OK, here's the pitch. I am new to shooting and reloading. I have some Unique powder and Speer 158 gn soft points for reloading. In my Speer manual, it lists 6.9 to 7.7 gns min/max. My research seems to show that accuracy favors the maximum loadings for any given powder used. I want to start out as low as possible. Due to the fact I want my wife to enjoy shooting as much as I do. I am thinking of starting out with 7.2 grs. I am hoping for a 2" grouping at 50 yards. BTW, we are using a S & W .686 with a 4" barrel. Bottom line? What are some pretty accurate reload data for the powder and bullets I am using.
.357 mag lite loads
- Thread starter danfree
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Do not go below the listed mininum. You could get a bullet stuck in the barrel. If you want lighter loads for her to shoot, just have her shoot 38 Specials. The only problem you might have doing that is you will have to clean the chambers before you are able to load 357 Mag. again. I do this all the time.
I agree with my namesake and suggest you just load and shoot .38s. As familiarity and skill comes you can always change and load up .357s, but for range and firearm familiarity practice the .38s will do great. IMHO you will find that the paper zombies at the range will NOT be able to tell the difference.
There are a whole world of pistol shooters out there who would be thrilled to EVER see a 2" group at any distance, any caliber, let alone a .357 at 50 yards. I dammm sure rarely see any at my local gun shoppe range - lol
In a SD scenario MOA (minute of angle) ain't my goal, only MOD (minute of dead)
just sayin'.
There are a whole world of pistol shooters out there who would be thrilled to EVER see a 2" group at any distance, any caliber, let alone a .357 at 50 yards. I dammm sure rarely see any at my local gun shoppe range - lol
In a SD scenario MOA (minute of angle) ain't my goal, only MOD (minute of dead)
just sayin'.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Well, I don't know about that!
And it certainly isn't the case with faster pistol powders.
Unique is not particulrly pressure sensitive, and can be down-loaded to .38 Spl power levels if thats what you want to do.
I'd suggest you try 6.0 - 6.5 grains in .357 brass for a very comfortable & accurate light load with 158 grain jacketed Speer bullets.
Should give you around 800 - 850 FPS with .38 Spl recoil levels.
BTW: That is fast enough to rule out any chance of a stuck bullet.
rc
loadedround
Member
I would second rcmodel's suggestion. This man knows what he's talking about. Some really nice medium loads can be put together with 158gr/Unique comninations in either 38 or 357 cases.
Yep. It'll work just fine.
You can load .357 brass with .38 data and be fine. Start a couple of tenths over the .38 Spl start data to make sure it isn't too light, and it may take .1 or .2 grs more powder, depending on burn rate, to get the same velocity in .357 cases.
Welcome to THR
Thanks you guys! I purchased 1000 pieces of .357 brass, so loading for .38 special isn't practical for me now. Considering 7.7 grs of Unique is about 1040 fps, 7.2 grns is well above minimum and well below maximum. I think it should be an ideal starting point. I also have some Alliant 2400 powder. I think I will use that a bit later when I have a bit more experience. Perhaps I should order some lighter weight bullets. Maybe 140 grns instead of 158 grns?
fields
Member
Do not shoot 38s in your 357. You will have to clean the chambers. Just reload the 357s down to the 38 level. If you do not have a 38, then toss any 38s that get into your stack. As per rcmodel.
richard
richard
For plinking I use 125 gr jhp's. Today my daughter and myself went to the range to try a new mild load I just made for her. It's using 5.0 grains of Unique under a 125 jhp. In effect it's barely as powerful as a .38 Special load.
What was meant by loading .38 level loads is just as I did above. I'm using .357 brass that is loaded to a .38 Special power level. I'd say 7.0 grains of Unique under a 158gr SP could easily steer many new shooters away. There's significant blast and recoil. Personally I think a .22 is what people should learn with for a lot of reasons.
