Finnaly got a 357 mag.

[Eric H]

My wonderful wife surprised me with a late b-day present. Ruger GP 100 match champion. I have been wanting a 357 for quite some time now. Then it dawned on me. Now I will need reloading dies and bullet molds.
I was wondering what has been your experience with types of cast bullets for the 357. I know there is a lot. I will have to try an excersise some self control. Otherwise I will probably end up with a lot of bullet molds.
thanks for letting me brag. I cant wait to run some lead through this gun.

[str8shot426]

Wow, lucky man!

I would start out with the tried and true 158gr. SWC. Never seen a 357 revolver that didn't like them.

[Big Steve]

Yup, whst str8shot426 said. Very versatile bullet. Best field load there is. Accurate, good weight too. Wouldn't be scared to use 'em in a gunfight too!

[44man]

Might sound funny coming from me but mine used to love the 358156. Mine was the HP and took a ton of chucks.
I wish I still had that old gun.

[Petrol & Powder]

The GP-100 is an outstanding firearm. I'd go with one of the 158gr SWC designs. That bullet will give you the most versatility. It can be loaded down to 38 Special standard velocity levels or pushed to magnum levels. There are heavier bullets available for .357 but I think you'll find the bulk of your shooting will be in 38 Special territory.

[dragon813gt]

To conserve lead I've been shooting a lot of 359125s. At 125/135 overtop of a few grains of W231 it conserves all around. It's also extremely accurate. I have a 358156 but haven't got around to loading any up. For a heavyweight my 6" 586 loves the 359640. I either shoot full power or really light loads. I know there is a 148 grain wadcutter mold that gets used a lot as well.

[jonp]

359640 MP mold?

[357mags]

Stick with 158gr SWC!

[osteodoc08]

My general purpose 38/357 boolits is my NOE 358429 mold. A general all purpose PB SWC coming in around 170gr.

[161]

I have a MC also, you'll like it. I been shooting the lee swc 158 tl and 148 wc tl. I been happy with them.

[GP100man]

I`ve settled on 3 different boolits :

Lee 105 swc for pure plinkin fun & the yungens like the lite recoil
Lee 158 gr. rnfp for plinkin & a general use booilt
NOE 358429/360-180 for heavy loads & hunting

Ooopps that`s 4

With that said all the suggestions so far are good ones.

I have too many molds for 38/357 , from traditional Keith style to the very early 357443 & really can`t get none to shoot "bad" out of any of my GPs

I hope your Match Champion shoots as good as this 1

http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx110/GP100man/102_1269.jpg (http://s746.photobucket.com/user/GP100man/media/102_1269.jpg.html)

It makes me look a better shot than I am & it`s happy with round ball loads to wadcutters to elephant loads !!

We desire pics of the new toy !!!

http://i746.photobucket.com/albums/xx110/GP100man/E28I6XCAOI7L3UCAWU62LTCAYY4UJACA616.jpg (http://s746.photobucket.com/user/GP100man/media/E28I6XCAOI7L3UCAWU62LTCAYY4UJACA616.jpg.html)

['74 sharps]

The Lyman 358665 4 cavity mold makes a fine 158gr bullet for either 38's or 357's.

[Bonz]

I only use different boolits: 158gr RNFP for "light loads" and 158gr SWC for "heavy loads"

[Lefty Red]

I have to go with everyone else here and say just about any 158gr bullet (SWC or FN or RN) and a WC in 148gr.
Just as long as the bullet diameter is matched to the barrel, I ahve ran 357s up to 1300 fsp with no leading with a plain base bullet.
But I have to confess I just picked up a Lee 6 banger in the 158gr GC design. Both 38 and 357 likes it, GCed or not.

Lefty

[Lefty Red]

I have a MC also, you'll like it. I been shooting the lee swc 158 tl and 148 wc tl. I been happy with them.


Two great bullets!

[Rex]

I learned casting on a Lee 158 grain RF mold. Yes, it is a good bullet. Now I mostly cast with a 358477 older Ideal mold that drops around 150 grains and use these in 38 special cases with a little HP-38. And I cast a Lyman 358665 that they call a 158 grain but all that I've seen drop at 164 grain, these work nice in a 357 case for mid-range or full snort loads. Also have a 358156 that is nice but I'm a little cheap about buying gas checks. Use a brass brush after a session with the 38 specials to remove the carbon ring. I probably shoot 100 38 specials to 1 357.

[rintinglen]

Let me put in a shout out for the 358=477 SWC, and the 358-495 WC.
Reality here is that there are more choices than any other pistol caliber. For most of the 20th century, the 38 special and its stronger offspring, the 357 Magnum, were far and away the most loaded and reloaded calibers. There are dozens of designs, and picking a really bad one is hard.

