Just cranked out my first 357 magnum rounds

[Redneck with a 40]

My 357 stuff showed up from Midway today.....500 rainier 158 grain plated flat points, 100 remington 158 grain jsp's and a Lee 4 die 357 set. I plan on loading my 158 grain jsp's with 16.6 grains of 296, my Lee manual show's a velocity of 1610 fps. I'm going to keep these for my backcountry trips. I'm loading my rainier's with 7 grains of Unique with a velocity of ~1250 fps, according to my Lee manual. I know Unique is not the best powder for the 357, but for just loading target rounds, it should work fine.

I'm thinking about using Blue Dot in the future, it gives good velocities with a lower charge weight, around 10 grains. This means that a pound of powder will go alot further.

I'm open to any advice you guy's have concerning powder selection and charges.

The reason I'm using Unique is because I bought 8 lbs of it to load for my 40 S&W and I'm sitting on 2lbs of 296.

 

[Crazy4nitro]

I only have a snubby .357 so I use a faster powder for it....BUT..my .41Mag(4") Flat Loves 2400....Blue dot works well when loaded heavy,it leaves unburned flakes when downloaded a fair amount....how long is the barrel on your .357?

 

[joneb]

My .357 has a 4" barrel so I chose Blue Dot and it seems to work just fine as long as my loads are in the mid to mid high range any more and I get erratic results regardless of primers mag or standard. I may give AA#9 a try, I have been pleased with the AA pistol powders I have tried, they meter and shoot very well .

 

[tbtrout]

For plinking I shoot lead and use Win 231 (because I have a bunch) and more recently Trail Boss. For full power it is Win 296

 

[Walkalong]

I used to shoot Blue Dot for medium power loads in the .357and it worked well, but have tried Universal Clays lately and I like it as well.

I used to shoot W296 for full power, but am leaning towards AA# 9 for full power .357 & .44 mag these days. They both work well and I would use either if I got a better deal on one over the other.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

A couple of things:

Watch the crimp on those plated rounds. Too much and you tear the plating off, lead the barrel, and accuracy goes to pot.

You are using magnum primers with the 296, correct?

IME you're thinking right with the blue dot. It works very well for a mid-range budget minded load. Just make sure to use a firm crimp to avoid unburned powder.

 

[xsquidgator]

For 158 gr TMJ (close enough to your plated 158 gr bullets?), my Speer manual shows 7 grains of Unique as a starting load (7.7 grains max) but running at 978 fps for the 7 grains (1040 fps with 7.7 grains).

I have a shipment of some jacketed .357 bullets coming in soon that I'm trying to decide how to load. Up til now I've only loaded 158 gr LSWCs in 357 magnum with 5.5 grains of Unique. It's a nice reasonable target load but I don't know how effective at stopping an animal or attacker.

 

[nitesite]

Lotta fun in loading the .357 Magnum cartridge. I dare say it will give you lots more enjoyment that the .40S&W because of its versatility.

You might look into X-Treme plated bullets for some very good (double struck) heavily plated bullets. They can be pushed pretty hard. The cost of ordering them direct includes shipping.

Out of what sort of revolver are you going to shoot 158-gr JSPs at over 1600-fps ??? I'm mildly curious. Hodgdon data for Winchester 296 shows 1591-fps from a ten-inch barrel.

Great hobby, isn't it?????

 

[dakotasin]

in 357 mag i have had tremendous success w/ 2400 and cast bullets... i used to be borderline anti-cast bullets but after learning about them and using them, i am convinced they are the better mousetrap for every revolver.

i disagree w/ the comment about the 357 being more fun than the 40... i enjoy shooting my 40's more than the 357's - but it isn't like i dislike shooting the 357 or anything.

btw, a properly loaded 357 shocked me w/ the recoil. when loaded to potential, the 357 is a very powerful weapon.

 

[nitesite]

Perhaps my meaning was taken wrong. I admit I was a little vague.

What I was trying to say was not about whether shooting a .40 vs. a .357 is more fun; I meant that the loadings you can make for .38/.357 are just so widely variable.

 

[Bula]

I've read you were to push plated no faster that 1200 fps or so. No personal experience.

 

[CZ57]

Redneck: I have used a lot of Blue Dot over the years for .357 and .41 Magnum. For full power loads it's mainly been AA#9 the last few years. You already have the 296 for full power loads, but for loads in the 1200 FPS range, AA#7 is outstanding! Very accurate.

 

[xring44]

I love Bluedot in my .357s,,and they, without exception love bluedot, I load on the high side with 158 grain jacketed bullets (Hornady XTPs and Noslers)
supremely accurate, great velocity. IMO, you'll look long and hard to beat Bluedot!

 

[CZ57]

xring: I hear ya! And, I did! #9 is about the only case I can think of in my own experience and I really want to work out Ramshot Enforcer. Any of these three powders have a slightly faster burn rate that seems to be optimum for the .357 Magnum case.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Clarification.....1) My 357 is a Taurus Tracker with 4 inch barrel
2) I'm using magnum primers with the 296...duh.
3) Modern Reloading 2nd edition shows 7.2 grains of Unique behind a 158 grain jacketed bullet at 1197 fps and the max load is 7.8 at 1280 fps.

Normally velocites in 357 loads are listed in an 8-3/8" barrel, you lose 35 fps/inch, so I'm losing 140 fps off of the 1610, which still gives 1470 fps, a damn hot load.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

One little note on blue dot:

While I use A LOT of it in 357 and 41 mag, it can get a little crazy in low tempatures. It likes to get a little spikey pressurewise for some reason. So make sure that if you're going near the top of the charts that you test it in the coldest temps you expect to use it in while you're working up a load.

One in 357 that I use a lot of is 10.5 grains under a 158 laser-cast slug. Good full power, accurate load, but not way up the charts.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Ben, 10.5 grains of Blue Dot is what I was planning on loading.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Should be a good load for you. It works well in my blackhawks, redhawk, and a couple of smith 686's that I know of.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Should be a good load for you. It works well in my blackhawks, redhawk, and a couple of smith 686's that I know of.

Just remember about the temperature stuff if you try going faster.

 

[joneb]

Ive been playing with some light .357 loads for my 4" Colt Trooper using Raineer 140gr FP Plated bullets and WSP primers. The two powders I've tried are AA#5 8.2 gr and AA#7 10.7 gr both loads are very accurate. COL 1.585

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Update.....today I fired my target rounds, 158 grain Rainier's with 7 grains of Unique and Magtech primers. This load is excellent! This load was very accurate, had a little thump to it and it was clean! There was very little fouling in my revolver. I'm very pleased with this and I think I'll stick with it.

 

[Walkalong]

Congrats, Redneck with a 40. That is what it is all about.

 

[wcwhitey]

Congrats Redneck! It's great when things come together. I made a note of your load, I have not ventured into the plated bullets for .38/.357 yet but my powder of choice for such is Unique. LOL now it's time to load in volume. Bill

 

[Redneck with a 40]

If you could only have one reloading powder, what would it be?

For me, its Unique. This powder shines in 38 spl, 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. Unique will also work in magnum calibers with adequate performance, 357, 41, and 44 mag. Unique is the do all powder in my view, kind of like the 357 magnum being the do all caliber.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Disregard my above post, I mean't to make this a new thread, which I did.