RealGun
Member
.357 Magnum has no purpose unless shooting hotter than 38 +p. My load with your 150+ bullet and Unique is 6.5 and rated only as Tier I, suitable for small guns.I am going to be in the minority, here.
I have shot "Skeeter's Load" 13.5 gr. 2400, 158 gr. SWC, 357 brass, in my S&W 586 4", and didn't like it very much, thank you!
My brother in law and I settled on what we called "hot .38, Mild magnum loads. More fun to shoot accurately. For 30 + years my go-to IPSC and everything load was/is 150-158 gr. Cast SWC, 5.5 gr. Unique. 4" barrel, 860 fps chrono'ed, pleasant to shoot, and very likely adequate for any reasonable need. The recoil is similar to Speer's 357 Magnum Short barrel 135 gr load. Nice ammo, but expen$ive!
"The Revolver Guy" has some interesting comments on his web site regarding 38+P/357 magnum loads. One I recall is that few people have the time, money,or dedication to become truly proficient with .357 magnum full snort loads.
Federal has recently introduced a 130 gr. HST 38 +P loading that has shown great results in Lucky Gunner tests, as well as another site on YouTube. Velocity is 825 fps from a 2" barrel. and 850 from a 4". I have recently obtained a small sample of the bullets, and will be trying to approach Federal's advertised velocity of 890 fps, using my old reliable powders..Universal and Unique. AA#5 is still an untried quantity, but I expect good results from it, also.
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