reloading 357 mag ?

R

rebs

New member
I need a decent load for 357 magnum and 38 spl using 158 gr JHP bullets. Not a full house power load but something on the mild side and fun to shoot. I will be shooting these in my model 19 with 4" barrel and the 38's in a snub nose revolver for range use and maybe a varmint or two.
 
May I then suggest looking at plated bullets for target plunking and varmints. Much cheaper than jacketed bullets and both X-treme and Berry's produce them. Then should you decide to go that way go over to Western/Accurate website and look for load data. They have the most complete data I've found for plated bullets. You should be able to find something there that suites your fancy.
 
I am reloading these JHP's since they were very cheap. Normally I reload cast bullets. I just want to load these up for fun shooting.
 
10gr of bluedot under a jhp for a .357 plinker.

I don't shoot jacketed bullets in .38 spec (Berry's and Ranier Ballistics 125gr hp or fp, plated bullets- SO much cheaper), so I can't help ya there.
 
Lyman Handbook says 4.7 to 5.0 grains of Unique. Why such a small spread, I don't know. Perhaps they had trouble with lower charges sticking bullets in barrels. Both seem like enough powder to me, but if you go lower, watch for bullets sticking.

For .357, the Unique loads given are 6.4 to 8.3 grains. They also give 11.3 to 14.9 grains of 2400, but these are warm to magnum load levels. 2400 hundred can leave a lot of unburned powder around if the pressure isn't high enough.
 
I used a charge of 14gr of 2400 under 158gr XTP's ...... interestingly, I got better velocities with a small pistol primer than a small magnum pistol primer ......

...am not a fan of using fast powders at low loading densities ..... and flakes don't meter well to begin with ...... use Unique with caution.
 
7.5 gr of Unique under a 158 JHP shoots very nicely for me in my .357 revolvers and the carbines. 5-5.1 is my load under the same JHP for my .38 snubbie.
 
I use as low as 6.5 grains of unique for light .357 158s. 7 grains is just about perfect for a mild plinker in my opinion. Mixed brass and a CCI 500
 
Unique is a good powder for medium loads. It maxes out before you get top velocity heavy loads. The "low end" of 2400 overlaps the upper end of Unique, and max loads give speeds Unique can't reach.

One of the things about loading manuals is that they basically assume everyone will be looking for full performance from each cartridge, and provide data for that.

If you are looking for a more moderate level load, the starting load data (especially in magnum rounds and with jacketed bullets) MAY be more than what you are looking for.

Different folks have different ideas about "something mild and fun to shoot"....

850fps? 1000fps? 1000fps might be mild to someone used to 1200fps, but isn't to someone looking for 850fps.
 
These days you can also sometimes look at CAS loads for your lightest starting load and the regular load levels for your maximum. However, CAS loads usually have lighter, more limited bullet selection.
 
I noticed the same thing (actually not the same) with the differences shown between H110 and W296. And I saw differences between the two powders in an older Nosler manual that I just picked up.

I'm new to this attraction though, so I just sit, listen and learn. Are they the same? I'm researching loading 38spl and 357 and H110 is one I'm looking at putting on my shelf.

BZimm
 
Someone needs to let nosler know that H110 and W296 are the same powder.
Click to expand...

Since those folks probably know more about reloading as all of us here put together, I'm sure they already know.:rolleyes:

Almost every reloading manual(including Hodgdon/Winchester/IMR) lists both powders separately in their manuals. Hodgdon/Winchester, while they still list them separately, now show the exact same data.
 
I use 1gr. less 0f 2400 than Jimbob86 for both hard cast and jacketed bullets in the 357 using the magnum cases. 13.0gr. does the trick for me.

I find this load to be very accurate and still give me the satisfaction of shooting a "Magnum" load with moderate recoil and a very satisfying BOOM!:D
 
6.0 Unique in 357 brass with a 158 jacketed or plated is a nice practice load, I never load in 38 brass, so no help there
 
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