.357 Load for 20" carbine, 3", 4" and 6" revolvers

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I'm looking for suggestions for a single .357 load that would serve well for all of my .357 guns. Is there such a creature?

20" Rossi M2 used for plinking, deer and hogs inside 100 yards
3" SP101 Everyday carry
4" GP 100 field carry for back up and SD
6" S&W M28 plinking and maybe a deer or hog inside 25 yards

Powders on hand are 231, H110, Titegroup and Clays Universal. But, I can always pick up more powder.

I suspect the answer is "don't be stupid, you need to work up a load for each..." But, bottom line is I'm lazy and just want to load 1 round!
 
theres always the classic 2400 round,,cant quite seem to remember the load
 
I think bullet shape will be a consideration. SWCs may not feed in the carbine. I think I'd start with Universal Clays for an "all around load". The W231 loads may be light for the carbine (fast powder suited for light loads in the handguns) and the H110 (slow burning mostly for top of the line magnum loads) may be too heavy for the 3"...
 
I'd go with three loads, one for SD, one for hunting, one for plinking.

Realistically I would want two minimum, one for SD that shoots POI in the Ruger, and one that's for hunting to maximize performance (shoot flatter, max penetration).

Plinking:
125gr LSWC over a light load of Universal at ~1000-1100fps
158gr LSWC over a light load of Universal at ~850-950fps
Titegroup works too.

SD/EDC:
125gr XTP over Universal for ~1200-1300fps
158gr XTP over Universal for ~1000-1100fps
Titegroup works too.

Adjust the load to shoot POA in the SP101. There's no need to max this out.

Deer and Hogs:
180gr XTP and H110
 
Seems to me you need the most accurate load for the carbine since it has to shoot the furthest.

(A self defense shot of 50 yards from your wheel gun is gonna raise some eyebrows?).

The load that's grouped the best for me from my Marlin is 158 gr Hornaday XTP and 18gr...Lil Gun gives about 1800+ft/sec from the rifle.

I don't know if this will be too stout for your handguns.
 
From memory, 158 grain RNFP bullet and 11.5 grains of AA#7. (but don't trust me; look it up)

Remington 125 grain half-jacketed HP bullet with 9.5 grains of WSF is a good revolver load but I haven't tried it in the Marlin.
 
158 Keith LSWC over 14.5 grains Alliant 2400 for plinking, hogs & deer.

Same charge with a 158 XTP for when bullet cost is no object for hunting & SD load.

rc
 
I have used 14.5 2400 for years in several .357s. Like was posted above the Hornady does the best in my 1894C. I was typing when rcmodel was posting its a good load
 
Generally what i load for my 357 Magnum handguns works in my Marlin 1894 carbine, even lead SWCs if I don't cycle the Marlin too fast.

I like 158 JHPs loaded with W296/H110. Use your friendly loading manual for powder weights.

Lots of other good suggestions here.
 
Using H110 I like a 158gr JHP/JSP/FMJ bullet over a charge of 16.4gr or 16.5gr. That charge is not near the top end but not light enough to cause problems with H110/W296. I use a Magnum primer with that powder. You can go higher on the charge, check the Hodgdon site or your manual to see the limits. You can use that load in any of your revolvers or Carbines since it's well within the SAAMI pressure limits.
 
With my 20"bbl Winchester M94, with either the Hornady 158gr XTP,or Remington 158gr Spt, over 17.8gr. of Hodgdon's Lil'Gun using Federal #100primers and Winchester Nk brass I get 2,050fps and 2moa accuracy at 100yds.

The same load get's 1,350fps from my 4"bbl Ruger Sec.6. It's my Rifle load.

My Handgun- utility load is a Lee 160gr RFN lubed with SPG over 12.5gr of #2400. Gets 1,200fps from handgun and 1,600fps from the rifle. Decently accurate.
 
I was in your same situation a year ago just about.

Marlin 1894 357
GP100 3 inch
686 4 inch

I did some extensive testing on the range with phone books and a pair of my old jeans.

I won't go through the long story and all the different loads, but I ended up with a load of 13.5grains of 2400 under a 158 bullet.
This load produced
1121fps in the GP100
1158fps in the 686
1410fps in the Marlin

All loads were very accurate I tested the Marlin out to 100 yards with a pie plate. I was able to keep 7 out of 10 shots on the pie plate at 100yards with the Marlin.
I was looking for something that was interchangeable between general purpose plinking, hunting if needed, self defense if needed. Notice I said if needed, I only use factory ammo for self defense. But if ever presented with a situation where I had no factory ammo I wanted to be sure I was comfortable with my reloads to make it through until factory ammo was available again. There is another caveat with me also, I was also looking for a load to work with Rainer Bullets which are plated and aren't supposed to be loaded above 1200fps but I had no issues. Yes I know these aren't the best for accuracy or defense agin this is a last ditch effort if factory ammo is not available for these situations.

