357 Sig reloading tips
- Thread starter Fox84
- Start date
Is the problem your gun or your reloads, that is the question. Do you have any problems with factory 357sig ammo?
If the problem is the reloads. What bullets are you using? Did they pass the plunk test? Did you test for setback? Do you see the issue when you manually cycle your gun, or only when you shoot? Did you check your cases for bulging?
If the problem is the reloads. What bullets are you using? Did they pass the plunk test? Did you test for setback? Do you see the issue when you manually cycle your gun, or only when you shoot? Did you check your cases for bulging?
How are you setting up your die? I set mine to headspace from the shoulder. The case mouth is too variable.
I use Montana Gold 357 Sig bullets, they have a long bearing surface before the ogive begins.
I do not flare and I do not crimp. I get less setback than with factory rounds. I do use a Redding Competition bullet seating die, and I don't have any issues with collapsing the case neck. I put a light chamfer on the inside of the mouth.
When I set up my sizing die, I load for multiple barrels, so I set the headspace for the barrel with the shortest chamber. That way they fit all the barrels. I go for around 0.005" clearance for the headspace.
I just don't understand how folks flare then crimp and expect good neck tension. You can never recover through crimp what you lose in flare. And with the short case neck, you don't have much to work with.
I use Montana Gold 357 Sig bullets, they have a long bearing surface before the ogive begins.
I do not flare and I do not crimp. I get less setback than with factory rounds. I do use a Redding Competition bullet seating die, and I don't have any issues with collapsing the case neck. I put a light chamfer on the inside of the mouth.
When I set up my sizing die, I load for multiple barrels, so I set the headspace for the barrel with the shortest chamber. That way they fit all the barrels. I go for around 0.005" clearance for the headspace.
I just don't understand how folks flare then crimp and expect good neck tension. You can never recover through crimp what you lose in flare. And with the short case neck, you don't have much to work with.
Fox, are you using factory made 357 sig brass, or are you reforming 40 S&W brass? The reformed/necked down 40 brass, you end up with an even shorter neck.
I heavily chamfer the inside of the mouth, then I don't flare at all. Also just enough expanding the mouth to accept a bullet.
I'm not familiar with the Rem. 124 bullet. But if it's a normal 9mm bullet, the ogive will run too far to the driving band to allow a full case neck grip. Truncated cone bullets that have an abrupt taper to the major diameter are what is required.
I heavily chamfer the inside of the mouth, then I don't flare at all. Also just enough expanding the mouth to accept a bullet.
I'm not familiar with the Rem. 124 bullet. But if it's a normal 9mm bullet, the ogive will run too far to the driving band to allow a full case neck grip. Truncated cone bullets that have an abrupt taper to the major diameter are what is required.
It will take time
The 357sig is a difficult round to reload. It will take time to find the right bullet and get your dies set up correctly. The best I can do is tell you my routine that works for me. After depriming and tumbling my spent brass, I full length resize my brass with a 40 caliber bulge buster. Then the brass is primed and ready for reloading. First station is a 40sw resizer, 2nd station is the 357sig sizing die. 3rd is the powder and expanding die. Next is the bullet seating die, this is set to 1.140 col. The last die is a lee factory crimp die, this is the most important die to allow your ammo to chamber correctly. Follow the instructions, and make small adjustment until your ammo passes the plunk test everytime.
The right bullet for me is a cast 125grn round nose flat point, it is a 38 cal, bullet that i resized to .356. Its a great bullet that I use for 9mm, 38spcl and 357sig. My goto powder for 357sig is Accurate #7. If you have any questions PM me and I will help if possible.
The 357sig is a difficult round to reload. It will take time to find the right bullet and get your dies set up correctly. The best I can do is tell you my routine that works for me. After depriming and tumbling my spent brass, I full length resize my brass with a 40 caliber bulge buster. Then the brass is primed and ready for reloading. First station is a 40sw resizer, 2nd station is the 357sig sizing die. 3rd is the powder and expanding die. Next is the bullet seating die, this is set to 1.140 col. The last die is a lee factory crimp die, this is the most important die to allow your ammo to chamber correctly. Follow the instructions, and make small adjustment until your ammo passes the plunk test everytime.
