125 gr lead load for 357 rifle

[Mr_Flintstone]

i want to load some 125 grain lead 357 magnum for my Henry rifle. I have load data for pistol loads, but 125 gr lead doesn't seem to be listed as a rifle load. Is it not a good idea to shoot lead from a rifle? My intent was to load them light (a little heavier than 38 special). I welcome all comments.

 

[Walkalong]

You can, it will need to be a good fit.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Between my wife and I we shot about 8,000 125 gr. cast bullets through our Marlin rifles this last year........ In fact, I'm finishing up priming another 2,000 cases right now for the next batch.

Your rifle is made to shoot handgun loads, so load for the handgun and you'll be fine. Just don't load super light, or you risk sticking a bullet in the barrel.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Crunchy Frog]

Use the pistol data. It's a pistol caliber rifle after all.

Every weekend cowboy action shooters use lead bullets in pistol caliber rifles. If you have not purchased bullets let me suggest you try TCFP (truncated cone flat point) bullets. They usually feed well.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

i want to load some 125 grain lead 357 magnum for my Henry rifle. I have load data for pistol loads, but 125 gr lead doesn't seem to be listed as a rifle load. Is it not a good idea to shoot lead from a rifle? My intent was to load them light (a little heavier than 38 special). I welcome all comments.

There is no separate pistol and rifle data for pistol caliber cartridges. If you look on the Hodgdon Load Data Site you will see the same exact data listed for the .357 Magnum in the pistol and rifle sections but for the velocities. That is why they list the data in both places, to supply us with the velocity numbers.

Just a note, I get much better results with 158gr Cast bullets in my Carbine than with 125gr Cast bullets. You may have better results than I do.

 

[redbullitt]

I shoot a lot of 105g cast bullets from the revolvers and a couple carbines, barrels from 10 to 18 inches. I have never stuck a bullet yet. Velocity is about 900 fps from the rifles i figure. Accuracy is plenty good inside 50 yards. My loadings are a good bit lighter than what you are after, so something like a 38 plus a little extra will do very well.

Make sure your bullet fits well in the casing. A lyman M die or similar will help a lot. A slower rather than a faster powder usually does best there for me, like unique. Make sure you get a good bullet to barrel fit. Most of my 357s will take a .360 or .359 and do VERY well.

 

[buck460XVR]

There is no difference shooting lead from a rifle as there is for shooting it from a handgun. Leading and accuracy will depend on the same factors, mainly fit to bore, hardness and velocity as well as a good match of the aforementioned three. . As has been said, loading too light may stick a bullet. Also, sometimes the profile of short bullets may not lead to the best feeding in levers. You won't know till you try. When it comes to reloading, what works well for others, doesn't always work well for me. I wouldn't order 10,000 of them until I was sure they worked well for me.

 

[Sunray]

"...There is no separate..." Same data. Different velocities due to test barrel lengths. Why Hodgdon used a 10" barrel for their handgun tests is a mystery. Makes them useless. You'll also note that Hodgdon says to use magnum primers for magnum named cartridges with some powders, but not with other cartridges using that powder. H110 in .30 Carbine, for example.
Mind you, unless you're using the exact same components, firearm and have exactly the same environmental conditions as the day of their tests, your velocities will be slightly different anyway. Of course, accuracy is far more important than velocity, anyway.
There is one cast 125 grain rifle load on Handloads.com. Uses H110.

 

[Walkalong]

Same data. Different velocities due to test barrel lengths.

Yep. No dfifference in "pistol" vs "rifle" in load data for pistol calibers, they load to the same SAMMI pressure limits. The long rifle barrel makes better use of the slower powders than the faster powders in pistol calibers. You'll see better gains with the slower ones.

Why Hodgdon used a 10" barrel for their handgun tests is a mystery. Makes them useless.

Certainly makes it less than useful for sure. Too bad they don't use a 4" or 5" barrel.

 

[Hanshi]

A 125 grain lead bullet in a rifle is neither fish nor fowl, IMO. In fact, I see no use for that bullet in handguns. If you want a 125 grain rifle bullet, get a JHP or JSP.

 

[ReloaderFred]

The OP clearly stated he wants to load them light, like in plinker loads. Why is everyone putting him down for that, when it's a perfect use for both the rifle and the bullet? He specifically mentioned loading them light, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. It makes for a handy little plinker round which can be loaded for not much more than .22 LR rounds sell for these days.

Mr_Flintstone, I'll PM you some loading information that will help you out.

Fred

 

[RealGun]

A 125 grain lead bullet in a rifle is neither fish nor fowl, IMO. In fact, I see no use for that bullet in handguns. If you want a 125 grain rifle bullet, get a JHP or JSP.

I find the 125 very "useful", certainly commonly available, and wonder about the explanation of your dismissal of that bullet weight.

 

[RealGun]

i want to load some 125 grain lead 357 magnum for my Henry rifle. I have load data for pistol loads, but 125 gr lead doesn't seem to be listed as a rifle load. Is it not a good idea to shoot lead from a rifle? My intent was to load them light (a little heavier than 38 special). I welcome all comments.

The common load manuals don't list lead loads, if the rated velocity is over about 1100 fps, and the lighter bullets are faster. The manual that serves me well is the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. Rifle velocities will be faster than pistol, but some of the test barrels establishing rated velocity are pretty long (close enough?). Much of the load data for lead are "street loads", with which properly fitted bullets of suitable hardness work okay.

 

[Dudedog]

Off thread but for general FYI

You'll also note that Hodgdon says to use magnum primers for magnum named cartridges with some powders, but not with other cartridges using that powder. H110 in .30 Carbine, for example.

Because Hodgdons data for 30 carbine with H110 lists a Small Rifle primer, not a small pistol primer.

 

[Schwing]

I also don't understand the negative comments about 125 grain lead bullets. I shoot them out of my revolvers and rifles all of the time. Two of my favorites are 3.2 grains of promo and 4.9 grains of promo. In my guns, at least, the groups tend to open up with loads in between those two. The 3.2 is so light that it feels almost like a squib every time yet I have fired hundreds of them. The 4.9 grains is on the max side but is also very accurate. I have never had a squib with 3.2 but I prefer the 4.9 because of my paranoia. I also had great luck with bullseye but I can't seem to find my load data for those. I had better give the disclaimer that I don't remember where I got the promo data so proceed at your own risk.

On another note, as has already been stated, hand-load data is fine. You will just tend to get a few extra FPS out of the longer barrel. Using a slower powder increases that discrepancy in speed a bit more. Both .357 and .44 mag loads are two that REALLY benefit from the extra barrel length. Some of my loads are 300fps higher or more out of a rifle than out of a revolver.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

i want to load some 125 grain lead 357 magnum for my Henry rifle. I have load data for pistol loads, but 125 gr lead doesn't seem to be listed as a rifle load. Is it not a good idea to shoot lead from a rifle? My intent was to load them light (a little heavier than 38 special). I welcome all comments.

I like using 125 gr plated bullets (one revolver hates lead, so I just use plated for all .38 loading) at .38 Special +P level in my Rossi lever gun. My gun happens to load .38 Special's very well so I usually use .38 Special brass but the same loads would work well with .357 brass. Very accurate at 50 yards and very comfortable and fun to shoot.

 

[armoredman]

I used 124 and 125 grain bullets in 38 Special for years, worked quite well, Actually dropped from 9mm molds that went oversize, then sized to .358.