357 Magnum advice needed!

[Ray P]

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Save your $$$ and forget the trail boss. While velocities are low with that powder, pressures have to be high to get any real accuracy out of it. It also doesn't meter very well. I've burned a lot of trail boss over the years, it has it's place but there's a lot better powders out there for low cost/low powder usage in the 38spl's & 357's for general range use that anyone can shoot. (snip)

Like you say, it has it's place. For my navy Arms rolling block pistol, 4.1 gr Trail Boss behind 158 gr Acme powder coated LSWC was my most accurate load for low velocity in .357M . It also edged out W231 and Titegroup for low end accuracy in .38 Spl and 32 H&R (71gr RN). maybe I should mention I had better performance with TB than with A5744 for low end .45-70 under 405 gr bullets in the H&R Trapdoor. On the other hand, it did not work well for .300 Rook. And it is equally true, for every cartridge mentioned, there was an equally accurate load using another powder at higher velocities.

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[LeadFlyFly]

OK, so I called Western Powders today and they no longer have a tech support person so you have to call Hodgdon- she said that the powder part of the company was sold to them. They only deal with the Montana Extreme Gun Care products now?!?!? I didn't know this.

https://www.montanaxtreme.com/

Also Hodgdon's tech support is only Monday-Thursday. 913-362-9455 is the number she gave me so I will call them Monday for a recipe on the Acme 105 grain coated bullet in 38 special. As noted probably the start load with Ramshot Silhouette will be around 6 grains or so, but doing some due diligence for safety.

 

[Mark_Mark]

.357 is a hot topic lately

 

[AJC1]

OK, so I called Western Powders today and they no longer have a tech support person so you have to call Hodgdon- she said that the powder part of the company was sold to them. They only deal with the Montana Extreme Gun Care products now?!?!? I didn't know this.

https://www.montanaxtreme.com/

Also Hodgdon's tech support is only Monday-Thursday. 913-362-9455 is the number she gave me so I will call them Monday for a recipe on the Acme 105 grain coated bullet in 38 special. As noted probably the start load with Ramshot Silhouette will be around 6 grains or so, but doing some due diligence for safety.

The new hogden tech support is no where near as helpful in my recent experience. I went through the exact same run around with no good help on Wednesday.

 

[CJ8281]

Hi, I want to comment on your dies. You stated that you bought a Lee 4 die set, the third die (seating die) is also a crimping die. The fourth die is the FCD or Factory Crimp Die. It also post sizes the round. I know a few people that state that this post sizing can cause issues with cast bullets as it can cause them to become under sized with some thicker brass. The lead bullets are squeezed in and don't expand back out. I know a couple guys local to me that have used a punch to knock out the carbide sizing ring on their FCD because of this. Lee also makes a Collet style crimp die for the 357 mag that does not have the carbide post sizing ring. I seat and then crimp as a separate step.
The 38 special and 357 mag are the first cartridges that I ever reloaded. The powder that I started with was Unique, a great all around powder, does burn a little dirty though, until you get up to pressure. The lowest loads that I have seen for 38 spl with Unique is 3.0 grains.
296/H110 is a great powder for magnum loads, be sure to use magnum primers with that powder.

 

[joneb]

it’s a replica of a Winchester 1873

Nice lookin gun, no need to abuse it.

 

[LeadFlyFly]

So I started with 6.0 grains of Ramshot Silhouette with the 105 grain Acme coated flat nose .358 bullets. Shot only at my 12" steel pumpkin 50 feet away 'cause I'm likely to hit it even with my rusty pistol skills. All good, went to 5.8, then 5.6, then 5.4, 5.2, and 5.0 grains. At 5.2 grains there is more unburned powder and at 5.0 grains there is a lot. These were 38 special cases (mixed brass) and OAL was 1.435". Regular small pistol primers (Fort Smith) and the Ruger GP100 with 5" barrel. Seems like 5.3 grains will be a good compromise for a light target load with little recoil and noise and only a bit of unburned powder. I'll load 50 of those next and probably shoot the first 20 at the pumpkin to be safe but print some groups on paper after that.



I've only got maybe 200 or so 38 special cases but have 600 on the way so I should be good soon. That will deplete my store of small pistol primers though.

 

[Bfh_auto]

OP, you've gotten a lot of useful data here. But, I like 2400 for 158's and Missouri 180gr coated in .357. Probably not for the wife. A medium load of Unique with 158's in .38 spl should work for her. My wife is probably the same size; Asian, 5'0" and tiny. She much prefers light/med .38 loads, when she shoots. You may like those 180's I mentioned. They HIT steel!

Those are similar to my h110 180s my wife shot them in my k frame and said they're better than 38 plus p in my ultra light.
The grip fitment is huge. So is frame weight.
She likes 158 plus p loads in it usually.

