Great .357, everyday load?

OP, glad you’ve come to find out what some of us found out years ago; the “U” is one of the friendliest, easiest and most versatile powder in revolvers from .32 to .45. Not with the biggest bark, not always the smallest group, but it’s dang consistent no matter what you’re doing with it.

With a 146 RN to a 158 SWC , 6.2 gr is a fun load, I’ll go 6.5 as my “maximum medium magnum” in .357’s. If I want to scorch the walls I’ll drop in a near max charge of Enforcer or H-110 and send booming fireballs down the barrels of my L-frame 686+ or Dan Wesson 15-2. (I spare my K frame .357’s the abuse.)

Stay safe.

My favorite midrange load is 8.4 grains of siholloette. I would compare it to a 7.0 grain load of unique which I also like. What level of excitement is highly variable. These are do it all loads from the truck gun to target. More moderate loads go in 38 cases because I have lots of them. The 154 noe bullet is just about all I load now because it's cheap and works well for my needs across platforms including lever.

Maybe some day I will get to try 2400 in my .357 loads. When I got into .357 a couple of years ago there was no 2400 to be had. I have a bunch of H110 for my .44s so 110 it is for now. I get good accuracy with coated swc and a stout darn near max load. I love those fireballs and the recoil to me is nothing. The indoor range here is all I have and .357mag is the max cartridge. I was shooting the other day and the range guy who I am friends with comes back and says "Wth you shooting?" I said ".357mag" he said "Damn that report and fireball had me wondering" I said "you want to shoot it?" he says "nah, I'll pass"

I have 5 different loads for the 357 Magnum. All are accurate, but my favorite jacketed loads are Speer 158 JHPFN over 13.1 of Shooters World Heavy Pistol, and Hornady 125XTP over 6.9 grains of CFEPistol. I have a few coated loads that are excellent as well.

AJC1 said:

My favorite midrange load is 8.4 grains of siholloette. I would compare it to a 7.0 grain load of unique which I also like. What level of excitement is highly variable. These are do it all loads from the truck gun to target. More moderate loads go in 38 cases because I have lots of them. The 154 noe bullet is just about all I load now because it's cheap and works well for my needs across platforms including lever.

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Same exact powders (Same published load data, powder burn rate, charge weight and volume):

- Winchester W231 and Hodgdon HP-38
- Hodgdon HS-6 and Winchester W540
- Hodgdon HS-7 and Winchester W571
- Ramshot Silhouette and Winchester WAP <<---- FYI if Silhouette isn't showing as available.
- Ramshot Enforcer and Accurate 4100
- Winchester W296 and Hodgdon H110
- Hodgdon H4227 and IMR 4227
- Accurate 2230 and Ramshot X-Terminator
- Accurate 2520 and Ramshot Wild Boar
- Alliant RL15 and Norma 203B
- Winchester W760 and Hodgdon H414

Good testing and write up, thanks. I have been loading 6.0 Grains of Unique of 158 SWC hard cast for years. No gas checks and have never had any leading only good results. Never went any higher because I always felt the velocity was probably on the edge of non gas checked lead. Your test confirmed this.

I use a lot of Unique, yes it’s dirty, it is what it is. Metering has never been a problem, I throw my loads, check every 10 rounds. Rarely does it vary enough for me to notice an accuracy difference. The rounds I load it in are not match loads though, good accurate range ammo is what I shoot for with Unique, that and factory duplication loads.

Point is though, a 158 SWC at 1000 FPS is a good target and field load that bridges the gap between Specials and Magnums. It is a good tool in the box! Regards, Bill

GeoDudeFlorida said:

Same exact powders (Same published load data, powder burn rate, charge weight and volume):

- Winchester W231 and Hodgdon HP-38
- Hodgdon HS-6 and Winchester W540
- Hodgdon HS-7 and Winchester W571
- Ramshot Silhouette and Winchester WAP <<---- FYI if Silhouette isn't showing as available.
- Ramshot Enforcer and Accurate 4100
- Winchester W296 and Hodgdon H110
- Hodgdon H4227 and IMR 4227
- Accurate 2230 and Ramshot X-Terminator
- Accurate 2520 and Ramshot Wild Boar
- Alliant RL15 and Norma 203B
- Winchester W760 and Hodgdon H414

Click to expand...

I have used wap data but for the life of me cannot find the company article or article that said they were the same. Still searching.

My standard 357 Magnum load these days is a mid level load using 158-160 grain cast SWC and 6.3 grains of Unique.

They are pleasant to shoot even in a 3" Model 60.

I have not loaded any full power loads in 15-16 years. I just do not shoot many full power loads any more in the 357 Magnum.

If I did, I use H110/W296 powder and 158 grain jacketed bullets.