Tc 357 mag

[jimr]

first off ,hi to all of you , i've been casting and reloading for about 40 years and still learn alot from listening and reading but i have one real issue with the 357 & the 38 special round. the barrel slugs .357,i'm sizing the bullet 385477 to .3585. when seated in the case it kinda buldges the case enough where as it is difficult to chamber it in the tc barrel.
now the question is , to get them to chamber i remove the decap assy. an nudge them back in the carbide sizer die to bring them back to spec. i guess this is the question, how much does doing this do you think it changes the dimension of the bullet. i guess i could just knock a couple out to see, but do any of you have this issue?
i gould go to a .357 dia bullet ,but i don't know if accuracy would be as good with a cast bullet in that barrel of that size.
also what is good accrucy with the .357 mag tc and cast bullets. what should i expect.jim

[HeavyMetal]

If your putting the loaded round back through the sizing die you are changing the diamensions of the seated boolit IF your case is contacting the carbide ring anywhere along the length of the seated boolit.

Since the boolit is making enough of a bulge to prevent chambering it must be resizing the boolit.

Now lets ask another question: could you have the boolit seated out to far?

If it is and you run the loaded round through your sizing die you may be resizing the exposed boolit shank as well and confusing the issue as to way the rounds are tough to chamber.

You could also be masking a crimp problem in the same manner. Since the barrel slugs .357 and you do not have to deal with chamber mouths I think the next step is to size about 10 boolits at .357.

I will also suggest you take a case that has not been sized put a 357 boolit in the case and then push it into the chamber. The idea here is to find out exactly how far out this chamber likes boolits seated.

Yuo may find you have a ton of "leade" you may find you need to seat that boolit a little deeper.

After you push the round in and remove it you should have an idea of overall cartridge length and seat you boolits about .020 to .040 deeper than contact with the rifling!

Once you have this depth figured out load up the 10 rounds you sized at .357 and see how they perform. Because you are loading for a single shot excess crimp is simply not needed!

Try these 10 rounds with very minimal to no crimp.

Once you have the chambering issue figured out you can start t tune your load to the barrel you have by changing one thing at a time.

This way you'll know if it's a good change or a bad one!

[Echo]

Jimr, check your cases. Different headstamps will probably have different thickness necks. Find the ones with the thinnest necks, load them as usual, and see if they are bulged, and if you can chamber them.

AND I BROKE A THOUSAND POSTS![smilie=p:

[Blammer]

measure the outside dia of the loaded round before you run it through the sizer, then measure after the sizer.

TC chambers are notoriously tight on straightwalled pistol cartridges.

Accuracy? I'd say an inch or less at 50 yds is a good bench mark.

[gasboffer]

Heavy Metal............I have owned several TC .357 bbls. You cannot seat even a 200 gr. bullet out far enough to touch the lands. Well, maybe if you just seat the gas check. I have had mine rechambered to .357 max. Works great! Haven't had any problems in any of the barrels chambering a cartridge because of oversize bullets. Size to .358.
IHM70

[HeavyMetal]

TC barrels, in 357, are notorious for having larger than normal "Leade" area because of the "push" TC had going to use the "Hotshot" capsules in them back in the day.

I've heard the 44 mag barrels suffer the same problem.

However Jimr asked for "ideas" on what his problem "might" be and the possiblity exists he may have a short chamber in a stock TC barrel. He may also have an aftermarket barrel and not have mentioned it or may not realize it.

In any case the suggestion to check OAL with a dummy round / loose boolit is certainly a good one if for no other reason than to make sure he has the"clearence" in the chamber everyone is going to tell him he has.

This eliminates one possible problem and he can move on to the next until he finds the reason his rounds do not chamber.

I strongly believe in "trust but verifiy!" with these kinds of problems.

[GrizzLeeBear]

Heavy Metal............I have owned several TC .357 bbls. You cannot seat even a 200 gr. bullet out far enough to touch the lands. Well, maybe if you just seat the gas check. I have had mine rechambered to .357 max. Works great! Haven't had any problems in any of the barrels chambering a cartridge because of oversize bullets. Size to .358.
IHM70

Maybe not. A few years ago when I was shooting silhouettes I had a couple TC .357 barrels that had standard length throats. Could only seat boolits to the standard .357 mag. length. They were wonderfully accurate. Best production class match I had with it (10" barrel, open sights) I knocked down 8 out of 10 rams at 200 meters with the 358156 on top of a max. load of Blue Dot. Boolits were sized .358 and no chambering issues.
I think the majority of TC barrels have the long throat, but check your's. You may be lucky like I was and have a "short" throated one.

[AZ-Stew]

If you apply excessive crimp, the case will bulge just below the crimp, making it near impossible to chamber the round. Trim your cases to make sure they're all the same length, then set your crimp die to apply an appropriate crimp for the bullet and powder type you're using. If, by chance, you set up your crimp die on the shortest case in the lot when using untrimmed cases, then crimp one that's longer, you will get too much crimp. Trimming revolver cases is important.

Regards,

Stew

[GS1458]

The BEST cast bullet for my TC .357 was RCBS 35-200-FN sized to .358. Medium Taper Crimp.

Never lost a RAM, even with a low hit.

[jimr]

thanks for all the replys on this issue.
this is a TC barrel
it's not a seating issue, it's a case buldge from a .358 sized bullet,i had planed on trying a sized .357 dia. bullet. the TC barrel chamber it smaller than the cylinder on my colt revolver which the .358s shoot nicely.
i have the RCBS 35-200-FN mould an will give it a go. thanks jim

[hyoder]

Here is a photo of a T/C 357 MAG chamber cast with a 357 Mag and 357 Max case for comparison. Note that the extremely long throat will still be long for the Max. That's a 170 gr Nosler set out in the case to just engage the rifling.
That's a typical T/C 357 Mag chamber

[leadman]

Not all T/C 357 mag barrels have the long throat. I had one that the throat was very short and would not take boolits over .358" in a SWC style.

[calkar]

dont forget to try a lee factory crimp die

[GabbyM]

The BEST cast bullet for my TC .357 was RCBS 35-200-FN sized to .358. Medium Taper Crimp.

Never lost a RAM, even with a low hit.

they work great in the handy rifles too. And some reproduction Win lever guns in 357 mag. Gives you less bullet down in the case for added powder capacity compared to the same weight pistol bullet. Photo shows the RCBS 35-200-FN on left with my Moutain Mold 200 grain on the right. RCBS cast 215 to 220 grains from 50/50 the MM cast 200 from 4% antimony 2% tin. My custome MM 200gr takes up less case capacity than my Saeco 180gr pistol bullet. Also you won't be loading your TC ammo into a revolver that may not like it.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=503