Favorite .357 mould for target shooting/plinking?

B

Barnacle Brad

New member
I cast my first pistol bullets last winter, 158gr Lee RN. I have another Lee mould in 125gr RF that I have not used yet. I was just wondering what others are casting in this caliber?

I am hoping to do some casting in the near future!
 
RCBS 148gr wadcutter
Lyman 121gr TC
Lee125gr RF
Lee 158gr RF
Lee 150gr RN
Ranch Dog 100gr RF

I also have a Lee 158gr RF that I drilled out and turned it into a 150gr HP I also reamed the bevel base off and made it into a plain base that I gas check.

My first was the RCBS 148gr wadcutter. Shot alotta 38spl rounds with this, but I got tired of that ugly bullet and drilled it out for a 190gr SWC and now dont shoot it too often.

For 357 mag my favorite is no question the Lee 158gr RF (drops at 165gr).
For 380 is the Ranch Dog 100gr.
9mm is 125gr Lee RF.
38spl is a toss up with the 125gr or the 158gr.
 
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For target shooting and plinking it's hard to beat a 148 grain wadcutter. But there are so many different 38 moulds to try.
Right now I have gotten my hands on several older designs ( thanks to E-Bay) and out of the lot Lyman #358432, a 162 grain wadcutter is leading the pack in accuracy! I also have a new Lee 105 grain semi-wadcutter ( more like a truncated cone) mould. Have some cast and loaded in 38 special , will try them out. This bullet works just fine in 9mm Luger so I'm hoping it will work in 38 special.

Gary
 
Ahhhhh.... the 358432. My favorite! Especially with a HP pin in it.

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Looks like pretty good variety. Thanks for the replies.

So I have to ask about the pc. From what I have read so far, it looks like to get set up all it takes is the powder coat, black air soft bbs, non stick foil, a container that generates static, an oven and some bullets. Sound about right?

I would like to give it a whirl, but I am concerned about sizing the bullets after the finish is applied. I don't have a sizer...

What about the loads themselves? Do they need to be modified since now essentially plated bullets are now being used? I imagine that is the case.

Anyway, thanks again for sharing your faves!
 
You have the list just about right. I like non stick foil, some prefer parchment paper. A cheap baking thermometer is handy... few oven thermostats are very accurate. For most powders 400° is used, but it does need to be within about 10° either side of a true 400°.

A lee push thru sizer is all you need. You can pick em up new for about 17 bucks, or around 13-15 used. FS reloading page Size just like cast bullets.... I use .001" over groove diameter.
.358 works fine in my .38s and .357's. :)
Just shoot them like regular cast bullets too, using same load data.

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Cool beans beagle, thanks for the help. I forgot about the Lee sizer. That suits my budget nicely!

So what is the word with lead hardness then in this application? Is there any advantage or disadvantage shooting harder or softer lead? Probably not an issue with guys that are primarily running ww alloy in pistols.

I am curious about pc for my 500gr 45-70 loads. What would the Wholly Black crowd say if I showed up at a shoot with smokeless powder and pink powder coated cartridges? Probably not in the spirit of BPCR, but food for thought...:D
 
You can shoot softer alloy with coating than without. That is one of the really neat things about it. With wheel weights getting more and more scarce, but range lead (usually very soft) being very available, it is an advantage to be able to use the range lead. Ranges have more lead than ever now. Everybody that has hoarded bullets and bought all of those bullet-eating AR's that they never had before, goes to the range and burns up their lead. And it's just there for the casters to use now! :)

I don't shoot at any range other than my own, so I don't know what the cowboy shooters think about pink and blue bullets, other than they call them "jelly bean bullets". I can't say if they are allowed or not.
 
Beagle333

Before posting pics like that give a heads up so I can put on some shades !;)







Good job on the PCing though & installin the GC on the non GC boolit.
 
Beagle333, those are some wicked looking hollow points. I thought the solid point version was impressive. I have some metallic Fathom Blue paint left over from painting my 68 Chevelle, I could coat some bullets to match the car!

The more I shoot these 358432's the more I like them. Those HP, gas checked ones in your post should be just the ticket in a 357 magnum rifle!
I do think the two-toned jelly bean green ones are the coolest coated bullets I've ever seen.

Gary
 
I have five .358 molds. everything from 125-160gr and everything in between, rounds, flats, wads and hollowpoints. my most accurate is hands-down, a cheapo LEE that I acquired for literally a steal from Mike/TX here on the forum. thanks again mike, I still owe you a favor for that.

I have a very accurate 20" carbine that lets me really get into testing the accuracy of these .358s, taking the user error out of the equation. this one bullet beats the rest, it's boring and not the prettiest, but it's very accurate out to 50 yards. give it a try, if you hate it, your out a whopping 20$. my second most accurate is the DEWC with the tumble lube grooves, but only at the shorter distances under 25 yards. I have just started playing with the 358-125 RF which is really nice out 0f my 9mm, but not as great from the .358/38s, but still decent and I still haven't played with different sizing dies with that particular bullet. and of course, I love my HP but not for being the most accurate

give this one a try if you want a good ol straight shooting, soft recoiling round
try. also, these have a pretty pronounced beveled base that makes loading powdercoated bullets a whole lot easier



also, if you just wanna give some different types a try, I wouldn't mind sending you out a sample pack of the bullets from the molds I have on hand so you could try them out for yourself. I have had a couple guys here do that for me and really helped me figure out what I liked and what I didn't. I would have you pay the 5$ shipping, but I would be happy to send you some to play with. NOT LOADED, just some powdercoated lead.

anyway, best of luck, and as you already know, thee are a seemingly endless amount of tried and true .358 molds. its a very versatile bullet and have a hug spectrum of mold types and weights available.
 
I have an old 4-cavity 358477 mould that's great for plinking ammo. Very accurate out of my guns. I cast a big pile of them every year or so.
 
I really like that Lee 158-RF. I coat mine with a 50/50 mixture of Minwax paste wax and Lee Liquid Alox.

Someday I'm gonna cut the bevels off the mold with a utility knife so I can run the bullets through a Lubrisizer.
 
I really like that Lee 158-RF. I coat mine with a 50/50 mixture of Minwax paste wax and Lee Liquid Alox.

Someday I'm gonna cut the bevels off the mold with a utility knife so I can run the bullets through a Lubrisizer.
Click to expand...

Some folks take a piece of the thin styrofoam like they package the meat on at supermarkets, use the empty hull and cut a spacer out of it. Insert the spacer into the bottom of the sizing die and go for it. Once you mash the first one down good, it usually makes a gasket around the bottom so that the extra lube doesn't get under the bevels.

Quick fix if you want to try it.

As for my "favorite", well I have some half dozen or more different ones and really haven't found one yet that doesn't shoot well in the GP-100's. I also picked up a 6C H&G #50, and a couple of 4C Lyman's, one is similar to the #50 and the other is I think the 358431, not to forget the MP's or the Lee's. I really like the MP 640 designs and the SWC type as well. I mainly got the DEWC's for my pop's old Colt Army Spl. I really like shooting the thing, but don't want to hot rod it in any form or fashion.
 
+1 on the egg carton Styrofoam ring trick..... I usually get about a dozen bullets lubed per punched disk before it gets messy. It works pretty good though! You can easily punch/twist out hundreds of disks from an egg carton really fast. (use a deprimed case, so you can put a finish nail or wire though the hole to push out the cut disks, or they'll just stack up in the case. ;))
 
No, I think you sold me the 063. I got this one from Hornsurgeon and Rangefinder was kind enough to do the HP in it. :)
 
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