How many full power .357 mag loads do you shoot in your .357?

[Ala Dan]

None

Only mild, .38 Special mid-range ammo comes out
of my 6" Smith & Wesson 686-5.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[Neal Bloom]

Don't shoot .38's out of my .357's. Like others I do load .38 recipes in .357 cases. Probably 50/50 with light loads and full power loads. Like to remind myself why they call it a .357 magnum.

 

[JohnKSa]

I've put 2 or 3 thousand rounds through my Ruger GP100.

Of that, maybe 2 boxes were 38s--the rest were full power .357 Magnum loads.

The guns still looks and shoots as if it were new.

 

[stans]

Let me start by saying that I reload probably 90% of all the ammo I shoot. I only use 357 Magnum cases in revolvers chambered in 357. I load lead target loads and lead medium velocity loads. I also load jacketed medium and high velocity loads. Now for the specific revolvers.

S&W 640: About half are medium velocity and half of all loads are high velocity.

S&W 19-3: Started shooting all high velocity until I noticed the forcing cone was erroding. Now it gets mostly light and medium velocity loads with the occasional high velocity load.

Ruger GP-100: Works well with medium velocity ammo, but seems to prefer the hot stuff, so it gets high velocity loads about 75-80% of the time.

Colt Pythons: Have not shot either of mine yet, but I don't think I will abuse these with high velocity ammo.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I give away all my 38 special brass.

Seriously, when gotmy first 357, I bought some 38 and 38+p to try out. I also had some 125 gr 357 handloads, some 158 gr semiwadcutters loaded hot, and some 158 sjhp's loaded hot.

The Magnum carry likes the hot wadcutters best. 38 accuracy was awful, I only shot a half a box of the stuff.

Since then I load the little Colt heavy.

 

[MoNsTeR]

Pretty much none. The noise and blast are just too painful on an indoor range, even with plugs and muffs. If I shot outdoors I'm sure I'd shoot a few now and then, but even with less noise they're still not much fun.

 

[MCNETT]

25,000 and counting since 1987 in my Ruger GP-100, and that is just the .357's.
-Mike

 

[TrapperReady]

My only .357 is a 6.5" S&W 686.

It gets fed a mixed diet of roughly 1/3 .357 and 2/3 .38.

 

[schapman43]

25,000 and counting since 1987 in my Ruger GP-100, and that is just the .357's.

Very impressive! Have you ever had any problems with the revolver? Any parts replaced?

 

[Kamicosmos]

Always. The SP101 gets 125 grainers, the Desert Eagle gets 158s.
On the same note, my .44s always get 240 grain Magnum loads.

 

[RVSinOK]

My 4" 686 gets probably 20% .357's and 80% .38 Special. Haven't got set up reloading yet, so most of the target shooting is with the cheaper .38's!

 

[MCNETT]

No problems or parts gone bad. Just a very smooth action now!
-Mike

 

[MrPhil]

90% 38 special, very light target loads. 10% full house 158 gr "thumpers". A shooting buddy calls them "demonstration" loads.

 

[PATH]

I shoot only .357 out of my S&W Mod. 27. A delightful experience. If I want to shoot .38s I shoot it out of a .38 usually my little J-frame.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

This is a rough guesstimate. For every one full power 357 Magnum load, I shoot about five .38 Special loads. This can change depending on what reloading components I happen to have on hand.

ZM

 

[Trumpetman]

How many full power .357 mag loads . . . ?

I shoot about a 1 to 4 ratio of full-house .357 magnums to lighter ammo through my .357 magnum handgun. Here's the breakdown:

TAURUS 65 (.357 MAGNUM REVOLVER), 4" BARREL --

50 rounds per month of full power 158 grain jacketed magnum handloads

50 rounds per month of slightly milder 158 grain lead magnum handloads

100 rounds per month of very light 158 grain lead .38 special handloads


My snubnose .38 gets about a 50/50 mix of light loads and +P loads. (Sometimes I wish I had bought a .357 snubbie.)

ROSSI 351 (.38 SPECIAL REVOLVER), 2" BARREL --

50 rounds per month of very light 158 grain lead .38 special handloads

50 rounds per month of jacketed 135 grain .38 special +P handloads

 

[S&W620]

Usually about half and half, one box of .38's and one box of .357's.

 

[Dienekes]

Any more, probably no more than 10% of what goes through my old carry Ruger Security Six. Back when we qualified with them we fired 72 rounds of 125 gr factory .357s minimum and usually more on poppers. As an instructor I fired more and washed out forcing cones on two of my own guns--later rebuilt by the factory. I now put just enough through them to feel proficient with the big load.

I have a very nice, smooth GP-100 which is pretty heavy to pack around, but I have no qualms whatsoever about running the same loads through it should I feel like it.

The 125 JHP is a helluva load but rough on shooters, guns, and probably horses and women as well.

 

[Scooter72]

I shoot more .38 then .357 Magnum rounds. It's whatever I feel like that day. My favorite .38 load is 158gr. LSWC and my favorite .357 load is 158gr JSP loaded to almost max pressure. Those are FUN!!

 

[Eightball]

About 1/3 of the round through my 620 have been full-house .357. I think that, total, i've shot.....300 rounds through mine, mixed .38 and .357 (hey, i've only had it about a month).

 

[PO2Hammer]

I enjoy shooting really hot factory loads out of my Encore with its custom 9" .357 barrel (MGM).
Winchester's Winclean 125 grain JSP load is HOT! When it hits something, you know it! Probably up near 2,000 fps out of the one piece barrel.
For my revolver though, I have a nice pet load with a Hornady 158 grain SWC at about 800 fps using a fiber wad and Trail Boss.

 

[Stainz]

I bought my 6" 66 and 5" h-l 686+ new; they've NEVER seen a 'real' .357M except when tested at the factory. I traded recently for a LNIB Miculek PC 627 V-Comp that had shot only 200gr bowling pin loads from .38 cases. It also gets .38's here. What's a real .357 Magnum for, anyway?

Seriously, I found a box of Blazers in .357 Magnum in the garbage at the range one day - missing six of it's fifty rounds. I fired them in the BHG SS 4.6" Vaquero I had just ordered new and just received. I could tell a difference between them and my .38-ish .357M loads - they made a lot more noise! The heavy Vaq ate up the recoil. I load some .357M's - at slightly above +P .38 level. More .38's - the brass is just easier to find. So, no, I don't shoot 'hot' .357M's. Call me wimpy...

Stainz

 

[Marshall]

Model 60 = None

Model 13 = None

GP-100 = A few for practice and when hunting.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

LOTS!! Between all the 357's I have no idea how many.

But I know they've digested less that 1,000 rounds of 38 special stuff.

 

[MCgunner]

Heavy .357 magnum hunting loads is all that comes out of my Blackhawk. I shoot some .38 out of it, but not many. My Taurus M66 gets mostly wadcutter .38s. I don't have that big a round count out of that one yet, but it's holding up with a few heavy magnum loads and mostly .38s. It's easy to fire heavy loads in, not hard on the hand or anything, I just like shooting light stuff with a DA and it's so bloomin' accurate with those wadcutters.