Good reduced load for 357?
- Thread starter KF9VH
- Start date
I'll let you in on my very favorite .357 Magnum load. And I started reloaded for it 22 years ago!
I bought my Security Six and reloading stuff on my 21st birthday. I also bought one box of 125 grain JHP Federals and one box of hollow base wadcutter .38 Specials. The wadcutters didn't move the gun at all and the full magnums had way more blast than I was prepared to deal with at that stage. I was reading an article by Skeeter and he was talking about the fact that the ammo companies used to load "mid-range" wadcutters. Not full blast loads but not air pistol velocities either! So I started looking through catalogs.
The first thing was hollow based wadcutters weren't going to work. You aren't supposed to fire them fast or their skirts can come right off. And they are swaged anyway and will lead the heck out of your barrel if you push them. So I ordered a 500 count box of "DEWC" that were hard-cast. That's Double Ended WadCutter. Same on both ends. And nice and hard. Then I tried some reduced loads. Lots of things worked but nothing really stood out. Until I tried CCI standard primers and 4.0 grains of Green Dot in Magnum cases.
That load has shot well for me out of all of my .357's but it isn't a total target load. It will usually group very well on targets but it has plenty of power to kill something like a skunk. And that flat nose of the wadcutter makes it hit that much harder. I've shot a lot of them over the years. I think I'm actually using 4.3 grains of Green Dot now just because I had a dipper that threw that better. (Green Dot doesn't meter worth a crap through any of my measures.) I think I've had the same can of Green Dot for ten years or more and it's still working!
Gregg
I bought my Security Six and reloading stuff on my 21st birthday. I also bought one box of 125 grain JHP Federals and one box of hollow base wadcutter .38 Specials. The wadcutters didn't move the gun at all and the full magnums had way more blast than I was prepared to deal with at that stage. I was reading an article by Skeeter and he was talking about the fact that the ammo companies used to load "mid-range" wadcutters. Not full blast loads but not air pistol velocities either! So I started looking through catalogs.
The first thing was hollow based wadcutters weren't going to work. You aren't supposed to fire them fast or their skirts can come right off. And they are swaged anyway and will lead the heck out of your barrel if you push them. So I ordered a 500 count box of "DEWC" that were hard-cast. That's Double Ended WadCutter. Same on both ends. And nice and hard. Then I tried some reduced loads. Lots of things worked but nothing really stood out. Until I tried CCI standard primers and 4.0 grains of Green Dot in Magnum cases.
That load has shot well for me out of all of my .357's but it isn't a total target load. It will usually group very well on targets but it has plenty of power to kill something like a skunk. And that flat nose of the wadcutter makes it hit that much harder. I've shot a lot of them over the years. I think I'm actually using 4.3 grains of Green Dot now just because I had a dipper that threw that better. (Green Dot doesn't meter worth a crap through any of my measures.) I think I've had the same can of Green Dot for ten years or more and it's still working!
Gregg
reduced loads for .357
I have never fired wadcutters but when I was shooting my .357 before my wife decided that she wanted it, I reloaded
I think it was 158 gr. round nose hard lead bullets, using .38SPL cases and 5 grains of bullseye powder. I would recommend using a marksalot pen to identify these loads that they never are loaded in a .38 SPL and/or fired in that cal. pistol. They were much milder than factory .357s but had enough whomp to get a jackrabbits attention.
I have never fired wadcutters but when I was shooting my .357 before my wife decided that she wanted it, I reloaded
I think it was 158 gr. round nose hard lead bullets, using .38SPL cases and 5 grains of bullseye powder. I would recommend using a marksalot pen to identify these loads that they never are loaded in a .38 SPL and/or fired in that cal. pistol. They were much milder than factory .357s but had enough whomp to get a jackrabbits attention.
Good reduced load for a .357
Good reduced load for a .357
You can always drop back into the +P or below range for a more comfortable load. My Wad Cutter [2] loads are:
HBWC 3.0 grains of Win 231---Any higher and they will Key Hole.
BBWC 4.0 grains of Win 231---Good load. Will not key hole.
Good reduced load for a .357
You can always drop back into the +P or below range for a more comfortable load. My Wad Cutter [2] loads are:
HBWC 3.0 grains of Win 231---Any higher and they will Key Hole.
