basic snub nose info needed.

[cajun47]

bought a lcr 22 last weekend and im loving it more and more each day. its my first snub nose. i ccw the glock 19 and it gets annoying sometimes. im getting the lcr in .357 mag. lets not debate lcr 38 vs lcr 357, already have a thread about that and everyone's mind is made up anyway.

1. how much do you pay for .38spl practice ammo?

2. how much cheaper is it to reload .38spl(is it worth it?) and where do you buy the bullets, primers, powder? i already have a very basic lee reloader for my .44 mag. i rarely use. all i would need is a digital scale, any recommendations?

3. sometimes i have to walk in the woods long distance(any time of the year). we do have black bears, cougars, coyotes, wild bore. would a lcr snub nose loaded with .357 mag be good enough? cause that s&w .44 mag gets real heavy.

4. i don't think 9mm needed to be crimped but .44 mag had. whats the case with .38 spl?

 

[BigJimP]

.38 spl range ammo ...around here is about $ 20 for a box of 50.

In terms of reloading...I can reload .38 spl or .357 mag for $8 a box...and I use the same bullet ( which is most of your cost ) ...and I load a 158gr Montana Gold FMJ bullet...buy them direct from Montana Gold. My 2nd choice in bullets would be Berry's plated.

Yes, in general - for revolver rounds ...you would prefer to load a bullet with a cannelure ring ...and crimp them a little at the ring / but not too aggressively. If you don't ...you run the risk / of shooting them in a revolver...where every time you fire the gun ...the rounds in the gun ...get some of the same effect as a kinetic bullet puller - and the bullets "might" move forward a little. Some guys crimp revolver rounds ...and some don't ...

Primers and powder ...for reloading...I buy locally. In a .357 mag round .. or a .38 spl round...I like Hodgdon Universal as a powder. Easy to find / meters very well. I prefer CCI primers...and I've always used a small pistol primer in .38 spl and .357 mag...although some reloading manuals will call for a magnum small pistol primer in .357 mag / check your manuals.

Is a .357 mag enough for black bear, etc ....depends if you hit the right spot. In general, unless I'm in Grizzly country ...a .357 mag is plenty / but I go to a .44 mag in Grizzly country.

 

[kraigwy]

I reload my 38s, and shoot it about as cheap as 22 ammo (I cast my own bullets. About 4 cents per round.

38s need to be crimped to provide constant and consistant ignition.

Even 9mm need crimped but since they head space on the mouth of the case, they recieve a taper crimp.

You've decided on a 357, that's fine, but I only use standard 38s in my 642, I don't foresee having to shoot anything that my 642 and standard 38s can't handle.

 

[lee n. field]

1. how much do you pay for .38spl practice ammo?

Somewhere around $4/50, for my handloads, figuring that 1000 primers cost ~US$35, a pound of bullseye cost $17 last time I bought. Wheelweight lead was free. I haven't bought practice .38 for a long, long time.

2. how much cheaper is it to reload .38spl(is it worth it?) and where do you buy the bullets, primers, powder? i already have a very basic lee reloader for my .44 mag. i rarely use. all i would need is a digital scale, any recommendations?

You don't need a digital scale. You need a scale. A basic Lee scale will work fine, as long as you don't need to weight something over 100 grains. Past that, the RCBS 505 is what I use.

3. sometimes i have to walk in the woods long distance(any time of the year). we do have black bears, cougars, coyotes, wild bore. would a lcr snub nose loaded with .357 mag be good enough? cause that s&w .44 mag gets real heavy.

Ummmm, judgment call. I wouldn't.

4. i don't think 9mm needed to be crimped but .44 mag had. whats the case with .38 spl?

9mm, taper crimp. .44, .38, roll crimp. Adjust the seating die right, or get a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

 

[microman]

getting the lcr in .357 mag

If you are going to carry it with .357 mag then I would
do some practicing with that round and not with just
.38 special.

A Ruger LCR is a light gun..it's going to really kick with
the .357!

 

[PawPaw]

1. how much do you pay for .38spl practice ammo?

About $2.00 for fifty of my reloads. I figure that the primers are less than three cents apiece and about a penny's worth of powder. I cast my own bullets, so that's free. If you're loading to standard velocities, I wouldn't pay more than about a dime apiece for plinking bullets, which would drive your per-round cost up to about 14 cents apiece per box of 50, which is still $7.00 per box of 50.

3. sometimes i have to walk in the woods long distance(any time of the year). we do have black bears, cougars, coyotes, wild bore. would a lcr snub nose loaded with .357 mag be good enough? cause that s&w .44 mag gets real heavy.

Yep, that .357 mag would be just fine.

 

[Webleymkv]

1. how much do you pay for .38spl practice ammo?

