357 load development and casual observations

[AJC1]

Blue Dot you say? I want to try some of that in 9mm. Also, pics added above.

Blue dot or true blue. In 9mm true blue is good. I don't think blue dot is your jam.

 

[DMW1116]

I was thinking Blue Dot would be good for 9mm rifle due to slower burning. Maybe not though.

 

[AJC1]

I was thinking Blue Dot would be good for 9mm rifle due to slower burning. Maybe not though.

It's supposed to be equal to Longshot so I think it's a little slow. It's what I consider the bottom of the magnum powders. I'm on my first pound so I'm testing it in every way I can safety find data and in 38-44 loads so far. I also plan to load berry's in 30-30 and get a feel for reduced rifle applications. It definitely is not clean like modern powders.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I was thinking Blue Dot would be good for 9mm rifle due to slower burning. Maybe not though.

6.5gr of Blue Dot under a 142gr Fiocchi TCJ or 147gr FMJ is a real showstopper out of a Hi-Power. The recoil is remarkably light but the report is like a stun grenade. No real fireball but MAN! is it loud! It’s a good, accurate load, too.

 

[DMW1116]

Well I think the loads with 2400 and the MBC 158 SWC fooled me. I’ve not been able to get them to shoot the same since. I’ll give it one more try with 12.8 and 13.1. I did confirm my heaviest load to date is still accurate and not a fluke. 14.1 grains of 2400 and a 158 grain XTP shot just over an inch during testing and shot about 1.5” yesterday to confirm and didn’t show any pressure issues beyond what I saw when I went above 13 grains.

I tried some upper level loads of W231 pushing the 158 MBC bullet and didn’t have any success there either. I mean, all these loads with the MBC bullet will shoot 3” at 25 yards. That’s nothing to sneeze at. However I’ve come to expect half that for a good combination of powder and bullet. I want to try them with some Enforcer or SW Heavy Pistol but can’t find either.

So far I have a few loads that do very well.

A HBWC pushed by anything from Titegroup to talcum powder shoots very well.

Gallant brand 125 grain RNFP cast bullets shoot well with W231 and CFEP. They are also very good with Silhouette in a 38 case out to 10-15 yards but seem to fall apart at 25.

158 grain XTP bullets shoot very well with 2400 around 13 grains and tighten back up above 14 grains. Three different test groups were under 1.125” from 12.9-13.3 so that’s probably the better range and noticeably less recoil.

125 grain XTPS shoot pretty good with a heavy charge of HS6. They loosened up a little when I tried to confirm them but it’s still a good load, running about 2”.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Well I think the loads with 2400 and the MBC 158 SWC fooled me. I’ve not been able to get them to shoot the same since. I’ll give it one more try with 12.8 and 13.1. I did confirm my heaviest load to date is still accurate and not a fluke. 14.1 grains of 2400 and a 158 grain XTP shot just over an inch during testing and shot about 1.5” yesterday to confirm and didn’t show any pressure issues beyond what I saw when I went above 13 grains.

I tried some upper level loads of W231 pushing the 158 MBC bullet and didn’t have any success there either. I mean, all these loads with the MBC bullet will shoot 3” at 25 yards. That’s nothing to sneeze at. However I’ve come to expect half that for a good combination of powder and bullet. I want to try them with some Enforcer or SW Heavy Pistol but can’t find either.

So far I have a few loads that do very well.

A HBWC pushed by anything from Titegroup to talcum powder shoots very well.

Gallant brand 125 grain RNFP cast bullets shoot well with W231 and CFEP. They are also very good with Silhouette in a 38 case out to 10-15 yards but seem to fall apart at 25.

158 grain XTP bullets shoot very well with 2400 around 13 grains and tighten back up above 14 grains. Three different test groups were under 1.125” from 12.9-13.3 so that’s probably the better range and noticeably less recoil.

125 grain XTPS shoot pretty good with a heavy charge of HS6. They loosened up a little when I tried to confirm them but it’s still a good load, running about 2”.

Do you have any Universal?

 

[DMW1116]

No. Haven’t even seen any in a store. 2400, W231, HS6, CFEP, and a dash of Silhouette are my only supplies now.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

No. Haven’t even seen any in a store. 2400, W231, HS6, CFEP, and a dash of Silhouette are my only supplies now.

There are a great many folks who would live quite happily with only the first 3 powders for 357 Mag.

 

[Walkalong]

First two.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

There are a great many folks who would live quite happily with only the first 3 powders for 357 Mag.

That's the truth!

 

[DMW1116]

W231 and CFEP are general purpose. HS6 is mostly dedicated to a target 9mm load though I have a few 125 grain XTPs I might use with it. 2400 I originally bought for cast rifle loads but it didn’t work very well.

 

[DMW1116]

I was thinking but wanted a second opinion. The Lyman cast manual has two bullets in this weight range. One is a 155 and another is a 158 grain bullet. The max for the 158 is 13.5 grains of 2400. The max for the 155 is 14 grains. I think I stopped at 13.4 but I will check my records. 2400 is shown as potentially the most accurate at its max charge but it’s for a 155 grain bullet.

