I would like and the trigger pull was much too heavy at 8-1/2 lbs. Winners must respond within 30 days of receiving notification or an alternate winner will be selected. Deployed military should use stateside address. With Titegroup, say in 45ACP, you most likely could even put a triple charge in that case, I would be afraid of using it in any larger case. When customers ask us which powder is the best, the short answer is always "it depends!" . Something that might not handle a double charge even from it. Switch to jacketed bullets in the .357 Magnum levergun and things get really interesting. Contest open to U.S. residents only. Unique: Select A Caliber or Gauge Below To View Recipes. Unique is a great choice. 20 gauge. Wyoming Game & Fish Department, State Agency: . Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Rhode Island Department of Fish & Wildlife, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Mississippi Deptartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks, Minnesota Deptartment of Natural Resources, Michigan Deptartment of Natural Resources, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. In the .357 for heavy loads I have come to love Hodgdon's Lil'Gun w/magnum primers. 6.1 gr. Lets just say midway tween low and high , In my opinion the K frames just aren't stout enuf for a steady diet of high pressure stuff. Free shipping for many products! Contest open to U.S. residents only. I'm looking for a really strong suggestion for two different loads. Snuffy. (III) Giveaway winner(s) chosen by random drawing. So, youll need a .357 magnum firearm and a reloading press to really enjoy the cartridge. These bullets have a cannelure. July 31, 2021. The Hornady 140 grain FTX bullet is different from other 357 jacketed bullets a couple of important points need to be made right off: Cases will need to be trimmed to 1.240" instead of the usual 1.290". Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly depending upon your point of view, factory chambered leverguns for the .44 Magnum were offered more than 15 years before arriving in .357 Magnum. A 50-ft target with the .357 Blackhawk using 158-grain cast flatpoints with 7.0 grains of Unique. It was not long before Winchester Model 1892s originally in .32-20 were converted to .357 Magnum. bought commercially (in the 70s). All with good results. 7, #2230, and #2460 are products of Accurate Arms Company WMR, 760, 748, 231, 296 and 540 are products of Winchester, Components Div. All of these bullets (below) can be used successfully in the .357 Magnum rifle 2) Am I likely to shoot it more often than my .357s? As great as the .357 is, it doesnt show its potential unless you start handloading it. No substitutions or transfers to third parties allowed. Discussion in 'Handloading and Reloading' started by Throwingdown, May 26, 2009. They claim it is position insensitive but, I am not buying that. in the field and very accurate. My ammo doesn't only go in S&W firearms, there are a few other brands that I have so, I have to watch what I reload. All information is provided "as is" with all faults without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife, State Agency: In 1935, Smith & Wesson introduced the .357 Magnum. can also shoot all .38 Special ammunition. It is suitable only for full power magnum handgun loads and .30 Carbine loads. It would be great if I could also use it for .44 mag and .44 special. But in those three disciplines, the .357s potential is going untapped, you could argue. The .357 Magnum: Most Versatile Handgun Round Ever? The Browning was dropped in 1986 but the Marlin and Rossi remain and we also have the .357 Magnum available in both 1873 and 1892 Winchesters, the Henry Big Boy and for a while, Ruger even offered their bolt action, five-shot, stainless steel Model 77/357. I've considered H110, but didn't know if it would be a good "all around" powder. The .357 Magnum was developed as a joint effort between Smith & Wesson (S&W) and Winchester, and was formally introduced in 1935. Here are the features to watch out for. You can get some rounds with wallop from a manufacturerbut itll cost you. May not be the 'best' for all of them, but I've used it for .32 H&R Mag, 9mm, .38 Spl, .357 Mag, 45 ACP, and .45 Colt all with decent acceptable results. A forum community dedicated to Smith & Wesson firearm owners and enthusiasts. Need Help?service@guns.comCall (866)582-4867, PO Box 1131 13800 Nicollet Blvd Burnsville, MN 55337 2023Guns.com. Ive never seen a 90-grain load in a store. The same cartridge and rifle can be used for predator control if you occasionally find the need to deal with marauding coyotes and like to keep a gun by the back door. I'd like to shoot a few hundred rounds before I do that. If I was starting out to load a magnum pistol, like .357, .41, .44, or T/C/Ruger-Only .45 Colt, I'D want Alliant 2400 to learn on. Michigan Deptartment of Natural Resources, State Agency: For the most part, I use the same loads in .357 Magnum leverguns as I do in sixguns chambered for the same cartridge. Copyright 2004, 2016 by Chuck Hawks. 