Just finished a work up with 180gn XTPs using win 296. Found my accuracy at 13.2 gns. Groups started to open, not by much but opened nun the less, at 13.5 with max listed at 13.7gn. Surprising to me this seems like a puny .357 load.
Recoil is less than my 125gn loads with the same powder. With accuracy leaving I see no point in pushing it any faster. Is the 180gn weight just out side of the realm of advantage in the .357? I honestly have no use for this round other then exploration of different combinations, I thought it may be a useful hog round. I have loaded some 180s before using blue dot and thought they seamed punchy, but all the blue dot loads seam fairly puny compared to the 296 loads. This load doesn't seam to have any advantage over Blue Dot. If I settle on having some around I'll probably revert back to blue dot. Are my experiences here typical? Has other's experiences differed from mine? I am under the impression that Blue Dot favors heavier bullets, but I was also under the impression that 296 worked well with all weights. When I move to working up for 158gn Noslers, will I be better off using Blue Dot?
Recoil is less than my 125gn loads with the same powder. With accuracy leaving I see no point in pushing it any faster. Is the 180gn weight just out side of the realm of advantage in the .357? I honestly have no use for this round other then exploration of different combinations, I thought it may be a useful hog round. I have loaded some 180s before using blue dot and thought they seamed punchy, but all the blue dot loads seam fairly puny compared to the 296 loads. This load doesn't seam to have any advantage over Blue Dot. If I settle on having some around I'll probably revert back to blue dot. Are my experiences here typical? Has other's experiences differed from mine? I am under the impression that Blue Dot favors heavier bullets, but I was also under the impression that 296 worked well with all weights. When I move to working up for 158gn Noslers, will I be better off using Blue Dot?
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