Factory ammo in my area runs $15-18 per box for range fodder (LRN or FMJ bullets). I usually shoot my own reloads which are much cheaper, but I've never figured up exactly how much cheaper.

2. how much cheaper is it to reload .38spl(is it worth it?) and where do you buy the bullets, primers, powder? i already have a very basic lee reloader for my .44 mag. i rarely use. all i would need is a digital scale, any recommendations?

I buy all of my components locally. Bullets are cast SWC that usually cost $30-40 per 500, powder is Unique which costs $20 per pound, primers are Winchester Small Pistol which cost about $30 per thousand. Cases are almost all "retired" factory ammo which last almost indefinitely, so I don't really figure them into the price.

3. sometimes i have to walk in the woods long distance(any time of the year). we do have black bears, cougars, coyotes, wild bore. would a lcr snub nose loaded with .357 mag be good enough? cause that s&w .44 mag gets real heavy.

Any cartridge suitable for self-defense against humans should be fine for cougars and coyotes as neither of those animals is particularly large or heavily built. Bears and wild hogs, however, are more heavily built and would require more penetration. At the very least, a .357 Magnum loaded with 158gr JSP is called for and a heavier 180-200gr hardcast SWC would be even better. Personally, I'd put up with the weight of the .44 if bears and pigs were a concern.

4. i don't think 9mm needed to be crimped but .44 mag had. whats the case with .38 spl?

If you're loading mild loads, you might be able to get away with not crimping .38 Special. However, the fact that the LCR is a lightweight revolver will exacerbate recoil and make crimp-jumping more likely, so a good heavy roll crimp is advisable. Most dies have combination seating/crimping dies anyway, so crimping isn't really any extra trouble.

Also, be aware that the LCR has fixed sights that will likely be regulated for a certain bullet weight. My dad's LCR .357 seems to have its sights regulated for 125-130gr bullets as the heavier 158's shoot noticeably high. Dad uses Remington 125gr SJHP as a carry loading for his LCR both because that loading has an excellent reputation for effectiveness against two-legged threats and because he can get it for a reasonable price in 100-round value packs at Wal-Mart.

 

[kcub]

If you want a 357 look into the Ruger SP101.
Heavier and that's a good thing for shooting .357.

 

[cajun47]

i don't know. im in love with lcr. i been carrying a glock 19 for years in front pocket(i can't stand iwb). my lcr 22 is much lighter, easier and quicker to draw. i use romera holsters and wear cargo pants btw.

the lcr 22 replaces my naa mini revolver but i like the lcr so much i want one in 357 mag to replace the glock 19. i'll be going from 16 shots to 5. my question is will the short barrel gold dots in .357 mag from a lcr have a better chance at one shot stops than my 4" barrel glock 19?

i sure am open to .357 mag carry ammo suggestions.

 

[Webleymkv]

my question is will the short barrel gold dots in .357 mag from a lcr have a better chance at one shot stops than my 4" barrel glock 19?

One-shot-stops aren't really the best thing to measure cartridges by. So many factors can play into OSS percentages that they're not all that reliable and most people will tell you that the most prudent thing to do is to keep shooting until the threat ceases.

As far as comparative effectiveness between the Speer Short Barrel .357 Magnum and a 9mm, it depends on what 9mm loading you're using as there are both excellent and truly awful 9mm loadings.

Be aware, however, that the Speer Short Barrel .357 Magnum isn't going to give you top performance even from a snub. That particular loading is not advertised as "short barrel" because it gives optimum performance from a snub, but rather because it is very mild recoiling and uses a bullet that will expand reliably even at low velocity. A full-power 125gr .357 Magnum will usually give about the same ballistics from a snub as a 124gr +P 9mm from a 4" barrel auto. A 140-158gr .357 Magnum from a snub will usually get you 100-200fps more velocity than a 147gr standard pressure 9mm from a 4" barrel auto.

 

[Edward429451]

1. I cast my own boolits for about a penny apiece including lube and reload for a grand total of about 2 bucks per box of 50. At 4 bucks per hundred, thats a fair amount cheaper than the CCI Mini-Mags that I use @ 6.99 per 100. I wont compare my 38 reloads to the absolute cheapest 22 crap ammo out there because my 38s are closer to match grade than not.

2. I try to buy primers and powder locally for whomever has a good deal and online if I'm ready to order enough to make it worth hazmat fees.

3. Carrying a gun on the trail does not necessarily a good trail gun make. I know the 44 gets heavy. I suggest that you need a good holster for your 44 instead. Wild Boar are built low to the ground and fast. How good are you with the LCR at such targets? 44.

4. All traditional revolver rounds get roll crimped, all semi auto rounds get taper crimped.