The lighter bullets will recoil less loaded to the same velocities. With 7.5 grains of Unique, my standard moderate load, and a 125 grain bullet there is significant blast and recoil, more than my daughter felt comfortable with. Another problem with a more powerful load is a beginners tendency to flinch. In other words anticipating when the gun is going to go off preparing for the blast. Flinching is counter productive as it ruins accuracy. Today after a couple of cylinders full she finally quite flinching. You may find lighter loads are more enjoyable to shoot as well. Many of us who reload don't shoot full power loads very often. My load with 7.5 gr. of Unique is almost all I use in my .357's.
What was meant by loading .38 level loads is just as I did above. I'm using .357 brass that is loaded to a .38 Special power level. I'd say 7.0 grains of Unique under a 158gr SP could easily steer many new shooters away. There's significant blast and recoil. Personally I think a .22 is what people should learn with for a lot of reasons.
The lighter bullets will recoil less loaded to the same velocities. With 7.5 grains of Unique, my standard moderate load, and a 125 grain bullet there is significant blast and recoil, more than my daughter felt comfortable with. Another problem with a more powerful load is a beginners tendency to flinch. In other words anticipating when the gun is going to go off preparing for the blast. Flinching is counter productive as it ruins accuracy. Today after a couple of cylinders full she finally quite flinching. You may find lighter loads are more enjoyable to shoot as well. Many of us who reload don't shoot full power loads very often. My load with 7.5 gr. of Unique is almost all I use in my .357's.
buck460XVR
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I shoot 158 JHPs/JSPs loaded with Unique all the time outta my carbine and 686. 7.2 shoots well, outta the carbine it's like shootin' a .22 Mag. I doubt very much if your wife will be bothered by them, but you'll find 7.4 burns a little cleaner with only a tad more oomph.
bullseye308
Member
Definitely save the 2400 for full power loads in 357, it works very well for that. If you want to load light loads and don't mind another powder, look at Bullseye. It can load light 38's and medium 357's easily and is all I use for mine. Favorite Bullseye loads are 2.7gr in a 38 case with a 148WC or 5.0gr in a 357 case with a 158SWC.
zxcvbob
Member
Another vote for Bullseye powder. It will load anything from light target loads to midrange "magnum" loads, and it doesn't seem to get jumpy at the heavier loadings like some fast powders.
But since you have Unique already, go with it. It's a fine powder too, with a wide application range, and you can load the magnums a little hotter than Bullseye.
But since you have Unique already, go with it. It's a fine powder too, with a wide application range, and you can load the magnums a little hotter than Bullseye.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Just because you are loading .357 Magnum brass doesn't mean you can't load .38 Special pressures. If you load the MAX charge recommended listed for a .38 Special round for your chosen powder in .357 Magnum brass you will have a good round for your wife to shoot. Also, unless you are using a very hard to ignite powder there's no reason to use a Magnum primer either. If you will consider a different powder I would use a faster powder for lighter loads like W231/HP-38. Using that 158gr jacketed bullet try a charge of 4.6gr W231 in that .357 Magnum brass using a standard SP primer. That load will produce a .38 Special pressure load that will be very pleasant for your wife to shoot.
One more suggestion, if you use a 125gr bullet instead of a 158gr bullet you will lessen the felt recoil. (like mentioned above)
Welcome to the forum...
One more suggestion, if you use a 125gr bullet instead of a 158gr bullet you will lessen the felt recoil. (like mentioned above)
Welcome to the forum...
It makes sense to simply load to .38 spl levels. But I am brand new to this. Therefore I will 'go by the book', for now. That book being the Speer loading manual that came with my 'new' Rockchucker press. It has taken quite a long time to just get the materials together, just for starters. I will start with the minimum loads for the 158 gn bullets I have. I should have had the forethought and ordered the lighter bullets. I will do that immediately. Of course supplies are still fairly lean, so I expect they will have to be backordered. In the meantime, I am excited to finally get started.