Can I treat them the same and go up to 14 with just a 3 grain difference? I have potentially 2 more increments at 13.9 and 13.6 to see if I can get a little better shooting load.

 

[AJC1]

I was thinking but wanted a second opinion. The Lyman cast manual has two bullets in this weight range. One is a 155 and another is a 158 grain bullet. The max for the 158 is 13.5 grains of 2400. The max for the 155 is 14 grains. I think I stopped at 13.4 but I will check my records. 2400 is shown as potentially the most accurate at its max charge but it’s for a 155 grain bullet.

Can I treat them the same and go up to 14 with just a 3 grain difference? I have potentially 2 more increments at 13.9 and 13.6 to see if I can get a little better shooting load.

My most accurate was 13.8 with my cast 154 noe. I was going to do exactly the same thing up to 14 because Lyman says the 155 performs best at 14.0

 

[DMW1116]

Do you get any pressure signs with that load? My 14.1 grain XTP load has some striations in the primer face but the corners are still rounded.

 

[AJC1]

Do you get any pressure signs with that load? My 14.1 grain XTP load has some striatum’s in the primer face but the corners are still rounded.

None sir.

 

[DMW1116]

I loaded up a test batch of 13.1 (retest), 13.6, & 13.8 grains of 2400. We’ll see how they do next weekend. I plan to set up the Blackhawk for its intended purpose of long range handgunning and will need a couple dozen target rounds to establish a solid 25 yard starting zero. I intend to use a base zero of 25 yards with the 14.1 XTP load, which im close to now. Maybe another half inch left and I’m there but I’ll need a better rest and bench to be sure.

 

[Bfh_auto]

It's supposed to be equal to Longshot so I think it's a little slow. It's what I consider the bottom of the magnum powders. I'm on my first pound so I'm testing it in every way I can safety find data and in 38-44 loads so far. I also plan to load berry's in 30-30 and get a feel for reduced rifle applications. It definitely is not clean like modern powders.

You will be pleased. It's great in every 30-30 I shot it in.
I stopped going up at 15 grains. Velocity was mid 1600s. I have to seat deep to chamber Berry's bullets in my wife's Marlin.

 

[AJC1]

You will be pleased. It's great in every 30-30 I shot it in.
I stopped going up at 15 grains. Velocity was mid 1600s. I have to seat deep to chamber Berry's bullets in my wife's Marlin.

Are you referring to blue dot or Longshot. I keep pondering by best load options with bluedot.

 

[Bfh_auto]

Are you referring to blue dot or Longshot. I keep pondering by best load options with bluedot.

Blue dot.

 

[DMW1116]

Turns out 13.6 grains of 2400 is the magic number for my Blackhawk. No pressure signs to speak of and now I’m finally done with load development for the time being. I have good loads at low, medium, and high power levels with jacketed and cast bullets, so it’s time to settle in and get some practice.

 

[AJC1]

I ran my shooters world heavy pistol test today an it just so happens that my best accuracy is where my chronograph testing said was the lowest deviation. So my final call for batch testing is 12.6 grains heavy pistol with cci spp, I tested in pmc brass with a 154 noe at 1.585. I will make a box of 50 to complete final verification, but I feel pretty good about the load now.

 

[DMW1116]

I'd grab a bottle or two of that if it were available. I'd like to try some Enforcer as well. Both are more available than 2400 and cheaper. I just can't find any right now.

 

[Shivahasagun]

W231 and CFEP are general purpose. HS6 is mostly dedicated to a target 9mm load though I have a few 125 grain XTPs I might use with it. 2400 I originally bought for cast rifle loads but it didn’t work very well.

The next thing I'm loading is a 100 ct box of 125 gr XTP JHP's I bought awhile back.

Will be firing them from a new 3 in. 686 Plus. Going to use Enforcer. Will load a few at 17 gr just for a safety check then load the rest at 18 gr. I'm guessing 1250 fps.

After that I get into 180-185 gr cast loads. That should be fun. It's nice the 686 has adjustable sights.

 

[DMW1116]

I’m half searching for a double action in the 3-4 inch range. The 125s were nearly as accurate as the 158s from Hornady. I haven’t shot very many though. I have enough to do a 38+p load and that’s it.

 

[Shivahasagun]

I’m half searching for a double action in the 3-4 inch range. The 125s were nearly as accurate as the 158s from Hornady. I haven’t shot very many though. I have enough to do a 38+p load and that’s it.

I would have purchased a Python to go with my King Cobra, but I really wanted that 7th shot the 686 Plus offers, so I got that. The S&W being $400 less made the decision easier.

The trigger isn't as good as a Colt but it's good enough after wearing in some. I'm referring to the DA trigger because that's what I use 98% of the time.

While my KC 3 in. is 99.9% reliable with other-than-Federal primers that isn't good enough for me so I only use Federal primers in it.

The S&W smacks primers harder. I doubt I'll have any problems regarding light strikes.

Just something to consider. I still prefer the Colt action over the S&W.