In the phone book test I did not wet them but I did cut up an old pair of jeans and wrapped 18 inches worth of phone book with them. Out of my 4 inch 686 at 7 yards down range I did achieve 13inches worth of penetration.

Hope this helps.
 
Mr.Revolverguy said:
I was in your same situation a year ago just about.

Marlin 1894 357
GP100 3 inch
686 4 inch

I did some extensive testing on the range with phone books and a pair of my old jeans.

I won't go through the long story and all the different loads, but I ended up with a load of 13.5grains of 2400 under a 158 bullet.
This load produced
1121fps in the GP100
1158fps in the 686
1410fps in the Marlin

All loads were very accurate I tested the Marlin out to 100 yards with a pie plate. I was able to keep 7 out of 10 shots on the pie plate at 100yards with the Marlin.
I was looking for something that was interchangeable between general purpose plinking, hunting if needed, self defense if needed. Notice I said if needed, I only use factory ammo for self defense. But if ever presented with a situation where I had no factory ammo I wanted to be sure I was comfortable with my reloads to make it through until factory ammo was available again. There is another caveat with me also, I was also looking for a load to work with Rainer Bullets which are plated and aren't supposed to be loaded above 1200fps but I had no issues. Yes I know these aren't the best for accuracy or defense agin this is a last ditch effort if factory ammo is not available for these situations.

In the phone book test I did not wet them but I did cut up an old pair of jeans and wrapped 18 inches worth of phone book with them. Out of my 4 inch 686 at 7 yards down range I did achieve 13inches worth of penetration.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
THIS sounds like just the info I'm after! Thank you!

Like you, I'm looking for a general purpose, training, range use load and will then switch to factory loads for hunting/SD.

Thanks again.

QUESTION: Were you using a Magnum primer?
 
Last edited:
Mag primers are not necessary, or recommended with Alliant 2400.
Reportadly, you will get better accuracy with standard primers & 2400.

I couldn't say, as I have never used a mag primer with 2400 since I started loading it in 1962.

Mag primers are recommended with H110/W296 ball powder though.

rc
 
13.8 gr of 2400 is the max listed in the Hornady manual for 158gr XTP bullets under their rifle section. 14.3gr is listed as the max in the pistol section.

13.6gr is very accurate in my 6" 586 and 1894CS. 14.0 starts getting 'sticky'.
 
That's the reason I listed the weapons I was shooting it in. 14.5 is a very common load in the reloading crowd again I also did not list all of the loads I did try. I went up as high as 14.2 and the groups started spreading out at 25 yards in my handguns and I started to get sticky extraction as well as flat primers. I have a Taurus Tracker 6.5inch that loves the 14.2 loads and doesn't exhibit any of the previously listed issues and will out shoot my other 357's I previously listed. It has remained very tight after 6 years of ownership. Yeap as you can see I love 357's. Before the Taurus bashers come out remember we are trying to provide this gentlemen help with a load for 357 :D

I said all that to say what so many have said before and what we all know to be very real and true. You have to work up a load that is right for YOU and the weapon you intend to use it in as well as the components you are using. This is the excitement of reloading for me and why I have stuck with it for 18 years.
 
probably unrealistic to think that one load will be effective in such a wide variety of 357's. I use n110 and a small rifle prime in my hunting and SD rounds. 125 gr Barnes XPB in my snubbies, 140gr XPB in my 4in and 180gr XTP in my Marlin. For plinking I use Universal and either 125gr or 158gr jacketed SP in all of them
 
13.8 gr of 2400 is the max listed in the Hornady manual for 158gr XTP bullets under their rifle section. 14.3gr is listed as the max in the pistol section.
Click to expand...
Alliant Load Data Site lists 14.8gr as the Max charge using a Speer GDHP bullet which is a lot like the Hornady XTP bullet. I don't know why Hornady is listing a Max of only 13.8gr but that's very low. The charge of 14.5gr 2400 has been used for a very long time with 158gr bullets.

You do what you think is safe. I'm only posting this information so you don't think I was making a post with unsafe load data.
 
Mr.Revolverguy said:
I said all that to say what so many have said before and what we all know to be very real and true. You have to work up a load that is right for YOU and the weapon you intend to use it in as well as the components you are using. This is the excitement of reloading for me and why I have stuck with it for 18 years.
Click to expand...

Of course this is true. Perhaps I should have titled the thread, "Where should I start?"

I'll take what I've learned here as a place to start experimenting.

Thanks again.
 
I know that your talking about the 357 and the info im taking about is a 44mag I have 3 that im feeding one is a Winchester M94 one is a TC contender and the other is a SBH I have found a load that will work in all three useing Nosler JHP in 200 and 240 grn CCI LP primer and 2400 pdr. In the Winchester I have had feeding problems with cast Wadcutter so I use the JHP in it (my daughter loves the 200 grn load) Im shooting 20grn of 2400 in the 240 JHP and 22 grn in the 200 grn JHP this works for me and my guns I dont know about yours.
 
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