Bullet for 357 Sig Plinking

[kutter]

I just ordered a Sig P226 Elite Dark, I'm pretty excited about it, but now I need to load for it. I am taking a Hoffner's class in a few months and I need to put together 1000+ rounds for it. I am just looking for something that will do out to about 12-15 yards and be reasonably accurate but still be reasonable in price. If anyone can provide some good data on lead I would gladly use that as well since it is so much less expensive but I will be pumping a lot of rounds in one day so any leading issues would have to be solved before hand.

I am going to probably use once fired Lake City brass and AA #9 for powder since it greatly reduces the risk of setback.

 

[snuffy]

I am going to probably use once fired Lake City brass and AA #9 for powder since it greatly reduces the risk of setback.

Huh? Lake city? That's military .223 or other rifle stuff. I'm not aware of any lake city 357 sig brass.

As for your question, lead in a 357 sig can be a problem concerning leading. It's a high intensity cartridge, so your velocity would be at the upper limits of what most plain lead bullets can be shot at.

My solution to your quandary is this bullet;

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=1165152935

The Hornady HAP bullet is simply the XTP without the internal skiving step that makes it expand. I load this bullet for my glock M-22 with an aftermarket KKM barrel in 357 sig.

I also cast and load a Lee 125 grain TC bullet, it does fine, BUT is is cast from hard lead and fired un-sized.

 

[hydraulicman]

hmmmm lake city.


Where did you get your brass

 

[Peter M. Eick]

My standard bullet is a Remington 115 JHP which can be found cheaply along with AA9 and I have no problems with it.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=1601278887

I have fired maybe 8000 of these out of my 229 Sport in 357 sig.

If you want to make some cheap "screamers"

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=1601190803

88 grn Rem JHP and a max load of AA9. Lots of fun!

 

[kutter]

Sorry guys, I was suffering from a brain freeze, I meant Starline, sue me I am on vacation and the Bloody Mary's started early this morning.

No screamers for me, I am already concerned about my wrist not liking shooting a notoriously hot round that much in a day, that is the reason I wanted to come up with a nice manageable load that I can shoot all day with comfort.

Peter are those bullets really a .355? One of the issues I am a little concerned about is the actual size of the 357 Sig, since what I have read says it is actually more in the neighbourhood of .3555 or .356 and obviously using an undersized bullet is not a good thing.

Snuffy that was the very thing I was concerned about. Do you know how hard the lead is that you are using to cast them? I think you were the one that posted a pic of some very nice 357 Sig that you had cast and I would love to be able to duplicate that round. I love reloading, but until I am done with school I do not think that I have time to undertake casting as well so I will have to be able to purchase a commercially available bullet. I would have to go back through my pages but I think I cam across some that were 21 on the scale.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I just pulled the Starrett mike and pulled out an 88 grn JHP to check.

The one I pulled miked out at 0.35685. It looks like close enough to .357 to me. I was actually expecting it to be closer to 0.355 then it was. I had not miked one before. I sure like that Starrett.

Actually the "screamers" don't recoil much at all. On my gun with the comp, it actually will recoil DOWN. They are sure fun to shoot.

 

[snuffy]

Cutter, ya mean these?



I could go check some , but I too am lazy after a range session. IIRC they run right at 16 BHN, they may have age hardened since I made them.

The 357 sig is named that for a reason. It's to convey that they're pushing a 125 grain bullet as fast as a .357 magnum. All that in a semi-auto handgun with a LOT more than 6-8 rounds in the mag. The bullet diameters should be the same as 9MM bullets, .355-.356. You'll need a TC,(truncated cone), bullet shape to get the minimal mouth to line up on the major bullet diameter or driving band.

 

[kutter]

I did mean those Snuffy, in a perfect world I would cast something like that, but it will have to wait at least six months till I can start, but it is something to look forward to.

Peter, I am a little surprised they came out that large, I would have thought the quality control would have been a little better. Looks like it does not matter much since they are on backorder with no expected arrival date. I will have to look elsewhere for them as it sounds like a very good compromise to what I want.

 

[357SIG]

Montana Gold makes a 125 FMJ for the 357 SIG. I use them. Price is now $107/1000 plus $5 S&H.