358311 RN for 357mag ??

[jim 44-40]

Hello to all , I picked up a 358311 that cast a 158gr Round nose.It had handles that is why I bought it, the price was right. After casting some I made a dummy round and found out the nose sticks out past the cylinder,So I took a file and cut the nose down so the round would fit. Now after looking at a old Lyman book I think this was a mold made for the 38 Special.Anyway I would have to trim the 357mag case down to 1.265'' to work in my Ruger or buy 38 special dies.Would it hurt to trim 357 cases down that much? The load I'll use is 3.2 grs Titegroup. thanks in advance.

[JIMinPHX]

The #358311 is listed in the Lyman cast bullet manual with loading data for the .357 mag. It should work fine in that cartridge. The Lyman book says that they did their tests with the brass trimmed to 1.285” long. Max C.O.A.L. on a .357 mag is 1.59”. How long did you load your cartridges? What gun are you loading them in?

[bobthenailer]

if the col is to long try seating the bullet over the top driving band for a shorter col. also i usually trim 357 cases to 1.275 col before sizing , after sizing they will be a little longer. bob