BBWC 4.0 grains of Win 231---Good load. Will not key hole.
cuate, I am 1 county over from you! There are a couple of ways to skin this cat! Hard cast wadcutters can be bought from National Bullet, or Oregon Trails. I like BNWC's myself (Button Nose Wadcutter) in a full length .357 Mag. case. If you guys don't mind a little extra labor, the other skinning technique is on the order of the Skeeter principle. The magic marker idea is a very good one here and I won't list data because of the advisory in the reloading section. I take .357 magnum brass and trim it to .38 Special length so you have a stronger case than Skeeters +P+ loads in .38 Sp. +P brass. They will extract better in the 7 shooters also, much better than full length cases, if you have a need for a 7 shooter to begin with. I don't, but developed the load for my buddy when he bought a Tauras Tracker, that just would not extract full length .357 cases. The short Magnum, did the trick and you can load any style bullet in it that you want, Jacketed or hard cast lead. Because of the thicker case walls when .357 brass is trimmed, you can load 9mm bullets at 9mm velocity, or slightly better for defense loads in the shortened .357 case and get a very good taper crimp on them and it is a great way to go for the light .357 Magnum revolvers now on the market, or snubbies that have a shorter ejector rod, like the 2.5" Smiths and as I said, they will extract much better. You will be able to develop medium velocity target rounds for the.357 Mag. case without nearly as much unused case capacity and it will allow you to use powders that are slower, from HS-6 thru the new VV 3N38.
WARNING: this practice is only for revolvers clearly marked .357 MAGNUM!!!!!
For data, you can safely start with any +P .38 charges or lower for target loads.
WARNING: this practice is only for revolvers clearly marked .357 MAGNUM!!!!!
For data, you can safely start with any +P .38 charges or lower for target loads.
Last edited:
100W_Warlock
New member
2 simple choices...38spl+P or 357cases...
There are 2 really good loads I like.
38spl +P loads
125gr LRNFP/6gr of powerpistol/ Fed 100 primers
for a bit more umph,
158gr LSWC/ 12gr of 2400/ CCI 500 primers
or
158gr LSWC/ 9gr of Bluedot/ CCI CCI 500 primers
Bluedot has lots of flash, but good grouping.
2400 is cleaner and has more speed on it.
5gr of Bullseye and 158gr is also quite nice.
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?type=Handgun&Source=
There are 2 really good loads I like.
38spl +P loads
125gr LRNFP/6gr of powerpistol/ Fed 100 primers
for a bit more umph,
158gr LSWC/ 12gr of 2400/ CCI 500 primers
or
158gr LSWC/ 9gr of Bluedot/ CCI CCI 500 primers
Bluedot has lots of flash, but good grouping.
2400 is cleaner and has more speed on it.
5gr of Bullseye and 158gr is also quite nice.
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?type=Handgun&Source=
I know I can just shoot .38's. However if the main diet is .38's in a 357 it will cause long term problems and more extensive cleaning. It is for this reason I am asking for a "light" 357 load.
I want to avoid lead because of the health hazard.
Thanks again for all the feed back.
I want to avoid lead because of the health hazard.
Thanks again for all the feed back.
Blue Heeler
Moderator
.38 case,135gr BNWC with 4gr WST - good to 50yds. Taper crimp and set to line on the projectile. I have shot this load for years - not five minutes or last week - it really works.
KF... I agree it's best to use a light .357 rather than a .38. And I also agree on avoiding exposed lead bullets.
My favorite practice loads for .357 are:
Rainier 140 gr. Copper Plated FP bullets over 8.5 gr. of PowerPistol. VERY clean burning, no smoke, little residue, nice efficiency. From my 3" revolvers I get about 1049 fps... which is definitely hotter than .38 spl., but much milder than full house .357 loads. I love PowerPistol. Much of my practice shooting is indoors in close quarters, so I especially like a very clean burning powder and copper plated or jacketed bullets... much healthier that way.
My defense load is Winchester 145 gr. Silvertips which give me about 1300 fps from a 3" tube (spring, summer, and fall) and Speer 158 gr. Gold Dots (winter). I choose the 158 gr. for winter because it offers even greater penetration than the 145 does and I believe that penetration is the most important element in terminal ballistics... plus you never know when your bullets might have to go through an arm or two, some arm bone, heavy leather coat, layers of clothing, layers of gross fat, muscle... before finally getting deep into the pumphouse.
My practice load is much milder than my defense load, but still packs a little punch just for a nice mild "magnum" feel.
My favorite practice loads for .357 are:
Rainier 140 gr. Copper Plated FP bullets over 8.5 gr. of PowerPistol. VERY clean burning, no smoke, little residue, nice efficiency. From my 3" revolvers I get about 1049 fps... which is definitely hotter than .38 spl., but much milder than full house .357 loads. I love PowerPistol. Much of my practice shooting is indoors in close quarters, so I especially like a very clean burning powder and copper plated or jacketed bullets... much healthier that way.
My defense load is Winchester 145 gr. Silvertips which give me about 1300 fps from a 3" tube (spring, summer, and fall) and Speer 158 gr. Gold Dots (winter). I choose the 158 gr. for winter because it offers even greater penetration than the 145 does and I believe that penetration is the most important element in terminal ballistics... plus you never know when your bullets might have to go through an arm or two, some arm bone, heavy leather coat, layers of clothing, layers of gross fat, muscle... before finally getting deep into the pumphouse.
My practice load is much milder than my defense load, but still packs a little punch just for a nice mild "magnum" feel.