6.4 gr. I use Clays in .38s. If that works for you, forge onward. John said in 1983, All in all, I wound up this research project considerably more impressed with the .357 Magnum as a rifle cartridge than I expected to be when I started out the little pistol round can deliver the goods in a rifle and more importantly, provide an awful lot of shooting fun per penny in the process. I've tried Unique and Bullseye, and I've found the Red Dot burns cleaner . While these arent pleasant to shoot, getting mauled is worse. Giveaway prizes may have evidence of being test fired or exhibit minor handling marks. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up. Can you do it? It takes me all day to do what I used to do all day - but I still enjoy doin' it! Bullets are .357 for jacketed and .358 for lead in diameter. Thanks for your patience. The .357 Magnum is probably the most widely-used revolver cartridge today, managing to thrive in an era where the wheelguns and associated cartridges are growing scarce. In developing a load to use for both, a lot of trouble can be avoided if one finds a good load for the rifle first instead of the other way around. (III) Giveaway winner(s) chosen by random drawing. I just checked my powders, and I have way too much Bullseye, and only a fair amount of 2400. (IV) Winners must undergo a background check (when required) and comply with all other federal, state and local laws. IMR TrailBoss are products of IMR (formerly DuPont) Powder Company. What should the discerning collector look for in a potential buy? Several of these can also be used in rifle cartridges, so its good to have Securely hold 6 rounds of revolver ammunition and conveniently load two rounds at a time. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, State Agency: This morning I shot my first 357mag handloads in my Ruger GP-100. field (against large predators). To protect the privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public. Associated taxes and fees are the responsibility of winners. A stiff .357 load is plenty of punch for a relatively delicate animal like a whitetail. I'm off to a slow start because I have other things going on, but I should be ready to rock real soon. Federal Centerfire Primers. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, State Agency: The .357 Mag is one of the most flexible handgun rounds. recommended), (you can try 3.3 gr. The powders that are considered "Magnum Powders" are: AA#9, Alliant 2400, W296/H110, both IMR & H4227, Ramshot Enforcer and VV N350. These figures are all for a 4" all magnum handgun cartridges and among the top 10 best selling handgun I'm thinking Unique, but I'm not sure. A Magnum primer will help get a complete burn with HP38/W231. Powder requirements for the plated bullets are supposed to be half way between lead and jacketed reloading data. If you do use Titegroup, be aware that it is a particularly compact powder. Great powder for the heaviest .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum and .44 Magnum loads. I dont worry about the power factor much because CAS threshold is so low, its not worth the tiny savings in recoil against having to compensate for a two inch high point of impact. It would (just) make major from a 6" barrel back when a 6 shot .357 could still be somewhat competitive in USPSA revolver class. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. Posts: 3,825. My friend the late John Wootters raised this question in an article from 1983 and even before this, in November 1982, Ken Waters published Pet Loads for the .357 Magnum Carbine.. I have been working up some loads for my 357's (686 6", 27 5", and 28 4") using Alliant Power Pro 300MP. I have H110 for my 357 Magnum hot loads however, not recommended for lead bullets due to needing to keep the velocity down. Winners must respond within 30 days of receiving notification or an alternate winner will be selected. For .357 the old standby was 2400. 