357 magnum rifle cowboy data

[marklyftogt]

I am in the process of getting a Winchester 1892 short in 357.
Mostly plan on doing cowboy shooting and 50-100 yard target practice.

Opinions vary greatly from what I see on the internet. Some say only use slower rifle powders.

Some say use your pistol loads.

I have a lot of W231 and I load at 4.2 grains in 357 for my revolver using 158gr Lee LRN mold. I also have bullseye/AA#2/AA#5/Zip/True Blue.

Any ideas?

[rockrat]

Try your pistol load out. May be all you want

[para45lda]

I always used the same load in rifle and pistol. Made things faster and cleaner at the loading table.

Wes

[fecmech]

I'm guessing your 4.2/231/158 will be approx 1000 fps out of the rifle. Using the Lee 158 TL SWC and 5.3 of 231(a very accurate load BTW) I run about 1200 fps out of 2 Rossi's and a Winchester 94.

[357Mag]

Markly -

Howdy !

In my 1894SC, I shot same load as used in my "N" frame .357Mag's.

#1: 14.5gr WW296 ( H110 same thing ), SP Mag primer; and any Lyman .357"
cal SWC of 158-172gr. It's a true "magnum" load.

#2: I like 7.0gr IMR4756, SP primer; and same Lyman's as mentioned above.
This load is a tad sooty, but.... economical & accurate.


With regards,
357Mag

[Baja_Traveler]

I never could understand why people want to dress up and play that game, yet very few choose to use the powder of the period - Once you go black, You'll never go back!

I shoot 25 grains 3F under a 158 grain snakebite for pistol cartridge silhouette in my .357 Rossi, and it is a blast...

[bobthenailer]

try 4.5 grs of Tightgroup in 357 cases with any cast bullet from 158 to 180 gr should give you around 1,000+ fps from a rifle and is accurate for 25 to 100+ yards shooting.

[Larry Gibson]

I have a lot of W231 and I load at 4.2 grains in 357 for my revolver using 158gr Lee LRN mold.

That should do nicely, very nicely for cowboy action if it is your revolver load.

Larry Gibson

[helice]

I have always liked the W231 for its clean burning characteristics. It has been my 'go to' for the 38, 357 and 45acp or a long time. I'll second Larry Gibson's formula of 4.2 gr. Very comfortable.

[Hammerhead]

I like 5 grains of Universal with any lead 158 for handgun or rifle, but 4.2 of W231 should be just fine.
You should gain 100 to 200 fps in a rifle.

[Junior1942]

I always used the same load in rifle and pistol. Made things faster and cleaner at the loading table.

Wes

Always use the same rounds for 357 pistol and rifle. If you don't, it's only a matter of time before you don't know which is which. That's the VOE talkin'.

In my Rossi 92 357, I use Lil'Gun for max heavy bullet hunting loads and WC820 for beer can loads.

[rexherring]

I have always liked the W231 for its clean burning characteristics. It has been my 'go to' for the 38, 357 and 45acp or a long time. I'll second Larry Gibson's formula of 4.2 gr. Very comfortable.

Larry hit it on the head. Just about the same exact load I've been using.

[1Shirt]

Gotta go with Junior's common sense reply!
1Shirt!

[Shiloh]

I always used the same load in rifle and pistol. Made things faster and cleaner at the loading table.

Wes

Oh Yeah!!

Shiloh

[rfd]

reviving this old thread as i just got a henry s/s rifle w/22" bbl in .357mag and need to load for it.

currently loading 4.7 grains of w231 under an acme 125 grain red hi-tec coated lead bullet for a smith model 60 w/2" bbl revolver.

i'd like to stick with the w231 powder, if prudently possible.

along with using the above handgun load, i want to also load a precision 160 grain black hi-tec coated lead bullet over that w231 powder.

hodgdon's w231 load data for a 10" bbl shows 4.6 to 5.5 grains for a 125 grain lead bullet and 3.4 to 5.0 grains of w231 under a 158 grain lead bullet.

as mentioned a bunch in this thread, if using the same cartridges for both revolver and rifle are basically good, that could mean the 4.7 grain w231 + 125 grain bullet could work ok for both handgun and rifle ... ?

i'd like to use the 160 grain bullet for just the rifle and it might be prudent to drop that w231 charge down to 4.0 grains or so for starters ... ?

[357Mag]

RFD -

Howdy!

I caution you about any charge reductions beneath load levels already established for WW231 in .357Mag.

As a generality, ball powders often are not amenable to operating @ reduced load levels.


With regards,
357Mag

[rfd]

RFD -

Howdy!

I caution you about any charge reductions beneath load levels already established for WW231 in .357Mag.

As a generality, ball powders often are not amenable to operating @ reduced load levels.


With regards,
357Mag

thanx for yer input. is there a powder that you'd recommend for both a 2" bbl handgun and a 22" bbl rifle? i'd prefer medium handgun loads and medium to stout rifle loads. i'd mostly be using hi-tec coated lead bullets in the 125 to 160 grain weight range.

[jmort]

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

I have been using this data for a long time.

[dragon813gt]

Start low and work up. It’s the same steps every time you reload for something new. There will be no issue using the same load in a revolver or rifle. Especially w/ W231/HP-38. So begin at the starting load and work up.

[djgoings]

5 grains of Bullseye with a 158 grain bullet. My wife loves this load with her 357 Henry rifle.