speer lawman 357

[kanook]

I have been loading for some years now and always enjoy the 357 mag with Unique. Due to recent lack of availablity of Unique I purchase some H110. WOW!!!!

Anyhow, most of my brass is in another state (due to moving) and I have found some factory loaded Speer Lawman 357 158grain. While the wife and I were shooting some of my H110 she grabbed the Speer to shoot knowing I wanted those for reloading. HOLY WOW. That ammo put my H110 to shame.

I am using 15.2 for my loads as the max in my book (speer)says 15.5. Just wondering if .3grains willl make that much of a difference? Or does anybody know for sure what the Speer lawman is loaded with.

Now I'm not all about the bang unless it has accuracy. I have a 460S&W so I have power there, but I have wieght too. The 357 is capable of doing what I need it to do, without the weight.

 

[Steve C]

Perception of how powerful a load is can be deceiving. Without a chrono you really don't know how fast the bullets moving. A lot of that perception of power is flash and bang which slow powders have in spades. I'd be surprised if the Speer factory load was any faster than your H110 load as Speer claims 1,235 fps in their ballistic chart and 15 + grains of H110 should be doing better than that in my experience.

If it isn't you probably need a hotter primer so try Winchester SPM prmers, they're about the hottest you can find.

 

[kanook]

I thank you for reading between the lines in my question. After I read your post I realized I had worded it wrong. U DA MAN.

It seems that you know quite abit about the 357 caliber. One of your favourites or just from years of loading?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I load a lot of .357 Magnum ammo and I use several different powders. H110/W296 is a full power Magnum powder and there are a few rules you must follow when using it. First, Hodgdon recommends using only a Magnum primer. You should also use a stiff crimp. Most importantly, DO NOT download H110, it's not safe. You said you use a charge of 15.2gr under a 158gr bullet. That's at the very bottom if the recommended load range. The charge range listed by Hodgdon on their Load Data Site is between 15.0gr and 16.7gr. The felt recoil from a round charged with 16.7gr H110 is quite impressive to say the least.

Have fun...

 

[kanook]

My Speer manual lists 15.5 as max and 13.9 as lowest. Kinda funny on how one manual says its max is so close to anothers bottom load. Thanks for the link.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

You're welcome.

I know what you mean, it's a little strange who the numbers are so far apart. When the numbers are so far apart like that I usually default to the powder manufacturer's data. I think they know their powder better than another company would. Also, the manufacturer updates their data often because it's easy to do so when it's online so that data is current.

I don't usually list personal data but since it's not near the Max I will this time. I get very good results in my .357 Magnum handguns when I load 16.4gr W296/H110 under a 158gr JSP bullet. That's just my results, work up slowly and see how the heavier loads work for you.

 

[ASCTLC]

I feel your confusion Kanook. I have a .357 revolver and a .357 lever action so will load for both applications and still reading all I can read to find the "common safe range" as I refer to it. So far I'm seeing 15.0 gr minimum and 15.5 as maximum safe range when laying all the various mfr recipes on top each other. But that's just me because I don't have the experience of many here who've been loading a while.

Just a thought, pay close attention to whether the stated load data is for a handgun or a rifle loading and lead or jacketed. When I saw the considerably lower min-max range, I thought rifle load as the HDY data shows below.

Using a recently purchased .357 mag one book/one caliber manual for 158gr jacketed load:
Hornady shows 12.7 - 15.6 handgun and 8.6 - 15.5 rifle
but
Speer shows 13.9 - 15.5 for both handgun and rifle
and
Hodgdon shows 15.0 - 16.7 for jacketed (HDY XTP) handgun and rifle jacketed

It's unanimous: clear as mud I'd lean to the Hodgdon data as ArchAngel suggests, starting at minimum and watching very closely for signs of pressure until you're confident all is well.

Andy

 

[kanook]

Thanks to all for the replies. I have never been into this computer thing (it's only a fad) untill recently (frayed tendons and ripped bicep). When I wanted to get info before I would go to bookstores and friends for research. Most of us all used the Speer manuals, so we all felt confident with each others loads. Now I am learning that companies have very different loads.

I always used Unique for my reloading for various reasons. I was very pleased with my loads and whatnot. Now as stated with this ammo scare I have had to broaden my loading skills.

I guess what I'm saying is, I'm use to a simple life as I am a simple person. But I am learning that things no matter how good they are will always change to try to be better.