What is your favorite 158 cast bullet for target practice?

[Boondocker]

I have a Lyman mold that drops a roughly 141 grain swc that shoots well in my Taurus 605 38/357 snubbie and well in my 669 6in. I want to get a good Lee 6 cav in 158 dropping straight w/w. My wife needs to graduate up to the 38 from the 380 then eventually to 357 loads. I have a couple of Lyman 450 sizers but these Lee push thru sizers and powder coat looks intriguing. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated as well as some load info. I have cast and loaded 10"s of thousands cast rifle and pistol bullets, so I am not new to the sport. I have been somewhat away from it for a while because of new work limitations. Thank you Steve:)

[rheagunman]

Lee 158 grain swc & hp are good enough for me.

[g17]

Lee 158gr tl swc. However, I prefer the Lee 148gr tl wc for target and certainly would be my bullet of choice in a snub but either work very well.

[floydboy]

Lyman 358495 is my most accurate plinking boolit.

Floyd

[DerekP Houston]

I've had good success with the 158 gr rn TL design and the 158 gr SWC design. I personally use a lot more wadcutters though for the decreased powder usage.

[Landshark9025]

Lee 358-158 RF with CCI and HP-38. Bullseye is second choice. Powder coat was good but Lithi-bee was excellent.

[Harter66]

I shoot the 358-158 RNFP Lee in every 38/357 for everything .

[Petrol & Powder]

I've been using the RCBS SWC mold that drops bullets around 159-160 gr and it's a great bullet. Unfortunately, RCBS molds have a max of two cavities but the quality of the mold is excellent.


The 38 special Wadcutter mold from RCBS actually drops a bullet far in excess of 148 grains and would easily qualify for the OP's criteria of "158 grain" bullet, so that would be another choice. It's also a bullet that I would recommend.

I just got a RCBS mold for a RNFP bullet in the 158 grain range (are you seeing my preference for RCBS molds :)) that I don't have much experience with yet but it looks promising.


I've shot tons of 38 specials over the decades and there's no good reason to stray too far from the 155-160 grain range when it come to bullets for that fine caliber.


Good Luck

[rintinglen]

I am a fan of the MP-358-640, a 4 cavity HP, But for just plinking, I have a 358-311 4 cavity that is extremely accurate. It is the easiest casting boolit mold that I have. Once up to temp, it rains boolits.

[Ed_Shot]

The Lee 358-158-RF is a winner. My Lyman 358156 with GC shank removed is every bit as accurate. Agree with Floyd about the 358495. But, for plinking accuracy with .357 brass I find the Lyman 358242 (120 gr) over Promo 5.0 gr hard to beat. In 38 Spl, the 358242 over Promo 4.2 is also super accurate.

[marlin39a]

Lyman 358477 over 3.5 gr Bullseye.

[Boondocker]

The 358-158 RNFP Lee looks quite interesting as I like a flatter point for target and hunting purposes. Plus I want the wife to get used too shooting a heavier boolit. Please keep the suggestion coming as it is firing me up to get casting again. Thanks Steve

[Geezer in NH]

Free ones that are .358-.359 diameter

[MT Gianni]

Modified 3114666 with a 315 Saeco nose profile. It runs 158 gr and is accurate in 308. 30-06 and 30-30. If you meant 35 cal revolver bullet it is the 358447 Lyman by a mile.

[Boolseye]

I shot nothing but the TL 358-158 SWC for years.
nice accurate boolit, casts great and lubes up easy.
Good right up to .357 mag velocities.

[bobthenailer]

Out of the various 158 gr moulds that I have or have used, 6 in all, the older Saeco #382( with a wider front driving band) the newer #382 has a smaller front driving band and is not as accurate.

I have shot the old #382 for over 50 years from about 20 hand guns mostley S&W revolvers and two 357 rifles and it produces match accuracy from all with good loads usually 1"or sometimes better @25 yards from revolvers and usually 1" @ 50 yards from RPM SS pistol and the rifles. all shot from the bench using a scope , red dot sight. or Ransom Rest.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Another vote for Lee 358-158-RF. Mine sit on H110 or W231 mostly.

[WFO2]

I use a Lyman 155grn with 7grains of 2400 .It drop s little heavy with ISO core lead water quenched . Powder coated they come out to 158 .

[psweigle]

My favorite is the lee tumble lube round nose. With a small charge of bullseye it shoots equally accurate out of the rifle as it does the revolvers.

[robg]

Lee 158gr wfn over 7 gr of true blue for nice accurate light load.

[gwpercle]

My favorite is almost 158 grains , it is the Lyman # 358432 in the 160 grain weight. They also made this design in a 148 grain weight .
After doing a good bit of testing , different powders , different guns , different boolits...this design and weight keeps turning in the best accuracy.
5.5 grains Accurate #5 and 2.8 grains Bullseye give 15 shot groups all within a 2 inch circle (basicaly one big ragged hole)at 25 yards.
When I saw NOE had recreated this design in a 3 cavity aluminum mould that was in stock , I ordered one before I knew what happened. I actually prefer the NOE version better than the Lyman...and the old Lyman was a one holer.
This design is somewhat of a sleeper, not many know of it but it is well worth trying....I like it a LOT !
Gary