Group Buy for 200 grain SWC .358 Mold

[Landric]

Folks,

If anyone is interested, I'm trying to get a group buy going for a 200 grain SWC mold sized .359-.360 for .38 Special/.357 Magnum/.357 Maximum. I really like the 200 grain bullet weight in both Special and Magnum, but I like the SWC profile better than the RN profile for magnum loads.

If anyone is interested, please respond at the below link:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=61896

 

[rcmodel]

It might be wise to have Lee make a custom one-cavity mold and try it before going to a group buy for a bunch of them.

I'm thinking a 200 grain SWC might be too long to stabilize in normal rifling at .38 Spl velocity maybe?
Also the length of a SWC-200 would take up an awful lot of powder space in a .38 case when seated to cylinder length on some guns.
Thats one reason shorter RN or FP have been used in the past for them.

It might work in .357 Mag or .357 Max where you have more velocity to play with.

rc

 

[Ben Shepherd]

The few 200's I've tried in the mag and max worked fairly well, although velocity is somewhat limited in the magnum loaded to book length. In my redhawk(long cylinder and a generous throat for the caliber), I was able to load them to fill the cylinder and achieve around 1200 with 2400 behind them, IIRC.

Getting some in SWC profile would be awesome.

 

[Landric]

I've had good luck with the 200 grain Lyman 358430 in both .38 Special and .357 Magnum. I'll probably stick with the RN bullet for .38 Special, but I like the SWC profile much better for magnum loads, and the slight increase in case capacity makes the magnum a better choice for the SWC.

I've been in contact with a guy who ordered some commerical cast 200 grain SWCs and loaded them in .38 Special with excellent results, so it is at least possible.

There is some interest in the buy, I'm just trying to drum up more support. I think it will be interesting if nothing else.

 

[rcmodel]

I knew when I typed that post about maybe a stability problem somebody was already shooting them and getting one-hole groups with a Chiefs Special at 50 yards!!!

Carry on!

rc