.357 mag accuracy load?

[mainiac]

If you was going to load the most accurate load for a 357, what would be the bullet and powder? You guys must have a go-to load??? The 357 is the last caliber that I am struggling with. Damn wide fliers are getting to me! Maybe i have a blackhawk here that just wont shoot cast? Toss up between 358156and 358429,as to which bullet is the best. Picked up a 358477 a while ago, and not knowing anything about it, i loaded a few with unique,,,, 6,6.5,7 grains and they all shot 5-6 inch groups!!! Whats up with that? Never had a 357 that wouldnt shoot unique. Maybe ill never own a accurate .357!!

[bobthenailer]

you did not give the velocity you were looking for ive been useing 4.0 be in a 357 case in the 800fps range for 30 years out of maby 8 different 357 with bullets from 148 wc,158 swc, 158rn, 180tc, 180 fn,and 200gr with excellent accuracy usually constiantly a inch or under at 25 yards hve shot several 1 inchers at 50 yards from a rpm xl

[Dale53]

First of all, I would try a target load with a hollow base wadcutter with .357 cases (not .38 special cases). Try 3.0-3.5 grs of Bullseye or 3.5-4.0 grs of W231. This will show you that you have (or don't have) an accurate revolver.

Then, I would try 358477 with an appropriate load of H110. Size this bullet to the throat of the cylinder (should just be able to push thru the throats). It's possible to have a single chamber that doesn't shoot well. Mark your chambers and see where each shot goes. I am lucky, I have access to a Ransom Rest which takes a lot of the guess work out of load work up. I find relatively hard bullets to do better in full house loads in the .357 (as hard as 5/1 WW/linotype or as soft as 8/1 ww/linotype). I use NRA Formula Alox. Most good .357's with fitted bullets should do under an inch at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.

The factory HB Wadcutters seem to shoot better than almost anything without lots of load developement. With Remington Factory loads, I have seen 1/2" groups at 25 yards. My cast bullets with reloads will not quite match this - I get consistent groups at 25 yards at 3/4" - all off the Ransom Rest.

A really good pistol shot with a scoped revolver will do almost as well off sandbags as you can do with a Ransom Rest. Technique is important....

Dale53

[Maven]

Mainiac, I also have a .357 mag. Blackhawk (and a Dan Wesson) and #358429, but have no problem with accuracy in either gun. Also, neither seems sensitive to which powder I use: CLAYS (original, pale gray disks), B'Eye, G. Dot, Unique, or WC 820 (needs a mag. primer). As was suggested, you need to determine the diameter of the forcing cone and then see if a CB that size will fit, with slight resistance, the [6] cylinder throats. In addition, see if you can purchase 100-200 Remington swaged HBWC's and try loading them over ~3.5gr. B'eye as they are very accurate in my two revolvers. Btw, I've found the Rem. HBWC's to be a very tight fit in Win. 357mag. brass, but not Starline or Rem. My solution was to inside neck ream all of my Win. brass (via a Forster trimmer-mounted .357 reamer). Check your fired cases to determine whether they'll accept a (gasp!) jacketed bullet. If they don't, maybe tight necks are part of the problem. I've begun sizing my CB's to .359 for the above mentioned guns and a SW Mod.10 and get less leading and greater accuracy, especially from -429, as a result. Lastly, I've found that the RCBS/Lachmiller/Ohaus 150gr. Keith mold and CB is more accurate* than #358429. You may want to watch E-Bay for a used one. Hope this helps!


*Without a Ransom rest or telescopic sight, you can easily put the 150gr. Keiths into 1.5" or less @ 25yd.

[BCB]

mainiac,

With the 358429 and a Ruger Security-Six I am using the following powders with very good accuracy results:

11.0-12.0 grains of AL-8…1100 to 1150 fps
17.0 grains of WC-680…1022 fps
5.5-6.0 grains of Scot 453…922 to 957 fps
12.0 grains of WC-820…1010 fps

As Maven indicated, 1.5” or less at 25 yards from a good rest. I can hit 24 ounce plastic beverage containers at 40 yards from the same good rest. The 358429 is a favorite of mine in the Ruger and it is the only cast slug that I could get to shoot with very acceptable accuracy in my Marlin 1894C. Good-luck…BCB

[nighthunter]

My favorite load for the 357 is 12.5 gr 2400 with the 358429 bullet seated and crimped just over the front driving band. I have shot 2 deer with this load from a Colt Python and both dropped on the spot with shoulder shots inside 55 yards. Average 25 yard accuracy from the Python and a Taurus are about 1 1/2 inches. My bullets are sized at .357 but I do want to try .358.
Nighthunter

[BruceB]

Loading for four different S&W .357 revolvers, I decided that finding the "accuracy load" for each of them, and then keeping such ammo separated, is just too much fuss for this ol' shooter. I want to just grab the boxes that say ".357" and GO, with whichever wonderful S&W revolver happens to be on my belt that day (one 8.375", two 6", one 4", all N-frame except the 4" M19).

I load 14.5 grains of 2400 and cork it with 358156, and all four guns seem to like it just fine. I have been loading a few with the plain-base RCBS 150 SWC, and getting no leading to date, so I may have to discontinue the 156s and their gaschecks. I have some history with the 156, though, and am reluctant to stop using it altogether. The fact that I have a 4-cavity mould for it also enters the equation, versus the 2-cavity RCBS mould.

Since I have some more-capable hunting calibers available in my handgun selection, my .357s serve as company on day jaunts where hunting is NOT the purpose of the expedition. They make great companions and decent long-range plinkers, which is a favored occupation on a nice day with plenty of ammo, and a scattering of dangerous rocks on that hillside over there. For this sort of casual fun, I don't need the nth degree of accuracy....I'm happy just the way things are.

