which powder comes close to filling up the case

Welcome to The High Road!

If you want to get the best velocity you need a much slower powder that Titegroup. For medium strength loads try Universal, Unique, or 2400. They'll do a pretty goog job of filling the case. For the really heavy thumpers look at H110/W296 or Lil'Gun.

For the best case filling with lighter loads it's hard to beat Trail Boss (cast bullets only).

What bullets are you wanting to shoot?

Alliant 2400 powder works well for 357 mag.

I would rather have a powder that come close to filling the case leaving only enough to seat the bullet.

Click to expand...

No one powder will cover all the bases with the wide range of calibers you are loading.

So stop worrying about that, and worry about your reloading technique.

If it is even possible for a double charge to get by your check system and get a bullet on top of it, you are doing something Wrong!

#1 Use loading blocks.
#2 Load and charge in 50 round lots.
#3 Charge 50 cases, then use a light to inspect each case. All the powder levels should be the same.
#4 Place a bullet in each charged case far enough to stop up the hole.
#5 Proceed to the press and seat the bullets.

If you do that, you can use the best powder for the job, and not the worst powder that fills up the cases.

rc

I think you'd be happy with 2400, Unique, or Universal with all those cartridges. Loads near minimum will be pretty sooty, but they'll clean up as you increase charge weights.

RC is right about procedures, far more important than powder choice.

Green Dot is probably the bulkiest powder for light loads in magnum cases.

I use Titegroup because it works so well in a powder meter. I load in blocks of 50 or 100 rounds and inspect each charge.

There is no worse feeling than being unsure of your handloads when you raise your gun.

Are you looking for light loads in the .357 or what?

Trail Boss is really good if you want to fill up the case (or come close to it), plus its a great powder to work with. Its for lead bullets only, but it seems like you shoot those anyway. I just loaded up a test batch in .44 Special to see how they do. I'll be shooting (and hopefully chronoing) them this weekend.

i load clays,700x ,titegroup,hp-38 & red dot for light -med loads & h110, lilgun & 2400 for heavies .
for straight med loads 800x , Herco (these don`t meter the best )& IMR 4227 for med heavy to heavy.
the recoil is different with the 4227 especially when ya get into 180s in 357 & 300gr in 44.
i know i left some powders out .
the hi energy powders(like clays ) ya get more rounds per can (14oz.)than a can of 4227 very bulky.
I load in batches on single stage presses & inspect powder level in each case before topping with a boolit. some that load i`ve seen use a dowel & mark it then stick it in the case to chek powder.

GP100man

Oh come on folks this is the easiest question ever

use fffg black powder!

You need a slow powder, to fill a 357 case, Blue Dot, 2400, 296, H-110, Longshot, ect.

I say always go with a load that fills the case at least half way when doing high volume loading.

A combo of light bullets and slow powder will get you a near full case. Like using Jacked 125gr bullets and loading them with 2400 near full power.

You might also want to consider 4227........

As said a few times, Trail Boss and lead is a great case filling combo.

Trail boss +1
or Goex 3fff

lol

For out-n-out simplicity unique and 2400 would cover all the bases for you pretty well.

You main problem is this-

You load both high and low pressure cartridges. So while there are powders that will work in all, it won't do any of them near their potential without issues of one sort or another.

% case filled

Nosler #3 manual will give % of case capacity and most accurate load for each powder and most accurate powder for the range of powders for a load,

I will 2nd Trail Boss and Lead,

Moron Labbe

I agree with rcmodel that process is most important for safety. Find a way that will keep you safe, and then do it religiously.

However, I also try to make sure I use powders that will give me obvious indications if they are accidentally double-charged, or if the powder bridges in the powder measure and gives me a light charge.

Trail Boss is unmatched for filling a case to the point that it's easily seen. It also flows well through my Lee Pro Auto Disk measure. Unfortunately it is really only good for light target/plinking loads, which is what I use (a lot of) it for.

For higher velocity rounds, I've found the VihtaVuori series of pistol powders to have the best combination of precise metering, clean burning, low ES/SD numbers, and case-filling ability. The Accurate pistol powders are almost as good, but don't usually fill the case as well.

The other powders I've tried and am currently phasing out of my powder locker are:

Titegroup: Fills the case abysmally, to the point that even double charges can be hard to see

Clays: Bridges too easily in my Lee Pro Auto Disk with the amounts of powder I'll usually use it for

Unique: I've never been able to get it to meter accurately over a long reloading session

HS7: future supplies are doubtful

VV N330: Not usually as available as N320 and N340, and doesn't really do anything that they can't do (the gap between N320 and N340 just isn't that big). I've read that they use a lot of N330 for military 9mm Luger rounds, where it could well be the best choice (and explains why it's more difficult to find).

Just my opinion, and worth every penny you paid for it!

2400 also does a pretty good job of filling the case, mostly due to its high charge weights I expect. For my standard 2400 load in .38 Special, a double charge fills the case right to the top, which is hard to miss.

I'm going to go with rcmodel on this one. Though I use a different method the outcome is the same. No double charged cases.

Use the powder that performs best in your particular application and pay attention to what you are doing and you won't have a double charge. I use W-231 in one of my .357 magnum applications and haven't had a double charge in all the years I've been reloading...