5.5 to 5.8 grains of Titegroup always worked well for me with pretty much any jacketed or plated 158 gr. And the .45 Schofield cowboy loads recorded lower velocities than expected but delivered excellent accuracy. Alliant Powder Smokeless Powders. But it may depend on your definition of 'full power'. Trail Boss is an awesome powder for loading the 158 grain semiwadcutter to moderate magnum levels, retaining good performance and fun without inducing arthritis. will drive those bullets to a MV of 1217 fps. It has been my favorite .357Mag load for 40+yr. Follow the reloading manuals precisely. If I was going to use W231 in the .357 mag with 158gr lead bullets I'd keep the load below Speers 5.4gr max and and less than 1,000 fps with soflt swagged or cast bullets. Also 231, which is a completely different type of powder and meters better. Originally Posted by Hick. Hand loading self-defense ammo isnt recommended so well table that, but you can load up practice rounds that can approximate your chosen self-defense loads. were measured in a 6" S&W revolver barrel using Speer cases and It may not display this or other websites correctly. flatnose hard cast bullet. This is super-low recoiling, and in a relatively heavy gun like a S&W 686, you may find shorter split times than the autoloader shooters. The minimum charge of WW296 (H-110 same stuff ) Winchester used to publish in the re-loading pamphlet was 14.5gr and SP Magnum primer, under a 158gr SWC. Where can we push the limit of a compact but powerful cartridge for competitions sake? Buffalo Bore offers a hard-hitting, high-velocity 180-grain JHP loading well-suited to taking deer-sized game at 50 yards or so. It is a good solid gun but I made a few personal changes. section of the Speer Reloading Manual Number 14 Clays, Universal, HP38, HS6 and H4895 are products of Hodgdon Powders. The company made its humble start in 1963in Gussago, Italywhen Giuseppe Pietta made a commitment to produce guns as authentic and true-to-original as possible. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. By signing up you agree to Guns.com's & Wesson as the world's most powerful handgun cartridge. Made from a flexible urethane material. I'm not looking at any manuals , so hard for me to say what FPS , but for a 158 gr pill as you had asked about , maybe 1100 to 1150 .?? Its one of the few handgun loads short of a 44 magnum that may deter a bear; it will do more than that to wolves, hogs or large cats. This includes the majority of mainstream handgun rounds including the 9mm, 38 Special, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. Take it from a guy that chased for the holy grail of powder to do both well for over a yearjust buy two different powders. The Hornady 158 XTP-JHP over 15.5 grains of H110 is just under 1,600 fps in the Marlin and Rossi .357 leverguns. Being used to SD of 12 for precision rifle I was taken back to see SD in the 50's for some of 357 Mag loads. Mississippi Deptartment of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks, State Agency: Note: Hodgdon as of 2009 controls IMR and Winchester Powders. "I'm not often right but I've never been wrong. Contest void where prohibited by law. 296 fan. While the Colt Model 601 was the first AR-15 to be mass-produced, there were several design variations that came before during the platform's development. I'm looking for the best powder to load .357. According to Quickload .357 data using a .357, 158, Sierra JSP FN 8340. If you want to download your .357 Magnum ammo 2400 is a better choice. The four most common for magnum .357 loads would probably be Alliant 2400, Alliant #9, Hodgdon H110, Winchester W-296. You can. All entries must be received by giveaway end date. To protect the privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public. Below, are three loaded rounds. To protect the privacy and security of winners, names will not be made public. Left to right: 160 gr. Factory warranties may apply in some cases. length article about the .357 Magnum can be found on the Handgun . For most of my big-bore sixgun loads I use straight wheelweights for loads under 1,100 fps; however, with the smaller diameter .357 Magnum bullets I prefer a harder alloy and normally mix lead and type metal in equal amounts. The benefits of this are twofold. Winchester 296/Hogdon H110 is a powder which cannot and must not be used for light metallic cartridge loads! (II) Limit one (1) entry per household; multiple entries will disqualify entrants. Due to different barrel lengths, type of bullet, seating depth, primer type and other factors, you may not get near the FPS charted. I'm assuming I can just use any 170 gr bullet data but want to make sure. If you find your way down to Rod & Gun of New Bedford Sunday you can try some of my .38 loads. Second Media Corp., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. New York Department of Environmental Conservation, State Agency: Life is worth living make every minute of every day count for you. For a medium velocity load in .357 Magnum cases with 158-160 grain bullets at 1.58" OAL use these as minimum start loads and OK to increase a grain or so as needed to get best accuracy. Free shipping for many products! No purchase necessary. Then use whatever you can find cheap for 38 