.357 maximum and alliant 2400

[chris12]

anyone have experience with the 2400 in .357 max? im finding a lot of data for jacketed bullets but none for cast.

i will be loading the lee 158 gr swc gas check boolit, and would like to get into about the 2000fps range in my 16.5 inch handi rifle.

I have 2400 on hand and have had great luck with it in my 30-30 and .357 mag so i would like to use that but im open to other powders as well.

thanks,
Chris

[quilbilly]

17.5 gr of 2400 gives me 1950 fps in my 21 inch T/C Contender carbine barrel with Lee 158 SWC-GC boolits. I have dropped that down a little and have gotten better accuracy at closer to 1800 FPS with the 2400. Currently I am creating a "rook load" with the Lee 150 gr RN boolit with Unique and a MV of 1250 fps. Surprisingly, yesterday the "rook load" outshot the faster, heavier boolit and had almost the same point of aim at 100 yards. More testing to follow to confirm but that rook load was fun to shoot.

[chris12]

thanks, I think I'll start at 17 gr and work up from there.

[Beerd]

My 18" TC gets close to that velocity with 20 gr of IMR4227 and a 180 gr GCFP bullet.
Or 25 gr Re-7 does a little better with same bullet.
..

[357maximum]

If this is going to be a deer hunting load I have a few suggestions.

1. Get a 180 grain boolit with a nice meplate like the Glen Larson designed Lee C-358-180 that has had many many group buys done on it. Both NOE and Mihec made/make the boolit mould of this design.

2. Go get a pound of Alliant MP300 or Vhit N-120

A 357MAX was designed to move more lead than what you are launching and it is much happier with heavier boolits. The 357max will still get you close to or at 2K with 180 grainers and things work much more better with powders that are not 2400. The max was not designed to launch light boolits....it will do it but it is much better suited to 180-200 grain boolits. It was never meant to be a light boolit 357Swift.

[leftiye]

I vote 200 grain RNFPGC pushed by 680,1680, 300MP. Much bettah! The Viht N120 is marginally better but more than marginally more costly. 4227 is very accurate.

[chris12]

i agree a heavier boolit would be better and i plan to eventually. However, im cash poor at the moment and am just trying to do the best i can with what i have.

[uscra112]

If 2400 is what you have, quibilly's load is about max, according to Quickload. I've also chosen a heavier bullet (180 gr. Hdy XTP), and a slower powder, (Lil'Gun) for my deer loads. Tried a 200 grain boolit that works in my .35 Rem., but the XTP was a good bit more accurate. (More development needed, of course.) Don't know how this load kills deer - last year it was logging operations near me that drove the deer away, this year it's gas drilling. Haven't seen a single one on my place since 2010.

[quilbilly]

I agree that 158 gr boolits are a little light for this cartridge but since I muzzle load for deer, I am just having fun experimenting with this cartridge. I did some chronographing today and the 17.5 gr 2400 load with 158 gr JSP gave an mv of 1920 on average. My current load of 16.2 gr of 2400 with the 158 gr SWC-GC (actually averages 165 gr from this mold) gives an MV of 1690 fps and groups at just under 2" at 100 yards. The "rook load" I am experimenting with uses the Lee 150 RN plain base (average weight is 156.2 gr) and 7.4 gr of Unique. The average velocity of the "rook load" is 1310 fps lubed with Alox and no sign of leading. The one group I shot with the RN boolit was about 1-3/4" at 100 yards. One interesting thing is that from the ballistic coefficients, at 200 yards, the velocity of the "rook load" is the same as SWC-GC which starts out 400 fps faster. Don't know if that is relevant to anything however.
Sometime this winter, I will do a terminal ballistics test in soaked phone books to see what the penetration and performance of the SWC-GC boolit is like at 50 yards. I suspect penetration will be over 17" which will make it more than adequate for deer up to medium size should I ever decide to quit hunting with patched round ball and Goex

[chris12]

got to the range this morning. at 50 yards 17 gr of 2400 shot just under an inch 3 shot group. 17.5 and 18 both shot 3/4 inch groups. no signs of excess pressure and no leading but i didnt want to try any higher than that. not sure of velocity but next time i go ill bring my chronograph and find out.

[rockrat]

I tried the 358156 SWC gc in my 357max Ruger #1. About 2.5" group @2500fps(chrono'ed). Max load in my Ruger. I shoot the 35-200 and heavier as my rifle likes the heavier slugs. My chamber was designed for the 358627 boolit, so has a long ball seat, kind of like a Weatherby freebore.