It’s Starline 357 brass. And I would qualify it as a creambuff 357 round. A full house 357 with a 158 grain bullet, I’d expect something greater than 1,400 FPS. And this ain’t that, nowhere near that.
My last comment, on this topic, within this thread.
If you are loading .357 cases with this load to shoot in a .357 revolver, the Lee guide shows a max 6.8 gr Unique charge under a 158 gr lead bullet is running 33,900 PSI in .357 Mag cases.
You didn’t say that you were loading .357 mag cases and firing them in. .357 Mag gun.
In response to a comment about “light loads” for a “.38”, you posted you were loading “light loads” using “7.0 gr Unique.” Since .357 magnum wasn’t mentioned in the thread by anyone, there is no way for a reader to equate your load to a .357 magnum.
7.0 gr Unique under any bullet is not now, nor has it ever been, a “light load” for a .38. I fact, it is still .2 gr over the maximum for Unique and a 158 gr bullet according to Modern Reloading 2nd. by Richard Lee, a long time, well respected loading guide... for a .357 magnum.
That is dangerous info for a person who reads your comment answering a comment about a light .38 load and assumes that they can stuff 7 grains of Unique into a .38 case and fire it in their .38 revolver...all because someone on THR said it’s a “light load” in response to a comment relating to a “.38.”
Using the same Lee loading guide, 4.5 gr Unique under a 158 gr lead bullet nets 17,100 PSI and 950 FPS. Right at, or slightly above, the max limit...for .38 Spl. loads.
You are still not equating the pressure peaks of various powders with the resulting velocity. The same Lee guide shows 15.4 gr of Hercules 2400 getting over 1,600 FPS at 34,000 PSI with a 158 gr lead bullet in .357 mag cases. Unique only gets that same bullet to 1,180 FPS... at 33,900 PSI. It’s not just velocity that makes a magnum load, it’s also the pressure the cartridge develops that separates the .357 mag from the .38 Spl.
Again, chasing velocity by upping charges while ignoring the PSI won’t get you the additional 300 FPS with Unique to match the velocity of the 2400 load (one you would call a true magnum load), it’ll probably get you a kaboom!! because Unique can’t drive that bullet that fast without ballooning the pressure beyond a guns limit. Again, it’s your gun, your fingers, your business.
Readers who may not be experienced reloaders; please use load data information posted on any chat forum wisely by double and triple checking against known, safe data.
Horse beaten to death, I’m going to shoot the new .32.
Stay safe.
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