 

[LeadFlyFly]

I have two different crimps for you fine folks to gaze upon. These are 5.3 grains of Ramshot Silhouette and Acme 105 grain bullet in a 38 special case.





Are both crimps considered acceptable? Is one too much or too little?

 

[AJC1]

I'm thinking #2 is a little much. #1 would be fine for a full mag load.

 

[Seedy Character]

I don't crimp .38's or any handgun rounds, EXCEPT heavy loaded, hunting rounds. .41, .44, and .45

Top looks OK, but bottom is HEAVY. It looks to me. They should shoot, but unnecessary, IMHO

 

[LeadFlyFly]

I'm thinking #2 is a little much. #1 would be fine for a full mag load.

These are super-light target loads and I thought a bit more crimp would give me less unburned powder.

 

[AJC1]

These are super-light target loads and I thought a bit more crimp would give me less unburned powder.

I love silhouette in 357 as I believe it's a great fit. I have never run bullets that light. I'll take the heat for saying a faster powder like bullseye or tightgroup is your best option. Step up in weight to 140 or above and silhouette will be your huckleberry.

 

[Seedy Character]

I load .38s with a 98gr or 105gr powder coated bullet with 1.8gr Trail Boss for Cowboy Action shooting. Very light, no crimp, shoot great.

In .357, those little 98grs will zip with a load of 6.3 Unique

 

[AJC1]

This is my crimp
I hate white PC by the way and wont be doing that again.

 

[LeadFlyFly]

I just scored three pounds of Ramshot Zip from Powder Valley. Bullseye and Titegroup were recommended and I'd like to try both of those but nothing available when I've been looking. Is this one of those powders that you shouldn't leave in the powder measure because it will eat the plastic? I hope I didn't mess up too badly by choosing this over Accurate #2. Thinking this could work well for my 38 special light target and plinking loads. It's supposed to be a little faster than HP38. I want something that works well with these Acme 105 grain flat-nosed bullets.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have two different crimps for you fine folks to gaze upon. These are 5.3 grains of Ramshot Silhouette and Acme 105 grain bullet in a 38 special case.

View attachment 1025401

View attachment 1025402

Are both crimps considered acceptable? Is one too much or too little?

that’s some pretty crimp! oooh yeah, nice and heavy

 

[AJC1]

I just scored three pounds of Ramshot Zip from Powder Valley. Bullseye and Titegroup were recommended and I'd like to try both of those but nothing available when I've been looking. Is this one of those powders that you shouldn't leave in the powder measure because it will eat the plastic? I hope I didn't mess up too badly by choosing this over Accurate #2. Thinking this could work well for my 38 special light target and plinking loads. It's supposed to be a little faster than HP38. I want something that works well with these Acme 105 grain flat-nosed bullets.

Nitro content has a large effect on powder on the plastic. You should never leave power in a measure long enough to etch it. Load, then cleanup and put away. Prevents more critical mistakes like mixing powder and the list goes on.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I just loaded my 1st set of .357 last night, waiting for the kiddo to pass out and I’ll post. They are NICE!

 

[Mark_Mark]

alright here we go!!!!

1.590 berry 147gn FP (.356)
Heavy crimp (because I can)

it feed through ok, I’m going to try 1.580-1.570 to see how it feeds. .357 is my new favorite round… Just looks like FUN!

 

[Seedy Character]

Harbor Freight white?

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I just scored three pounds of Ramshot Zip from Powder Valley. Bullseye and Titegroup were recommended and I'd like to try both of those but nothing available when I've been looking. Is this one of those powders that you shouldn't leave in the powder measure because it will eat the plastic? I hope I didn't mess up too badly by choosing this over Accurate #2. Thinking this could work well for my 38 special light target and plinking loads. It's supposed to be a little faster than HP38. I want something that works well with these Acme 105 grain flat-nosed bullets.

Zip is a good all-around pistol powder. You should have no problem getting it to work with a light bullet.
Start at 3.5gr and see what you get for velocity, spread and deviation. Work up until you’re dialed in at 25yds. Let us know how it goes. I think the lightest lead loads I’ve tried were 109gr conicals with 3.3gr of Bullseye. My notes say that load was only so-so and abandoned around 03/04. I don’t have a complete workup, just the one data point and comment.

 

[Bfh_auto]

alright here we go!!!!

1.590 berry 147gn FP (.356)
Heavy crimp (because I can)

it feed through ok, I’m going to try 1.580-1.570 to see how it feeds. .357 is my new favorite round… Just looks like FUN!

View attachment 1025820

Did you notice you have a cracked piece of brass?

 

[Bfh_auto]

This is my crimpView attachment 1025415
I hate white PC by the way and wont be doing that again.

I have issues with white powder coat also.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Did you notice you have a cracked piece of brass?

ooh yeah, wanted to show, check your range pickups!