[StarMetal]

My favorite load for my Smith 19 four inch, which happens to be very accurate, is the RCBS 150 gr SWC over 6.0 grs of Unique. I'm at about 1000 fps with it so it's kind of a dual purpose load, target and whatever else. That's good enough in my opinion for protection. I've shot it out of some other 357's and they liked it also. I don't know why, when I selected that mould, that I didn't want the traditional 158 gr bullet. I'm glad I got the 150 gr.

Joe

[fecmech]

Maniac--Dales idea with the wadcutters is an excellent one and to go one step further, if you don't have access to the bullets etc. just (I know this is heresy) buy a box of new (Fed, WW, Rem) wadcutters. Cost you about $20 bucks save all the wondering about if you did anything wrong etc. If the gun won't stay under 2"a@ 25yds with those move on to another gun. As far as 358429 it's hard to go wrong with H110/296, wc820, 2400 in the .357, personally I have been totally unimpressed with Unique in any handgun I've tried it in. Nick

[mainiac]

well ill be!! Now i got more stuff to try then time to do it! You guys are the tops for sure. Didnt state anything about the gun,,, it has a perfect throat bore match,( 3575 bore and 358 throats!) ive put a awesome trigger in it, and the gun is a joy to shoot. Ive been shooting full power mag loads threw it,because i really think this thing is supposed to shoot the big,fast swc! I have a couple different wadcutter molds but havnt tried any true target stuff in this gun. Will have to try that next i suppose. Ive been shooting the 358156,358429,358477,and the rcbs 158, at between 1100-1550 f.p.s. This gun is sweet because it never leads,dont matter how hard you push on the throttle. Its got all the poentential to be a shooter,if i can get rid of the fliers! Ive pushed a soft slug threw the throats,and have found one that is looser than the rest,ive marked this hole but it hasnt helped with the flier situation. Thanks for all the replies mark

[9.3X62AL]

Nothing I can add to these load recommendations--there's gotta be something in the above data that will make the wheeler act right. 6.0 x Unique and the 14.5 x 2400 with the 150-158 grainers have served me well since about forever.

Bruce--you run 14.5 grains of the new-series 2400 through a K-frame 357? That's the upper end of things for me in those platforms. The M-686 dotes on the same 2400 load, though. The Ruger BisHawk gets some warmer loadings of 2400 and WW-296 with #358156, and righteous 1500 FPS+ velocities, too. THAT was what Doug Wesson & Co. was talking about, I believe, when they said "MAGNUM".

[Bass Ackward]

Nothing I can add to these load recommendations--there's gotta be something in the above data that will make the wheeler act right. 6.0 x Unique and the 14.5 x 2400 with the 150-158 grainers have served me well since about forever.


Yep, those were my two loads with the 358156. Used between 15 and 22 BHN and sized .358. This established the standard that everything else was later compared to.

[BruceB]

"Bruce--you run 14.5 grains of the new-series 2400 through a K-frame 357? That's the upper end of things for me in those platforms. "


To tell you the truth, Al, it never occurred to me NOT to run those loads through the 19. I've been using the 14.5/2400 ever since my brand-new Christmas-present 27-6, back around 1995, refused to digest my previously-standard 15.0 of 2400 without giving sticky extraction. 14.5, on the other hand, worked fine and was adopted as my "standard" .357 load.

This was fairly soon after the changeover from Hercules to Alliant, and I was a bit surprised by the M27 not caring for new 2400 at the previous 15.0-grain load level. It was the only .357 I had at that time, and my several .44 Magnums of the day had managed the powder switch without any grief at all, which I guess only means that I was comfortably below max with them (2 Super Blackhawks and ANOTHER Christmas present, the 629-2 Mountain Revolver).

Anyway, the 19 runs nicely with the big load, but it's too beautiful to stuff into a holster and wear that gorgeous blue. Except for range trips, it's pretty much a house gun, and even on range trips, it sees a lot of warmish .38s as well as .357s. I do like the hefty feel of an N-frame on my hip, and being in gun-friendly Nevada, I've even toted the BIG guns openly into grocery stores, etc without anyone hardly even noticing. Mind you, if I can haul an N-frame .357, I can equally-well wear a .44 or .45 in the same frame size....decisions, decisions. How sweet it is....!

[9.3X62AL]

I can only imagine the hue and cry that would ensue if I wore the 686 in open-carry fashion inside the grocery store where I live. A generation ago, I suspect it would have gone unnoted in then-rural Yucaipa--now, with all the Tupperware Moms and Soccer Dads imported from Orange County.......what a circus THAT would be--lead story on I'mWitless News, for sure. The place would be a LOT safer if more people went CCW or open-carry, AFAIC.

Rant concluded.

The re-formulation of 2400 by Alliant seemed to affect different cartridges in different ways in my guns. The 44's were both Rugers, so the only thing noticed was a bit heavier recoil. In the 357's, I had a Model 65 laying around, and I backed the powder down a bit and worked loads back up to the level I was shooting at (the #358156 @ 1250 FPS from the 4" tube, a duty load duplicator). It took 0.8 grain less to get there, IIRC. When the 686 came along--closely followed by the BisHawk--the Model 65 was put on the block.

[Char-Gar]

Another vote for 14.5/2400 with either the plain base 155 grain SAECO/Cramer #12 or the gas check 358156.

I load most the 358156 these days, because the longer #12 won't feed through my Marlin levergun ( in full length .357 mag casess0 and rifle pushes a plain base a little large for best results.

[Cherokee]

I use the Lyman 358477 sized .358 in my several 357's (686, Blackhawks, Python) with mid to high level charges and it has performed well. I save the 358156GC for the barn burner loads in my 10" Ruger. 14/2400 (old formula) and the 358477 have been good for me. HS6 is also good.