special right now. NEI #200.358GC. Contest open to U.S. residents only. Contest open to U.S. residents only. The reason I moved to Alliant Power Pro 300MP was I was impressed with what I read about it and have found it to be very clean burning, relatively low muzzle flash, accurate and can get a 150 to 250 more fps while still keeping well within the SAAMI 35,000 psi limit. Idaho Department of Fish & Game, State Agency: not in popularity or usefulness. This high energy powder provides economy in loading. Also, started with SP Magnum primers and had about 10 % misfires and unburned powder in lighter loads. Its not exact practice, but it wont bankrupt you to shoot them weekly. . The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is the sixgun by which all other .44 Magnums are judged. Winners must respond within 30 days of receiving notification or an alternate winner will be selected. For large game, the Hornady FTX projectiles reign supreme. I'd be happy with 1300 or 1400. There are now 25 states with so-called Constitutional carry and Florida appears to be approaching permitless carry, which translates to more citizens S&W Set The Bar For Magnum Handgun Performance 50 Years Ago. (Photo: Andy C). This year, H&R announced an expansion of its AR-15 lineup, bringing additional "retro" models to the market, including a 9 mm Luger-chambered Colt SMG clone, an M16A2-styled rifle and the carbine-size 723. Can't seem to find any load data for these specific bullets. For midrange loads I use Power Pistol, and for full magnum loads I use 2400. I just use a minimum charge of 15gr of 296 with 158gr coated lead bullets. (II) Limit one (1) entry per household; multiple entries will disqualify entrants. The best powder I've used, and I've tried many, is . State Agency: Subscribe To GUNS Magazine. Associated taxes and fees are the responsibility of winners. W296 is slow burning and needs a case full to ensure complete ignition. We don't want you to blow yourself or your guns up either. Some loads use bullets of .358 for jacketed and .359 for lead. If you are looking for a target/plinking load for your 357's I have found using 5.5 grains of Unique behind either a 158 grain LSWC or Rainier Plated bullet to be very accurate and pleasurable to shoot. This is a good load. Bullseye is also good in .38 Special. I use a good bit of Titegroup in .380, 9mm, .40 and .45ACP. The .38 Spl. Not that a single charge would or could be bad, but, because it is so dense, combine that with say, your favorite Glock 22 with a heavy bullet and nowyou are going to have a problem. Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, State Agency: Employees and agents of Publishers Development Corp. are not eligible. Not sure of your experience level , ya need to get some manuals and study up the bullet weights your gonna shoot. If the tolerances are close between minimum and maximum loads, imagine what the effect of different bullets might be. Associated taxes and fees are the responsibility of winners. The bullet gets a clean kill without fragmenting. They list 4 gn of Unique will give 900 FPS with a 140gn bullet. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. Gregory, just to give you an idea about Unique, I have loaded 357 mag with a 158 jacketed round to 7.5 grains using Winchester primers. Deployed military should use stateside address. However, load them in the Henry Big Boy and we pick up 375 fps and 250 fps respectively. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up. for quite some time. Just depends on what kinds of loads you plan to shoot. Contest void where prohibited by law. (I) Giveaway ends September 30, 2021. Unique is a good powder to start with. When you want to go up to heavier loads in the mag cases try IMR4227 or 2400. It looks like anything over 950 fps is pretty much topping out the range for this revolver. Reloading Handbook, 2nd edition. I use hodgdon HS6 and Lil gun for my .357 loads and lilgun for the .454 casull. If the loads work in the rifle barrel its almost a sure thing they will do fine in the sixgun, however it is almost imperative one uses either jacketed or hard cast gas-checked bullets in the rifle barrel. You can try bowling pin shooting or metallic silhouette. Reloading Manual shows that 13.9 grains of H110 will drive These are good full power hunting loads. that can be adapted to all types of activity. A comparatively fast burning powder with a burn rate about the same as Winchester 231 and Alliant Red Dot. A shooter using the .357 must limit himself to broad-side shots on deer. I'll admit they're a little stout, but still fun to shoot. Load data is available for 9mm Luger, .38 Super Auto, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .44 S&W Special, .44 Remington Magnum, .45 ACP and . by 9.8 grains of HS-6. