Help me pick a new .358" mold.

[OptimusPanda]

I'm in the market for a new .38/.357 mold. Ive narrowed it down to a choice of three from lee (I know that is limiting but for $38 I cant say no to a 6 cavity to play with).
358-125rf
358-140swc
358-1501r

Ive read all over this forum that people love the 358-158rf and I do as well but I have that mold and am looking for something different. Only loading for revolvers so no potential for feeding issues since I do not own and have no immediate plans to own a .38 lever gun. It's a shame I can't get all three. Would love to hear your experiences on these below.

[paul h]

What are you looking the new boolit to do that the 158 rf doesn't?

If it was me I'd opt for the 125 rf (one I haven't tried yet) because I'd expect similar accuracy as the 158, but my lead would last a little longer and recoil would drop a tad.

I do have the 105 swc which I got to save on lead and drop recoil but I never got quite the accuracy I was after in revolvers, though it works great in 9mm autos.

[jmort]

I'd get the 158 gc SWC

[tazman]

The 125RF will save a substantial amount of lead and reduce the felt recoil. It will usually shoot to a lower point of impact than the 158rf.
The 150 1R shoots well but won't perform significantly different than your 158RF
The 140swc I don't have experience with since it is close to others I already have and seemed pointless to try.
I also have and use the 158Rf from Lee and find it to be an excellent boolit in both 38 special and 357.

[Bullwolf]

I'm in the market for a new .38/.357 mold. Ive narrowed it down to a choice of three from lee (I know that is limiting but for $38 I cant say no to a 6 cavity to play with).
358-125rf
358-140swc
358-1501r

Ive read all over this forum that people love the 358-158rf and I do as well but I have that mold and am looking for something different. Only loading for revolvers

I would say if you like the 358-158-RF, you will probably also enjoy the 358-125-RF. I would recommend it. I got one a while back, though mine is only a Dual Cavity.

The only difference between the two (other than the weight of course) is the 358-125-RF is a plain based design, instead of a bevel base like the 158-RF.





While not on your list, I have to say the silly TL-358-158-SWC shoots like a house on fire in a wide variety of firearms, both revolvers and lever actions.



Almost everyone who tries the Tumble Lube SWC ends up liking it. It's another selection that's awfully hard to go wrong with. However since you already have and like the 158-RF... I think the 358-125-RF would be the best selection.




- Bullwolf

[OptimusPanda]

Thanks for posting the pictures of that bullwolf. I do like the smaller meplat on the 125rf more than the one on the 158, that's my only real complaint about it. The couple times Ive tried the tumble lube stuff it hasnt worked out for me. Although with so many people having it work great I am clearly my own problem with it.

[tazman]

The tumble lube designs in both the SWC and 2R round nose as well as the full wadcutter all shoot extremely well in my 38sp/357 revolvers.
I seem to get better accuracy with the heavier boolits. The 125 grain is ok, just not as good as the 158 grain boolits..

[earplug]

Can't go wrong with a 148 grain Full wadcutter. LEE makes a good one. Most of my range time is making holes in paper. A wadcutter does it nicely.

One thing about revolvers is the elevation change caused by light or heavy bullets. If you shoot a variety of bullet weights you will be moving your sights around.

[TCFAN]

When I got my new S&W 686 last year I wanted a boolit that would have the accuracy of 38 special wad cutters but be used in 357 case.I also wanted a boolit that would be accurate out to 100 yards. My main use for this gun is 25 and 50 yard one hand target shooting. I needed a boolit that would at least hold the 10 ring at 25 and 50 yards.It had to be accurate with Bullseye powder.

After trying about 8 different types of boolits I finally settled on the Lee 358-140 SWC.It out shot everything I tried in my gun.
For the testing I did with this 686 I used a 4 power pistol target scope with PA adjustment off sand bags at 25 and 50 yards. This 358-140 Lee boolit cuts a nice clean hole in paper for easy scoring.It is a nice boolit and I like it alot..............Terry

[Hardcast416taylor]

I bought an RCBS 38 - 150 SWC at an estate sale awhile back. I found that all my 38/357 revolvers (all S&W) liked the boolet. When NOE offered a version of it I got a 4 cavity to better keep up on making this very accurate boolet that also has a bit of muscle when it hits an object.Robert

[OptimusPanda]

I think I'm leaning toward the 140swc. It should save a little lead, recoil a little less, and make fairly clean holes in the paper targets that I like to hunt (elusive creatures sometimes).