Question with my 357 mag boolits

[plus1hdcp]

I have cast some 357 mag using the Lee TL358. The boolits look great. I loaded up 25 and went to the range and the groupings were impressive, at least to me. However, it was extremely messy and I may have had a slight hint of leading. I started with the low end of HP38 under the 158 gr lead, the alloy was foundry Lyman #2. Would you recommend a different powder before I start the tedious work up? Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[Echo]

HP38 is great powder, but not optimum with the .357, unless you are just looking for plinking loads. A slower powder like 2400, 296, HP110 are optimum (IMHO), but many others are used - Unique does a good job, and since you use less, it is more economical. I also use 820 surplus powder in my .357.

The usual questions must be asked - What is the diameter of the your barrel grooves? What is the diameter of your cylinder throats? What is the diameter of your boolits? The boolits should be at, or nearly so, the diameter of your chambers, and .001-.002 over the groove diameter of your barrel to keep leading down.

If you don't have access to a micrometer or equivalent, try pushing an unsized boolit into the mouth of your chambers. If a sloppy fit, there will be leading problems. If no-go, then they should be sized down. You would like to have a snug fit - you can even get away with an interference fit, IF it's not too much of an interference, since the boolit will be approaching the throat from the back side and can be squoze down a trifle. If there is a chambering problem, the boolit must be sized down enough to allow chambering.

And I am sure others will amplify on my poor suggestions...

[runfiverun]

you used alox right?
let it dry longer and make sure the boolits have a gold sheen to them
also let your boolits sit far at least a week for a good test of what you have to work with.
231 is a fine target powder and can be bumped up into the more powerful range.
just not full advantage of a 357's speed.

[Shiloh]

you used alox right?
let it dry longer and make sure the boolits have a gold sheen to them
also let your boolits sit far at least a week for a good test of what you have to work with.
231 is a fine target powder and can be bumped up into the more powerful range.
just not full advantage of a 357's speed.

I'm not familiar with that powder. I use Unique, and AA#7 for .357 with that weight boolit. I bought a can of 2400 to try with that boolit as well as for the Keith 170 gr flat base, flat nose boolit.

Alox as a lube is a bit messy, I the LEE 148gr. TLWC in both .38 and .357 as target loads. I use Alliant Bullseye, a fine powder, but somewhat dirty. When coupled with Alox lubed boolits, a Stainless Ruger has a waxy black residue, heavy near the muzzle, and on the cylinder, but all over the frame.

Shiloh

[plus1hdcp]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to up my powder charge by 0.2 grains and see where that takes me. As for the ALOX, I am not confident that there was enough lube present. In a effort to address that, I have lubed up 50 bullets to take to the range next week and they do appear to have a golden sheen to them. The boolits are measures in the .3580 to .3585 range which should be a good match to my barrel but I will slug it again for verification. Thanks for all the tips.