The right bullet for me is a cast 125grn round nose flat point, it is a 38 cal, bullet that i resized to .356. Its a great bullet that I use for 9mm, 38spcl and 357sig. My goto powder for 357sig is Accurate #7. If you have any questions PM me and I will help if possible.
I resized my flared cases and chamferd the necks some. I seated some 115gr extreme bullets. I tried the plunk test with my S&W barrel and some passed and some didn't. I lightly crimped all the cases and they all fit well. They seem to work well in a lone wolf barrel as well.
I loaded this batch with 8.5grs of Longshot and will see what happens.
I loaded this batch with 8.5grs of Longshot and will see what happens.
Not going to full battery is mostly due to bullet set back in my case. It takes the energy out of the slide, so stops it short of full battery. The short neck of the brass and the oal limitation makes the choice of bullet critical. The bullet profile needs to have long bearing surface. It is important that the neck not crimps on the ogive. Round nose usually doesn't work well. Flat point is good compromise. SWC may work, but I haven't tried myself.
TL
Where is the bulge? Is it just above the rim, or do you have a bulge just below the neck? Just above the rim is normally know as the Glock bulge and a bulge buster can fix it. Just below the neck is something wrong in your handloading process.
Which Extreme bullets are you using? Xtreme bullets are plated and only rated to about 1200fps. I don't think they have any thicker plating bullets that will work in 357sig that is rated up to 1500fps.
i couldn't see if you were forming brass or using factory brass. if forming then I would assume your brass is t thick on some, making the case mouth too large to fully chamber after seating a bullet. I have this problem with some types of cases when forming 300BLK, if the brass is too thick it will need turned, or just tossed.
also it is very sensitive to profiles, too long a bullet will jam into the lands and also not allow chambering.
also it is very sensitive to profiles, too long a bullet will jam into the lands and also not allow chambering.
You are correct. The Xtreme HP's are rated to 1500fps. I have tried their 124gr HP's in 357sig and could not make them work. The groupings were terrible and I had difficulty getting it to pass the plunk test. I think the bullet ogive is to long and it is not a good bullet shape for 357sig. The 115gr could be different, but I have not tried it. I am not trying Xtreme bullets in 357sig anymore.
have you adjusted both your resizing die and bullet seating die correctly?
I haven't had any problems loading 357sig, was no harder than any other pistol cartridge.
I would do two things resize a case and see if it chambers correctly, if not then your sizing die is not set correctly. If is chambers fine, then take that same case seat a bullet and then chamber it. If it doesn't chamber then your seating die is not set correctly. It may be not seating the bullet deep enough or its not crimping out the bell on the case mount enough.
croc4
I haven't had any problems loading 357sig, was no harder than any other pistol cartridge.
I would do two things resize a case and see if it chambers correctly, if not then your sizing die is not set correctly. If is chambers fine, then take that same case seat a bullet and then chamber it. If it doesn't chamber then your seating die is not set correctly. It may be not seating the bullet deep enough or its not crimping out the bell on the case mount enough.
croc4
Good to know you don't have any issues anymore. How did you rectify your original problem where the gun did not want to go into full battery?
Just be careful when loading plated bullets without flaring. You could scrape the plating during seating and impact the accuracy.
Good luck and be safe.
Just be careful when loading plated bullets without flaring. You could scrape the plating during seating and impact the accuracy.
Good luck and be safe.
Very few 9 mm bullets will work properly for 357 Sig because of the length of the shank needed to properly seat the bullet and not get set back. I found Hornady 124 gr HP-XTP's to work the best. (#35571) They are set to a OAL of 1.140". If you can not find them then the Hornady 115 gr HP-XTP's will work as well (#35540) also at a OAL of 1.140".
If your gun is not going to full battery then you are sizing the cases incorrectly. It is a 40 S&W case with a 9 mm bullet and there is no way that it will not fit the chamber unless you are not setting the shoulder back properly. (yes, it is a bottle neck case.) It indexes on the shoulder not the mouth of the case.
Go back and adjust your sizing die.
Jim
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