decent load or no..

[nixpap]

i loaded up some 150gr swc in front 6 gr Bullseye. the more i read, the more it seems its not a good combo. Leading?

what do you folks think? should i pull'em? sp101 3in 357. thanks , Nixpap

[rintinglen]

Your Load is under max, according to Lyman's Cast Boolit Handbook, though still pretty high pressure. It should be safe, though the performance is more like a stout +P 38 load than a true .357. Bullseye is too fast to allow the boolit to build velocity. A slower powder would allow the same velocity at a reduced pressure.

[Larry Gibson]

I think you should have worked up the load starting at 4 gr Bullseye. That would have given a much more definative answer than we can give here considering all the other variables. It's not a good idea to just pick a load considering all the other variables, especially pressure. That's why all the magazines, manual;s and "authorities/experts etc. tell you to work up a load. It may work fine.......but then again, it may not.......

Not sure how experienced at reloading you are but given enough experience, good and bad, you will learn there is merit to the above advise.......your inclination that it might not be a good load is probably a good one. I'd pull them and start at 4 gr Bullseye under the 150 gr cast in the .357 Magnum. Work up staing within published data and the revolver will quickly tell you the answer when accuracy goes south.

Larry Gibson

[mdi]

My first question is what does your reloading manual say? Leading can be eliminated by proper bullet to gun fit. If a too small lead bullet is fired in a gun with any powder, any velocity, it will lead the barrel. Measure the cylinder throats and size/purchase bullets the same diameter (quick, "rule of thumb" for 90% of revolvers). Also, don't get taken in by "harder is better" with cast bullets, 'cause it ain't necessarily so...

FIW, I have loaded/shot some .357 Mag. with 160 gr. SWC, cast from wheel weight alloy, air cooled, over an over max. load of True Blue (my oops!, yes, a stupid mistake on my part, misreading my scale). The load was hot enough to blow out the primers but when I got home, I inspected the gun and found no leading. My guesstimate was about 1500 fps. and I only shot one cylinder full (recoil/muzzle blast not extreme/noticeable). Lead bullets were sized to fit the gun.

Like the gents above; Good reloading sense is to start low and work up with any gun/bullet/powder combination. It's much better to think "Hmmm, I think I can increase the load by .5 gr." rather than "Oh s*@%!!, I shouldn't have used that much powder" (from the emergency room) ;-) [smilie=1:

[garym1a2]

when wanting a decent load, what is it for?
For low recoil plinkers a small charge 3-4gr of bullseye is good.
For Higher velocity Unique or slow is better.

[runfiverun]

yes.
what do you want the load to do?
make holes in paper? kill a rabbit?
I generally have a few loads for my revolvers.
a short range accuracy load.
an everyday good nuff load.
and a high performance load.
sometimes with the same boolit, but rarely [very rarely] with the same powder.

[Shiloh]

What rintinglen and Larry Gibson said.

Shiloh

[bobthenailer]

I have found that 4.0 to 4.5gr of Bullseye and any Quality cast bullet from 148 to 200grs loaded in 357 mag cases for around 800 to 850 fps is extremely accurate from the 12 or so 357 mag firearms ive owned in the past 40+ years.