Semi wadcutter bullet preference.

I like a traditional hard cast LSWC with a groove. I've run them from 38 spl to .357 speeds using Bullseye or 2400 (900 - 1400 fps) without an issue. The flexibility is nice and it reduces the clutter on the shelf.

Those knurled Hornady bullets are soft swaged lead and they'll lead the barrel if you don't have a great fit or if you try to push them much past 38 spl speeds (900-950 fps).

I shoot a ton of both Hornady and Speer 158 SWC bullets. I like the Speer bullet a bit better but no difference in accuracy.
I use a very light crimp with a Lee FCD especially with the Hornady. I don’t go much over 700 FPS with them but the Speer I’ve gone to over 900 FPS and no leading.
Hornady states in their loading manual not to go over 900 FPS so if you want faster than that then they’re not the ones to use.

I like having a crimp groove. I have some of the Hornady bullets you mentioned. They are indeed very soft, but accurate.

Hi...
I prefer a commercial hard cast LSWC. I have shot thousands with good accuracy in a variety of revolver cartridges over the years from various suppliers.
Recently I purchased a quantity of .45cal 255gr LSWC from Kings Shooter's Supply in King of Prussia, Pa. I have shot these bullets in a variety of .45Colt revolvers and an Uberti Cimarron 1873 lever action rifle with excellent results.
I am very pleased with their bullets.
I will probably be switching over to Kings Shooter's Supply Better Bullet line for the majority of my revolver bullets.

375supermag said:

Hi...
I prefer a commercial hard cast LSWC. I have shot thousands with good accuracy in a variety of revolver cartridges over the years from various suppliers.
Recently I purchased a quantity of .45cal 255gr LSWC from Kings Shooter's Supply in King of Prussia, Pa. I have shot these bullets in a variety of .45Colt revolvers and an Uberti Cimarron 1873 lever action rifle with excellent results.
I am very pleased with their bullets.
I will probably be switching over to Kings Shooter's Supply Better Bullet line for the majority of my revolver bullets.

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Kings is the best. I have bought their reloads, and components. Pat and Roger rock!

Missouri Bullet Company 158 grain LSWC with a grove and Hi-Tek coating. These bullets are heat treated, very hard and do not lead my barrel.

Keith Type SWC. hdbiker

I prefer the Keith style SWC for target shooting. I have also used the MB 158 LSWC noted above with the HT coating or the lubed version. They work great in all my 38SPL/357 revolvers with a common load I tweaked to work in them all. Never bothered to find another type-----why argue with great results.

I like the Hornady swaged hollow point bullets. Soft enough they expand at 38 spl +P velocities. And they are lubricated. If you go to the Hornady website it reads:

Special Knurling and Grease Ring
The knurling system holds an even distribution of lubricating wax over the bearing surface of the Cowboy™ bullet, resulting in less leading.

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I still have about 1000 Mt. Baldy 173 gr Keith bullets, those were my favorite but they have gone out of business. I haven't landed on another 173 grainer yet, but am open to suggestions.

I also like and use a lot of Oregon Trail's Laser-Cast 158 grain SWC.

Kevin Keith said:

I still have about 1000 Mt. Baldy 173 gr Keith bullets, those were my favorite but they have gone out of business. I haven't landed on another 173 grainer yet, but am open to suggestions.

I also like and use a lot of Oregon Trail's Laser-Cast 158 grain SWC.

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Lyman's 358429 casts a 170 gr SWC. NOE makes a 176 gr SWC, and a 172 SWC.

Keith G said:

I have always used a coated bullet with a crimp groove for my 158 grain, 38/357 loads. A friend gave me some Hornady SWC’s with no crimp groove (just a knurled surface) and no coating, and some Rucker SWC’s with a crimp groove, but no coating.

Just curious what others prefer and why. I’ve shot some of the Hornady’s, and didn’t notice any significant difference. Maybe a touch more smoke. No leading, but I didn’t push them real hard.

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Are you new to reloading as those haven't been out THAT long. Crimp groove or knurled section, either will hold a good crimp and work just fine. For lead, I prefer the groove, for jacketed, the knurled section works perfect.

Keith G said:

Yeah. Been reloading about a year.

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Old farts like me remember when you had 2 choices - lead or jacketed; and in 38/357 jacketed was usually more of a semi-jacketed design like Remington's 158s

Remington 158 swaged lead SWC, I purchase them from Midway in 2000 bullet cartons. Little or no leading in my experience. Only problem is that they are not always available. If I can't get them I use the equivalent Speer bullet.

I shoot bullseye pistol every week and my go to bullet is a 200 grain LSWC by Badman bullets using 7.5 grains of #5 in .45 ACP. If I use my S&W 25.5, same bullet but 8.0 grains of Unique. Their bullets are hard cast so no leading out of either gun.

Bill

I Like the rim rock bullets 158 gr.

A local caster made 158 grain lead round nose flat point bullets




and I preferred these in loading my revolvers to the LSWC's. They shot about the same and did not hang up on the cylinders. Win, win as far as I am concerned.

I cast a lot of SWC for my handguns. My second mold in '87 was a Lyman 429421, which is a close copy of the Keith bullet, not exactly, but it does work quite well. I have used this bullet in 4 of my 44 Magnums and it does everything it is reported to do, accurate and effective on target. I have a Lee 140 SWC that works quite well in my 38 Special. One very good mold/bullet I own is a Lachmiller 160 gr SWC. It shoots very accurate in my 4" 357 and I have loaded it up to near max. loads of True Blue. Cast from wheel weight alloy and Lyman #2, I get no leading.

Your description of the Hornady bullet leads me to believe it is their swaged SWC. I tried a box way back when, but have no records of their performance.

I PCed about 1,000 of my cast bullets and they did everything they were supposed to do; clean handling and clean shooting. I haven't done many lately because my regular cast bullets don't lead, are accurate, and not real messy to load/handle...

My preferences for 38/357 are the Lee 125 gr RNFP, the Lachmiller 160 gr SWC, and a Lyman 150 gr wadcutter.

I use coated, grooved 158gn from Missouri bullet

I prefer coated, usually Hi-Tek, for less exposure to lead (handling and shooting) and cleaner chambers/bbl. Overly or poorly waxed bullets can leave their waxy crap wherever they go - fingers, dies, magazines, burnt residue in chambers, etc. Not a huge problem but avoidable.

For 38 Spl I shoot the grooveless, softer bullets (BHN 12) and taper crimp. With proper sizing/neck tension, a roll crimp isn't necessary for that level of recoil. For the 357 Mag rounds and their strong recoil I use the grooveless BHN 18 bullets and apply a roll crimp as the magnum energy could cause a taper crimped bullet to jump. In addition to preventing bullet-jump, a proper crimp prevents the bullet from launching prematurely with too little pressure that may cause incomplete combustion (dirty) and diminished velocity/accuracy.

The jury is still out but I like the idea of more surface area/neck tension between a grooveless bullet and brass. With the bullet being a tad shorter, it then makes for a longer jump to the forcing cone/rifling. Might that affect accuracy? Perhaps at such a distance that doesn't concern me.

I tried some of those Hornady semi wadcutters a few years ago when I was new reloaded. They worked fine with minimal leading, but I kept them a little under 800fps. Didn't like them enough to buy again.
I do like the Speer 148gr Hollow base wadcutters for an easy shooting, economical plinking round