Yet another 357 max question. "plinking" loads?

[swampcrawler]

Il run out of questions to ask about this particular cartridge eventually guys lol.

So my next question I on reduced power, cheap, relatively accurate options for plinking. I could load 357 mag brass light and try that but I see reports of terrible accuracy and possible throat erosion from this.

The other option seems to be to load cheap bullet of choice (cast or plated?) over a light charge of unique or trail boss.

Anyone tried any of this? Id like to be able to use my max to play around with my little brother chasing possums coons armadillos and tin cans without breaking the bank and wearing out my brass.

Plus it would be nice to avoid ruptured ear drums.

Thoughts? I'm particularly interested in using unique as I have a pound of it for 45 but switched to longshot.

 

[noylj]

I would only shoot .357 Max cartridges if I had a gun in that caliber. I only shoot .357 Mag cases in my .357s.
Trail Boss would be perfect. The rule with Trail Boss is to NOT EVER compress the powder. 80-99% load densities are the goal.
You can contact Hodgdon for data.
I would start with the .357 Mag data for Trail Boss and work up as needed--likewise for any other powder.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I can't see a light load of Unique or TB damaging the bore. A heavy load of Unique would be another story. Accuracy with the magnum brass, you don't know until you try.

Also, with light loads the stress on your max brass will go way down. And for practice you shouldn't have to size or crimp, even less stress.

 

[witchhunter]

Crawler, you can shoot any .38 or .357 load in yer Maximum. Just make sure you clean the chamber real good so you won't have problems when you switch to the Max cartridges. Watch out for leading if you use cast boolits, as they will gain some velocity in the contender. Personally I only shoot one load in each of my firearms just to keep the POI simple.

 

[rcmodel]

If you have enough .357 Max brass to use it?
Use it.

Any light plinking load using lead bullets in .357 Mag will work as well in .357 Max brass.

Just up the minimum load a little to make up for the extra case capacity.

Throat erosion simply does not happen in a lifetime using fast to medium burn rate handgun powders.

Ever see a 50 to 100 year old Colt or S&W in any caliber with erosion in the cylinder chambers??

Nope!
I gotta say you haven't!

rc

 

[KzooClaybuster]

I would only shoot .357 Max cartridges if I had a gun in that caliber. I only shoot .357 Mag cases in my .357s.
Trail Boss would be perfect. The rule with Trail Boss is to NOT EVER compress the powder. 80-99% load densities are the goal.
You can contact Hodgdon for data.
I would start with the .357 Mag data for Trail Boss and work up as needed--likewise for any other powder.

I just happened across this document from IMR Powder for Trail Boss minutes before reading this thread.

http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

There is a really easy formula for using Trail Boss with ANY rifle or pistol caliber/bullet combo.

Light loads in a .357 Max sound like fun. I still have flashbacks of shooting an IHMSA 80 round match with my Dad's T/C Contender in .357 Max and loads that were anything but light.

 

[witchhunter]

Kzoo, thanks for the formula. it looks useful. Crawler, if you use .38 wadcutters, and like em, you can clean your chamber with a bronze brush chucked in a drill. That way when you use the maximums it will still chamber fine. You will not believe how fast you can send 110 grain hollow points loaded in the Maximum. They will turn a jackrabbit inside out.

 

[swampcrawler]

Witch hunter I actually really want to go with my little brother to alleviate the next door neighbor of some feed stealing coons with something really light and really fast out of the Max one night.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Witch hunter I actually really want to go with my little brother to alleviate the next door neighbor of some feed stealing coons with something really light and really fast out of the Max one night

That just might be one of the few cases of having too much gun!

 

[swampcrawler]

Lol I think so Jesse. But isn't over kill kind of the point of varmint shooting?

 

[witchhunter]

Crawler, you owe it to your self to get some 110 HP's and load em over a healthy dose of 296. It will amaze you. It sounds like you are just beginning to see what contenders can do. I would recommend a .22 lr or mag barrel, a hornet, bee, etc. they are so much fun. I shoot prairie dogs with my .221 Fireball out to 250 yards! That is a gas.

 

[swampcrawler]

Witch hunter I am indeed just now beginning to play with contenders, and other than a 357 magnum revolver, all forseeable future funding is goin to contender. Lots of barrels and a nice grip set.

Unfortunatly i don't get a ton of opportunities or varminting. We don't have ground hogs.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I can see it now. Shooting coons raiding the trash at 500 yards with a 357 max. Elmer Keith would be proud. Even prouder if you shot something worth eating!

 

[swampcrawler]

Lol. Jesse the main mission in life for my max is pigs and deer at less than 100 yards. But being that it's my favorite firearm at the moment.. Well ya know.

I'm getting bored of my 22 and CB longs.

 

[bluetopper]

Never shot them, but I don't see what a Hornet, Bee or 221 Fireball will do in a Contender that a 223 will not? Especially with 40 grain bullets.

 

[PO2Hammer]

With all that empty space I would use Trail Boss. It fills the case like nothing else. I use it quite a bit in .357 mag and 30-30, works very well for plinking loads.

 

[Kernel]

Your looking for a low noise, low velocity, low recoil, inexpensive round for plinking and shooting small mammals at close range. Using a powder you all ready have. Naturally, I’ll recommend a ultra high velocity, ear splitting super sonic, two-handed recoil over your head, obscure jacketed bullet round that you’ll have to “work up” with a powder you don‘t have and is near impossible to find in most stores since they‘re all sold out of everything. Yeah, that’s it.

Not.

How about a load you “work down”? That’s quiet. Kicks like a ladybug. That uses the cheapest bullet you can find. And a powder you all ready have. Sorry, if I go against the grain here. I’m a contrarian.

Kidding aside, coon hunting that involves shooting a treed animal doesn’t take magnum power nor pin-point sub minute-of-angle accuracy. Same goes for popping a bunny in the garden. Or knocking over a tin can in the backyard.

I’d first look locally (to save on shipping) for some low price cast lead bullets and buy a box of 500 (cheaper in bulk). No gas checks (they‘re not needed at these velocities). Hardness in the 8 -11 Brinnel range would be ideal (a softer alloy works better a low velocity). A swaged bullet would be fine. I’d use .38 spl brass because I have a ton of it. If all I had was Max brass, I’d use that. It will never wear out at these velocities anyway.

Unique ignites easily and is not position sensitive, which is why it’s often used in these types of “cat sneeze” loadings. Your lucky it’s what you have, since it’s one of the best for this type of thing. Trail Boss is great too, but I wouldn’t go out and buy a can (if you could even find it) if I already had Unique I wanted to get rid of.

I’d start with 7 grains, of Unique which should give around 1050 fps, and start working DOWN. 6.5 grains, 6.0 grains, 5.5 grains, 5.0 grains, 4.5 grains, until it was so slow I felt the bullets were close to not coming out the barrel. Goal being to get to about 600 fps. You could go even slower, if you wanted (I would).

At that speed there is no recoil. Noise is less than a .22 LR. Accuracy, you won’t know until you try’em. But be realistic about the range. Minute-of-grackle at 50 ft is good enough.

If you can’t find something better locally, Desperado Cowboy Bullets makes a pretty good plinking bullet. They sell 100 count "samples" to try out, which is nice, and they don't gouge on shipping.

http://cowboybullets.3dcartstores.com/

Let us know how it works out. I've always wanted to get my .357 Mag Contender barrel rechambered to Max.