Help with my .357 loads

Status
Not open for further replies.

Rock_Steady

Member
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
298
Location
Morgantown, WV
Let me pick your brains, guys.

So I've been reloading now for about a year and a half. Have been pretty happy with my progress. I have a marlin 1894c in .357 that I love. Great little rifle. Accurate as all get-out with factory loads.

My problem is, when I load up LSWC rounds or LRN rounds, my poi shifts to the right - from the bench, same day, same temperature, etc. I will move about 1.5-2" to the right at 50 yards. It is baffling me. Is there something I'm screwing up? These are plinking rounds, I've been using unique and bullseye. typically pretty low velocity, just for fun...but an inaccurate gun isn't fun. Help?
 
Do you mean that one load shoots to point of aim, and the other load shoots 1.5"-2" to the right? There are a lot of variables, from whether or not your sights are secure and not moving around, to the weight of the bullets, as the barrel vibrates and you will have a different point of impact using different weight bullets.
 
Hrmm....have I been beating myself up for nothing? I have been shooting mostly 158gr cast lead swc and lrn bullets - most of the commercial jacketed loads are 148 gr or less.

Basically what happens is, I shoot some factory stuff and it's dead on. Next round throught he barrell is one of my handloads, lead and 158 gr, and it impacts to the right. This is all just from barrell harmonics?
 
Different bullets and different loads will result in different points of impact. I have two of the Marlin Carbines in .357 Magnum (well, actually, my wife took one of them). They're both sighted in for cast bullets at the present time, but when I shoot jacketed bullets through them, at higher velocity, the point of impact changes. This is true with most firearms, but is more noticable in rifles.

Your best bet is to pick a load for the rifle and use it for everything. That way you'll know where it's going to hit when you pull the trigger.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Ditto what "Fred" said.

When I substitute a 158gr Cast SWC (Lee 158gr TL-SWC) for a Star or Zero swaged 158gr SWC in .38spl , I see a 1-1.5" "Shift" in the zero to the left. Same exact components otherwise.

This is due to the difference in bearing surface of the bullet, fit of the bullet to the barrel, and perhaps a half dozen other minor factors that result in a slightly different impact.

I also see this when swapping between 148gr HBWC and 148 DEWC's.

Also when switching between 150gr RN and 150gr PTSP in a .30/30

Welcome to the wonderful world of "ballistics" !!!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top