357 Magnum: How much H110 do you use with a 158g JHP?

[Macchina]

Specifically loaded under a Hornady 158 grain XTP and fired in Ruger firearms.
This powder was loaded up around 17.5 grains under a 158 grain bullet back in the day, however that has been backed down by every manufacturer. Lyman's 3rd currently lists 17g as the max and Hodgdon lists the max at 16.7g. Magnum primers and a heavy crimp on all loads.

I was told by way too many people on here that pressure/velocity stays the same across the upper limits of H110 (some even say it's safe to load until just under compressed: stupid advice of course). A lot of myths surround the use of H110 in the 357…

When working up a max load for 3 ruger firearms (357 LCR, 357 SP1010 4.2”, and 77/357 18.5” Rifle) I found the 17g load to provide much more velocity in the snub LCR:

16.7g: 1,056 FPS
17.0g: 1,124 FPS

These loads showed a 50 FPS difference in the 4.2” SP101 (1,220 FPS and 1,270 FPS) and almost no difference in the 18.5” 77/357 (1,740 FPS).

My question: How hot do you load your H110 158g JHP loads and what results are you seeing?
I worked up all of my loads very slowly in the winter and will work them up again next summer to check the difference in the heat. I never saw much pressure signs beyond some impressions left in the primers (no flow and only slight flattening) and never had even a hint of sticky extractions.

A typical 17g H110 primer in my SP101:




Some 158g XTP's fired through 3 feet of water and into an ice backstop (4.2" SP101 @ 1,270 FPS):

 

[midland man]

I used h110 for a while when I played with 357mag but I then tried 7grs of greendot under a 158gr jacketed bullet and found its much nicer to shoot and more accurate and dosent blow your ears out either!!

 

[buck460XVR]

I generally load 16 gr or under in my firearms, even for hunting loads. Still gives me plenty of Oommph. If I need more than that I just go with a larger caliber. I've found that loading for accuracy(which 16 and under gives me) means more to the target, than an extra 50 fps or so.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have loaded a 158gr JHP bullet in the .357 Magnum with charges of W296/H110 from 15.7gr to slightly over 17gr and depending upon the handgun all were accurate to an extent. With the .357 Magnum revolver I shoot most a charge of 16.4gr W296/H110 shoots most accurately. (W/CCI-550 primer)

Personally I think Lyman's 17.0gr limit should be followed by most reloaders. It seems to be the limit of the pressure scale for the .357 Magnum, even if you use the older pressure limits.

 

[phonejack]

14.0 with that bullet for accuracy. That is, until I learned I could get the same velocity with less chamber pressure using 2400

 

[gamestalker]

I've been an H110 / 296 exclusive reloader for many years, just love the stuff. And I only load jacketed bullets.

Anyway, because my loads are on the warm side, I won't post what I load. But I will say this, in my experience H110 / 296 is a very pressure stable powder at the upper end, not so much at lower end of the table though. It doesn't just suddenly go red line, and it performs exactly as one would expect from a full house magnum load.

Always use a firm roll crimp!

Always use magnum primers!

Never reduce charges to below published minimum!

Always hold on tight to your firearm when firing!

GS

 

[Salmoneye]

14.5gr

Just like it says on my few one pound canisters left from the early 90's:

 

[Blue68f100]

Remember with H110/W296 if there is no min you only back off 3% from max. This has been the std for this powder for decades unless something has changed. Most of the reload manuals do publish a min but those that do not have a foot note for this powder since it's different on the low end.

 

[gamestalker]

This ^^^

GS

 

[cfullgraf]

When I used W296 in 357 Magnum, I followed my loading manuals' data. It has been a while since I loaded W296 in 357 Magnum and my load records are not handy at the moment.

These days, I am happy shooting hot 38 Special level loads in my 357 Magnum revolvers and W296 does not play well when reduced.

Currently, I use W296/H110 in 30 Carbine and 30 BLK. But, I'd use it again in 357 Magnum again if I wanted to load max loads again.

 

[buck460XVR]

Remember with H110/W296 if there is no min you only back off 3% from max. This has been the std for this powder for decades unless something has changed.

This ^^^

GS

While I hear this all the time, I often wonder why then, that Hodgdon themselves, distributor of H110/W296, reduce their starter loads in their manuals by over 10% from max. Hornady, shows almost a 20% reduction from some of their max loads for a start load with H110/W296. If you only reduce Lyman's 17 gr max load for a 158gr pill in .357 by 3%, you still are a whole gr over the max 15.5 charge Speer gives for a 158gr bullet.

Does this mean those companies are giving us unsafe information? No, it means one need to follow their manuals and use the appropriate components. It also means that H110/W296 is not the evil monkey in the closet everyone tells us it is, and going to blow up our guns if we use anything less than a max charge. Like any powder, it has it's parameters and correct applications. One needs to use it that way.

 

[gamestalker]

You make a good point Buck. But then again, I have never had problems using it at the upper end of the tables, any tables. What I think, and I'm no expert with H110/296, even though it has been almost the exclusive powder I run in my magnum applications, is that it is a powder you work up with, not down, it isn't 231. Thus your statement of following your reloading manuals accordingly, is agreed on. Matching components to the data is always the best rule in this respect, but with the above being the proper procedure with this powder, IMO.

Note- With respect to which data to work with, not all bullets are created equal, some may have thicker/thinner jackets, different base configuration, longer shanks, and so on. This is why matching components is important, and certainly the right way to approach any load, regardless of the powder choice. Me personally, and more the point I am intending to make, I would not work it down to the bare minimum I can reduce it to, but rather, I would try to find the best worked up charge.

GS