[_N4Z_]

I already have a favorite carry load in .357mag being the 158gr rem sjhp.

My question would be what do you all like to practice with in .357 (please no .38 spec loadings here - got that already figured out)

CCI Blazer steel cased 158 hp's are what i've used the most. They are clean, fairly accurate, inexpensive (11.00 bucks for 50) and are feel like toned down loadings. Good for lots of use. My prob is finding them locally.

I've also used Winny WinCleans (expensive but accurate), PMC, and Remington UMC. I used some 125 Rem UMC soft points this past weekend and they wore me a couple razzberries to the thumb and trigger finger. That particular load seems pretty stout, and it's very dirty ammo. Very dirty.

Anybody out there have a favorite that is inexpensive and readily available? What other brands shoud I look at? Any opinions on SB and Magtech stuff?

Thanks in advance for any info given.

[bearmgc]

I've use all those you mentioned, and didn't care for the UMC stuff. I got a good deal on the Magtech at a gunshow, and like them. They're pretty accurate in my SP101 and my Smith 581.

[Standing Wolf]

I roll my own. I can make them light, medium-light, medium, medium-heavy, and heavy, all with the same amount of time and effort, although heavy loads tend to be slightly more expensive.

[ARTiger]

Cabelas has good deals on bulk once "remanufactured" (factory reloaded) ammo. Here's a link to their .357 mag offerings. . .http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?cmView=full&type=pod&id=0022875

[grimjaw]

I loaded up on S&B 158gr FMJ when AIM Surplus had a good price on it. It's OK for practice ammo out of my revolver, but suffers a bit in the velocity department when compared to other ammo out of the Marlin.

jmm

[PO2Hammer]

Been shooting .357 Magnum for about 20 years or so. Never did find a satisfactory practice load.
Winclean 125's have a muzzle blast that makes the sun envious.
Blazer aluminum is probably the best, slightly toned down from Federal Eagle 158 SP's (whoa nelly!).
I just started handloading and it is the best thing I ever did. My first load is more accurate than 9 out of 10 factory loads, and is going exactly as fast as I want it to. I can't recomend it highly enough, especially for the original magnum.

[lev83]

I have used lots of ammo from Magtech. I shoot the 158 gr. JFP in 357 Mag. It is quality ammo. And prices are exceptional.

[_N4Z_]

+1 on the Winclean muzzle flash. It's even impressive out of a 6 in. barrel.

Also mistakenly mentioned Blazers in my opening statement as steel case. whoops. :rolleyes:

I have thought about making my own. Need to learn more about that first.

[foghornl]

I have shot quite a bit of Magtech, and I like it better than most other .357 practice ammo.

The aluminum-case Blazer in my Sheriff's Model Vaquero was exactly that...enough muzzle flash that my M-44 Mosin-Nagant carbine was jealous.

Don't care for the 'Yellow Box' UMC at all..very dirty stuff. I think the propellant in that load is 2 parts Pine Tar, 2 parts floor sweepings, and 1 part used Kitty Litter....with a bit of River Mud for good measure :evil:

[P. Plainsman]

Federal's American Eagle 158 gr JSP .357 Magnum is decent and pretty cheap. Recoil is peppy in a revolver, as another poster noted.

I also use it as plinking ammo for my Marlin .357 lever carbine, where it serves well.

[nitesite]

I bought a bunch of Remington 125-gr SJHP in nickel cases (R357M1) for 13.99/box of 50. That's some hell-for-stout ammo but at that price it can be used for practice ammo. :)

Heck, it's cheaper than WWB .357 ammo at Wal-Mart.

[SLCDave]

I like Fiocchi for .357 plinking ammo.

[PO2Hammer]

I have thought about making my own. Need to learn more about that first.
I kept it simple.
I use a turret press, but any single stage would be just as good.
To measure powder, I use a Redding 10X powder measure so I don't have to weigh every charge. Hodgdon Titegroup meters very accuratly through the 10X.
Any 158 grain jacketed bullet works with my recipie and run right around 1,000 fps.
Someday I'll add a case trimmer and a case cleaner, but for now I just grab a spent case, de-prime/size it, prime on the press, charge it, seat then crimp.
My tight chambered revolver (Freedom Arms) likes my reloads just fine and stays cleaner. Titegroup is amazingly clean burning. No unburned flakes at all.

[rcupka]

I have done the same thing, trying several of the lower priced rounds in my SP101. I keep coming back to the S&B 158gr FMJ. They were $10.49 at Cabelas but recent went up to $11.49. They are consistent but I have not found any to be as accurate as the 125 gr. Speer Gold Dots that I keep in the gun the rest of the time.

[bpisler]

I reload my own,125gr jhp at 1300 fps
or a 158gr LSWC at 1150 fps.When i
buy factory 357's i like the stuff
called Independence.I get them for
11.00 box/50 at the local sports-
man warehouse.

[Lucky Joe]

In an article written a few years ago by Dean Grennell the topic was small wadcutters. He had a mould made my Hensley and Gibbs that cast a 66 gr. wadcutter he called the TFCH (Tuna Fish Can from Hell). I looked a long time for that mould and finally settled on the Lyman 358101. Dean's thought was you don't need 148 gr. of lead to punch through paper. I just started casting this bullet and haven't yet decided which powder to use behind it. He primarily used his in a .38 but also in the .357. He claimed it could be driven to some pretty torid speeds. This is a little off topic but I'm posting the picture of my little 71 gr. wadcutter, perhaps some one here has some experience with it.

As for commerical ammo I think the Magtech is pretty good and fairly priced. I reload most of mine so my experience is limited on the commercial end.
http://i2.tinypic.com/vctni0.jpg

[pezo]

I practice with the ammo I would most likely carry in the rig if a need to use it was required. Be it hunting or self-defense. In my case 148 grain fiocchi sjhp's.

[Woody Jones]

I load my own practice ammo--6 grains of Universal, 158 grain lswchp

[Sevengunner]

First post, after lurking for a few months.

Rather than shoot .38 ammo to save, I've been looking cheap, clean, .357. The best price so far has been $12/50 for some blue-box reloaded 158gr. ammo the range sells. It's jacketed ball ammunition, so it's nice and clean, and accuracy problems tend to be at my end of the gun. Just don't see any reason to shoot .38. With a fairly heavy 4" barrel and the rubber grips, there's no pain involved in putting 50-100 rounds of the loud stuff through the gun.

[MCgunner]

14.5 grains of H2400 behind a Lee gas checked SWC cast of wheel weights. Great hunting load, too. About 760 ft lbs out of my 6.5" Blackhawk.