6" security six favorite Boolit

[49FMarlin]

looking for opinions on your favorite lee mold boolit
for my soon to be mine ruger 6" security six

1-whimpy- load/boolit to teach my G?F how to shoot (she's never shot)

2-drop the bad guy/bear/deer- load/boolit

[Ed_Shot]

For a Lee boolit the 358-158-RF is superb in my Security Six 6" with .357 brass. For mid-range loads using .357 brass, I find that any 120 - 160 gr. boolit sized .358 over Red Dot/Promo 5.0 gr. gives superior accuracy. With 38 Spl brass use a 120 gr. 9MM boolit (Lyman 358242, 356402 or Lee 356-120-TC) sized .358 with a taper crimp over Red Dot/Promo 4.2 gr for super accuracy with a mild load.

[tward]

Ed shot, quick question, what size and weight do your Boolits drop from the 158 gr RF mold. I just bought one and haven't been able to cast with it yet. Tim :bigsmyl2:

[odis]

I load 357 for my wife and her Trooper MKIII Colt. I only use the Lee 158 gr RNFP, for mid range I use 4.5 grs of red dot and it's all my wife wants to shoot it performs that good. For a magnum load the same bullet and 14grs of 2400. I never shoot 38spec in that gun.

[Ed_Shot]

Ed shot, quick question, what size and weight do your Boolits drop from the 158 gr RF mold. I just bought on end haven't been able to cast with it yet. Tim :bigsmyl2:

My notes say they drop at 155 gr with my alloy at .359+. I find the 358-158-RF very accurate in both pistol and rifle.

[tward]

Ed shot, thanks, Tim :bigsmyl2:

[49FMarlin]

My notes say they drop at 155 gr with my alloy at .359+. I find the 358-158-RF very accurate in both pistol and rifle.

Sir, whats your alloy mix ?

[Ed_Shot]

Sir, whats your alloy mix ?

I mix my own and I believe the composition to be 6% antimony, 2% tin and 92% lead (hardball). You can certainly get away with a softer alloy for mid-range pistol loads. I use straight soft "mystery" lead for .45 ACP HP's.

[Petrol & Powder]

looking for opinions on your favorite lee mold boolit
for my soon to be mine ruger 6" security six

1-whimpy- load/boolit to teach my G?F how to shoot (she's never shot)

2-drop the bad guy/bear/deer- load/boolit

You're going to get a lot of opinions on this one but they are likely to be similar.

A good "all around" 38/357 bullet is always some type of 158 grain bullet. If you wanted one bullet for everything in that revolver I think some 158 grain semi-wadcutter would be the best choice.

If you don't mind having more than one bullet, a 148 grain full wadcutter loaded in a 38 Special casing to achieve target velocities is an excellent load to teach a new shooter. Very little recoil (particularly in that 6" barrel Security-Six) and fun to shoot. Easy on lead, powder and shooter.


For SD/hunting, I would use a .357 mag casing and a 158 gr. SWC loaded to appropriate velocities. With the proper fit and lube you can push that bullet pretty fast without leading but frankly the 950-1000 fps range will probably give you all the penetration and expansion you desire. Bullet expansion is just the icing on the cake, adequate penetration is the first goal.

For both the WC and the SWC, I would try to keep the hardness of your alloy in the 10-11 BHn range and no more than 11.

By the way, EXCELLENT gun !!! Love those Ruger Six's !!
One of the greatest revolvers ever made.

[Scharfschuetze]

For use in 357 cases:

Girl friend and "wimpy" target load: Any 148 WC over 3.0 of Bullseye or a 158 grain SWC over 4.0 to 4.5 grains of Bullseye

Bad guy load: 125 grain JHP over 296 or H110 powder

Bad guys don't often follow the rules when confronted. Bigger is better, but the 357 does work.

Bear load: A bigger gun :)

When you're 70 yards or less from a grizzly, a 357 Magnum seems awfully anemic. Trust me on that, but if it is what you have, then a 180 grain hard cast boolit with a big meplat over 296 or Hodgdon's Lil'Gun powder.

An encounter last year in Montana while hiking.

[richhodg66]

My six inch Security Six has never been picky and seems to do pretty well with just about any cast I've fed it. Great revolvers, wish they still made them.

[Shiloh]

LEE 125 gr RF and LEE 140 gr SWC.