[tazman]

My 357 likes anything I run through it as long as it properly fits the barrel. I have used everything from the Lee 95grain up through 180grain boolits. I used gas checked boolits for full magnum load. I have yet to lead the barrel with any of them.

[waco]

Lyman 358477 is a nice 150gr swc. I have the NOE version.

[mdi]

I too would recommend a 140-160 grain SWC. I have a Lachmiller mold for a 160 gr. SWC plain base that my 38s and 357 like. But, I got a Lee 125 RNFP mold a while back for a 9mm that I have and found this bullet, sized to .358" works great in all my 38/357 guns (sized to .357" for 9mm, sized to .358" for revolvers). But of course they all fit my guns...

[dragon813gt]

359640 MP mold?

Yes, I never put the manufacturer because they all make a lot of the same designs. The 359640 happens to be MP only at the moment. Anything w/ the 640 nose shoots lights out for me. There is a reason I have a bunch of them :)

[Cherokee]

I started 50 years ago with the 358477 SWC and 358495 WC. I have tried lots of others but these two are still great for 38/357. Currently I shoot a lot of the Lee 158RNFP and 125RNFP. As stated earlier, most anything will shoot great if they fit the gun. Sounds like your wife is a real keeper, enjoy that GP100. Mine shoots great.

[double bogey]

I just picked up a 6" blue GP100 Saturday. Got cold again and a customer needed me today so I cancelled a range trip and worked. I'm glad to see you aren't having issues with cast in these guns. I have not slugged my barrel yet, but the cylinder throats measure .3575 using a telescoping gage and micrometer. What do most of the GP barrels measure? I think I'm going to like this gun.

[lwknight]

I have not found any bullets or loads that will not shoot good in my gp-100 except for the time I tried some 110 grain bullets with WSF powder. I never could stabilize the loads. It was either slow or fast without rhyme or reason.
I figure the WSF likes heavier bullets in the plinking range.

[GP100man]

My barrels run from 357 to a tad over 3575 the best I can measure , I reamed all my throats to 358 ,then lapped my sizers to 358+

The only boolit I have any trouble with is the long oglive on a early NOE 360-180, but the problem is fixed with 2passes thru the sizer, I think my alloy (a bit harder than my go to alloy)is springing back 001 & hitting the throats ramp.

[zomby woof]

If you plan to use a speed loader, the LEE 150 RN shoots great and loads fast.

[Love Life]

Lyman 358477 or Lyman 358429 and done.

[Leadmelter]

RCBS 2 cavity mold 150K.
Lyman 4 cav 358429.
Leadmelter
MI

[dualsport]

I haven't heard of this 'Match Champion' before this. Ruger has a custom shop or what?

[alfloyd]

I like the Lyman 358156. It has two crimp groves so it can be used in the 357 brass and the 38 spl brass. It also uses a gas check, which I like.

Lafaun

[fredj338]

In the world of semi auto/plastic guns, I still love the 357mag, especially in a 4" gun. About as versatile a gun as you can ask for the avg shooter. Any good 150-160gr SWC mold will be fine. I like my RCBS 150gr, for speed loader, the Redding 158gr TC, but they all work fine 900-1300fps.

[Old Dawg]

Does your wife have an unmarried sister?

[Eric H]

Does your wife have an unmarried sister?

thanks for all the great advice on molds and making me feel real good about my purchase. I did take it out and my two boys help me test it out with a box of Remington factory ammo. then I realized this was my first hand gun that didn't get cast ran through it first. Im kinda upset with myself over that part.

sorry old dawg they are all taken. I will keep your name in mind if any of them become available.

[Eric H]

I haven't heard of this 'Match Champion' before this. Ruger has a custom shop or what?

I guess they came out this year, I was going to get the regular GP 100 Then my friend who owns the gun shop, Told me he was getting in one like it. except it had some feature changes. so I waited a whole nother day. The main differences was the slab sided barrel and the lug only whent half way down the barrel. It was noticeably lighter when held side by side. It also came with wood grips and novak sights.

[Grendel99]

The Match Champion isn't really a custom shop gun per se, but does have a few extras. Pretty sweet looking gun. Here is a link to Ruger's website: http://www.ruger.com/products/gp100MatchChampion/models.html

As for the bullet, I really like the Lyman 358156 Ray Thompson SWC. Very accurate and it has two crimp grooves which makes it very versatile in either Mag or Spl brass like alfloyd said.