RidgwayCO
Member
If you're thinking about ordering more bullets (and they DO seem to disappear quickly when two people are shooting...), you might want to consider the Speer 158gr LSWC-HP bullets. At the velocity you're shooting (less than 1000 fps), they'll perform extremely well, and shouldn't lead your barrel. Their biggest attribute, however, is their price (currently $40.49 for 500 bullets plus shipping at MidwayUSA), less than half the cost of the 158gr JSPs you're shooting now.
If you were looking for max velocity then I'd recommend staying with the jacketed bullets, but why pay for that kind of performance if you don't need it? Plus, Speer #14 has pressure-tested loads with their 158gr LSWC-HP bullet in the .357 Magnum. The minimum load of Unique seems to be just what you're looking for (especially out of a 4" barrel).
If you were looking for max velocity then I'd recommend staying with the jacketed bullets, but why pay for that kind of performance if you don't need it? Plus, Speer #14 has pressure-tested loads with their 158gr LSWC-HP bullet in the .357 Magnum. The minimum load of Unique seems to be just what you're looking for (especially out of a 4" barrel).
zxcvbob
Member
Great idea. I use Magnus bullets #515 from MidSouthShootersSupply.com for my .38 Special HD load; it's a 158 grain swaged lead SWC-HP, also about $40 / 500 (use to cost half that
)
Seedtick
Member
`
Hey Dan, If you want to save a little $$ and you want to get some quality bullets in 3 or 4 days check these out -
Missouri Bullet Company .38 caliber bullets
If you'll search this forum for Missouri Bullet THR Discount, read through the post and find the proper code, you'll get a discount also.
ST
Hey Dan, If you want to save a little $$ and you want to get some quality bullets in 3 or 4 days check these out -
Missouri Bullet Company .38 caliber bullets
If you'll search this forum for Missouri Bullet THR Discount, read through the post and find the proper code, you'll get a discount also.
ST
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ArchAngelCD
Member.
danfree,
I would never tell you to do something that's not published in a manual. The 38 Special and .357 Magnum cases are almost identical. The .357 Magnum was lengthened by 1/8" to insure the heavier loads weren't used in the weaker .38 Special revolvers. That length difference is so slight it hardly changes the load. It is perfectly safe and acceptable practice to load .38 Special pressures in a .357 Magnum case. Many reloaders do so every day for their .357 Magnum revolvers to avoid the carbon ring that can build up when shooting .38 Special brass in a .357 Magnum.
Please, do what you think is best but understand I wasn't recommending anything that was dangerous or unacceptable practice.
DickM
Member
I've been using .38 Special data in .357 cases to produce light target loads for my .357 revolvers for about 35 years. Never had the slightest hint of a problem.
Exactly. I am one who loads .38 Spl data, including light .38 Spl data, in .357 Mag cases for enjoyable shooting. I have several .357 revolvers cause they make so many cool ones, but only like to shoot a small amount of full load .357 ammo. I can shoot .38 Spl type loads in them all day long. No different than the thousands of folks who shoot more .38 Spl in their .357's than .357 mag, we are just doing it in mag cases to avoid the carbon build up in the chambers, despite the fact that is isn't all that tough to clean out.
geo57
Member
danfree, we also use the 158 gr. JHP / Unique combo with .357 cases at times. I load 6.5 grs for my wife's use in her Ruger Sec. 6 . It runs right @ 950 fps and feels like a heavy, .38 spl + P load in that revolver. I favor 7.3 -7.5 grs., depending on primer, in my Ruger GP100 . It runs 1050 fps, and while certainly not a full power load or heavy " kicker ", it does have enough recoil to let you know you are shooting a moderate magnum load.
Worried about lead in the barrel? Try Berry's plated bullets. Great accuracy. No lead. Want your wife to have fun? Use your imagination. Get some clay shotgun targets, set them up at various ranges and time the shots. You will find that the challenge will make her forget the recoil. Get good hearing protection.
GP100man
Member
To delead a barrel just wrap some copper (non magnetic) chore boy pot scrubbers around an old brush , some of your favorite solvent & a few strokes later , leadbegone!!!
Follow with regular brushin & patchin!!!
Follow with regular brushin & patchin!!!
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