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Will you get good performance out of both calibers? The last one, a brand-new Remington/Marlin, came from my local gun shop a couple months back. Minnesota Deptartment of Natural Resources, State Agency: One powder for 38 and 357mag. IPSCs revolver division rules basically demand a .45 ACP moonclip gun, but in IDPA the speedloader-fed .357 magnums are alive and well. 2400, CFE Pistol, BE-86, Power Pistol, Sport Pistol. Sounds like things are going real good with the reloading, Chance. If you dont handload, fear notthe .357 is one of the easiest rounds to learn on. Here's what it's like to shoot this classic scattergun. AA#9 and a few others in the same burn rate range are . The same thing happened 20 years later with the new .44 Magnum and the Winchester Model 1892, which had originally been chambered in .44-40. All kinds of projectiles, all kinds of usesall of them .357. We dont always need full power loads and my more pleasant shooting loads are assembled with H4227. No purchase necessary. Even though two bullets have the same weight, they may have considerably different bearing surfaces and other characteristics that alter their performance and chamber pressure characteristics. Result of not working out is a kaboom and potential injury. Flexibility of the .357 Mag. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, State Agency: Any of the recommendations here are spot on, but I will say I've always used Unique and 2400 for .357's, buy it by the 4lb container, never had issues with metering, but I'm sure it depends on the powder measure your using. The versatility of loads for the .357 cartridge means that it excels as an all-purpose handgun round, suitable for just about every shooting activity imaginable: For recreational shooting, full-tilt .357 Magnum loads are pretty intense for extended sessions on both the hands and the wallet out of most revolvers. Instead I recommend switching your powder load to Blue Dot and loading up a 180 grain lead bullet. New Mexico Department of Game & Fish, State Agency: No substitutions or transfers to third parties allowed. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up. The armor piercing round was Dillon Precision 14400 38 Spl 357 Mag Pistol 3 Three Die Set Carbide Brand New. Prizes will not be awarded if illegal in jurisdiction of winners. Unique and Winchester 231 seem to be two common powders that show up under both calibers in the Hornady reloading manual. 10 gauge. It has all the metering benefits that come with a spherical powder but has significantly more volume per charge weight than other options. For lead bullets, Unique is great. Nor with small hard bullets are you going to be leading free. No substitutions or transfers to third parties allowed. (Photo: Andy C). For heavy loads, the Speer Most likely I'll be loading lead bullets. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, State Agency: I have probably tried a little of every thing and I seem like Titegroup a little better than any other pistol powder that I have used. Any .357 Magnum revolver . Illinois Department of Natural Resources, State Agency: Associated taxes and fees are the responsibility of winners. I use it in .38 Special, .357 Mag, 45 ACP and even light loads in .41 Mag. I agree with @Knob Creek on the clays though. The famous .357 Magnum, This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. and Hodgdon HS-6 powders excellent for low and medium velocity loads I have used Red Dot, Promo, W-231, HP-38, Titegroup, & Unique. Home Of The First Capitol Of The Confederate State, REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, DISTRICT OF ROUND ROCK. If you hunt in predominantly tight spaces with shorter sight lines, a .357 lever rifle is a wonderful gun to carry all day. The revolver has fallen out of favour in Bullseye but it still makes a great centrefire gun, and one of handgunnings most accurate loadsthe 148 grain hollow based wadcutter with Bullseye powdersaw most of its use here. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, State Agency: Feb 15, 2017. rules basically demand a .45 ACP moonclip gun, but in IDPA the speedloader-fed .357 magnums are alive and well. Mail-in entries accepted; send postcards (no envelopes) to: GUNS Magazine, GOM May 2023, P.O. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DILLION CARBIDE 45 LONG COLT 3 DIE SET #14405 NOS RELOADING at the best online prices at eBay! I need to pick up projectiles for 38 and 357 for a 357 Ruger Revolver and a Rossi lever. Jul 7, 2011. Try this load out for yourself and after fixing up your sights, youll likely be impressed by the groups it can produce. 125 gr. vtducrider said: Not looking for full power 357mag loads.