Fast rifle powders in .357 for carbines?

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Buck13

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Except Lil'gun, there doesn't seem to be any data for rifle loads in the .357 using the very fast rifle powders like AA1680, IMR4198 or Reloader 7. (I know, Lil'gun is a shotgun powder. :rolleyes: ) Is the case just too small to take advantage of these, or does it not work for some other reason I don't understand? Or have they just not bothered to work up something that would not be suitable for barrels under a foot long?

In Lyman 49, they have pistol and rifle data pages for .32-20 in which pistol uses all the usual suspects (Unique, 231, #5), and the rifle data uses mostly the rifle powders I've listed. Pressure is still the 16,000 limit in both cases, so the difference is not that the rifle loads are higher pressure for sturdier guns. The .32-20 case has a very slight bottleneck. It's so minimal, you might not even notice it in a glance at a dirty case. I know diddly about internal ballistics, so I don't know if this tips the case volume to bore volume ratio just enough to make the rifle powders work in a way that they wouldn't in the straight-walled cartridges, or what.

I'm guessing that if this could work in .357 (or .44), I'd have run across it by now, but correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Yes, case volume to bore volume ratio is the most likely reason.

A .357 or .44 Mag case will not hold enough of the slower rifle powders + a bullet shank to get-R-done.

The 32-20 WCF is actually a longer case then either of the Magnum calibers.

rc
 
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I've made that same mistake at least a couple of times over the last few months. I look at the numbers and get all excited, then I realize that's not the magnum. :)
 
ArchAngelCD Like said above, even the fastest rifle powders are too slow for use in handgun cartridges, even magnums.

Don't forget about the 460 and 500 smiths. They love that "too slow fastest rifle powders." :)
 
Those are not handguns. They are heavy carbines that have lost their stocks. :evil:


My .460 shoots best with the same powders that work the best in my .44 and .357 mags. H110/W296 and IMR4227. Now while I have carbines and revolvers in .357 and .44, in .460, I have only a revolver. Most of my loads with IMR4227 are compressed or nearly compressed. No way one could use a slower powder that needed more case capacity.
 
I've seen the data for 300-MP, but it never seems to get mentioned in actual use here. Has anyone seen that stuff loose in the wild? I asked at the LGS, and they acted like they'd never heard of it.
 
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