Shiloh

[RogerDat]

I think I would (and do) go with the TL358-158 SWC loaded down to 38 special velocities. Girlfriend learning to shoot, lots of plinking is good, low noise and recoil with decent accuracy at modest ranges (bad guy in living room is what distance?) So no point in going for magnum velocities. SWC is not too hard to load from speed loaders or by hand (WC are sort of obnoxious), good easy to see target hole, and the flat nose imparts a lot of trauma on bad guys.

You lump hunting round with bad guy stopping round, I do not. For bad guy I figure wife has to be totally comfortable with recoil and mechanics of shooting her gun with her round, that comfort comes from practice. Tumble lube allows lot of rounds to be prepped with little work. Meaning more target time, less bench time. Lower power means more comfort so more target time. My home defense round is the same "mild" 38 round as wife's gun just in my 357. Same bullets, same speed loaders, she can use mine knowing exactly how it will shoot.

Step Son and his wife and kids have the same with his 44 mag. Those rounds for most use are on the mild end of 44 special velocities. Wife can shoot, kids can shoot, he can shoot. He does have some "hot" rounds for occasional use, mostly to let the oldest boy make him some big noise and get rocked back by the "dirty Harry" pistol. Or when he wants to do some long range target shooting.

Shooting a bad guy with 158 gr of flat nosed lead at 750-800 fps at distance found inside the house or yard will probably be very discouraging to said bad guy, the fact that you taught her to double tap and she is not knocked off target or distracted by severe recoil means that second shot will be both accurate and rapid. Despite what may be on TV and in movies, I have yet to hear of an actual case of rapist or home invader continuing criminal activity after two rounds BMC against an armed homeowner.

Hunting is a whole different thing, heavy weight or hollow point, higher velocity for flat trajectory over longer ranges or good bullet expansion. I know people do hunt with .357 in a handgun but... me I would say use in rifle or bigger caliber say .41 or .44 because you really don't want the deer running a hundred yards into the swamp and dying, you really don't care if the bad guy runs off and dies. Just so he leaves.

Go to the Lyman Manual and start at the bottom and work your way up to the minimal load that is accurate in your gun. I like Unique and Titegroup but I am using a short barreled revolver so my load may not be a good match for yours. Titegroup seems to tolerate downloading better than Unique. I use 2400 for hot loads but I seldom shoot them. I might if I was going to carry this firearm with a commercial high power round and wanted to practice with a cast of similar weight and velocity.

[2wheelDuke]

I don't have a security six, but I have seen did results in several guns with the TL 158gr SWC. I started with 45-45-10 but prefer coat them.

They make great plinkers with a light charge of bullseye and are fun with unique.

[takasaki]

looking for opinions on your favorite lee mold boolit
for my soon to be mine ruger 6" security six

1-whimpy- load/boolit to teach my G?F how to shoot (she's never shot)

2-drop the bad guy/bear/deer- load/boolit

lee tl358-158-swc mold

1- 3.2gr red dot in 38 spec or 3.5 gr red dot in 357 for soft loads
2. 15.3 gr win296 or H110 for 357mag deer load

[Moonie]

I use both the 125gr RF and 158gr RF lee boolits in my 6" stainless security six, both work well powder coated and loaded light or heavy. From 3.2gr clays to large quantities of H110/W296 in 357 cases.

[gwpercle]

Girl friend, light bollit , light load , try 358-105-SWC . No matter how you look at it a light bullet will give less recoil. Newtons Law of Motion still is in force.

Magnum loads, use something with a gas check like C358-158-SWC or without a check try 358-158-RF.
Personally I like the gas check for hot and heavy magnum loads, easier to keep leading at bay with the GC.

[StrawHat]

I have not used the 357 for many years but when I did, I had a pair of Security Sixes with 6" barrels. They were very accurate with the Lee 150 WC boolit over 2.8 grains of Bullseye. They also shot a heavier load that used the Lee 358-158 SWC over a dose of 2400 (13.5 grains). I seated the boolit long in a 38 Special case and used a small pistol primer. The long seating approximated the case volume of a 357 Magnum case. These loads were nearly as accurate as the wadcutter stuff I loaded and hit hard. Ultimately, I choose to abandon the small bore in favor of the 45 caliber revolvers, ACP and long Colt.

If I were to revisit the 357 Magnum cartridge, it would be with the Lee 358158 SWC.

Kevin