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Thread: Colt 357 a Trooper and cast bullets

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy wendyj's Avatar
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    Colt 357 a Trooper and cast bullets

    I found one of these today from an estate sale and was a little dirty but I spent a few hours with some mothers mag polish and got it looking good again. I'm wanting to buy a mold to try cast out of it. 4 inch barrel and would like to keep velocities up in 357 mag area. Have seen several molds but am confused on what to get for this one. Thought my husband might be interested in cast for his 686 but he's going to stick with jacketed. I can always go foe Noe but prefer something a little cheaper. I'll be carrying mostly on horseback in the mountains riding to scout out for the fall. I am wondering about size of bullet for my purposes.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master



    Bzcraig's Avatar
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    Lee is about the only mold maker cheaper than NOE so I'd recommend the 358-158 SWC
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master Dan Cash's Avatar
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    Take a look at the Accurate Mould web site catalogue. He has a wide variety of bullet styles to choose from and his prices are verey reasonable; not Lee cheap but reasonable. I would recommend a plain base bullet in the 150 to 170 grain weight range with large grease grooves and a moderate meplat or point. Very blunt bullets do not do so well at longer ranges (over 50 yards). Order the mould to fit you chamber throats. If you are unable to determine that dimension, .358 will probably work but since you can have perfection for no extra charge, it is worth it to measure. Pan lube the bullet and shoot it as cast and you will be very happy without an extreme investment.
    To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the trouble with many shooting experts is not that they're ignorant; its just that they know so much that isn't so.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy wendyj's Avatar
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    According to serial number 38088 it shows production 1963. I thought it was stainless but looks like a satin nickel finish. Not sure if I should run full house loads continuously through it. I may be mistaken but better safe than sorry. I shot a few cylinders of 158 jacket at about 15 yards with it yesterday and it is extremely accurate. I can cast a lot cheaper and probably find a real killer bullet for it. The Keith design I liked but I think mold I saw was 170 grain Lyman.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Its hard to beat a 2 cavity RCBS mold and they make a 150 grain Keith Type SWC that shoots really well in most of my 357 revolvers, including my Dad's Trooper. Midway runs them and the handles on sale every so often. I size mine .358.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Casting for .357 is awesome because the variety of molds is unmatched by any other handgun caliber. The problem for new casters is that there are tons of molds to choose from and it's hard to decide where to start. Lee is the best value and a good place to start but the custom makers like NOE have a much better variety.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Guesser's Avatar
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    I use Lyman 358156 in all my Troopers and the last Python I own. Colt 357 barrels are often a little tighter than most others. I have a Trooper 357 from 1967 that slugs at .354, the others will run .355 and .356. The Lyman # does it all for me in all my 357's.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
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    I ran thousands of 358156 and 358477s through a Colt Trooper I owned in the late '60s and early '70s, also through my Issue OSP Colt Trooper. I mostly loaded the 358156s over 2400 in 38 SPL cases seated long (the heavy 38-44 loads). Bullets were cast of WWs, sized .357 and lubed with Javelina. GCs were the old Lyman slip ons. The Colts were excellent and accurate revolvers.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    If you want full power .357 Mag loads, I recommend (and use) the 358156 with a gas-check. If you are going to download them to between .38 Special +P and full-power .357 Mag loads, use the Keith 358429 plain-base. My MKIII Trooper likes slightly smaller sized bullets, but does well enough with the .358" sized bullets I use in all my S&W's.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


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    I agree on the LYMAN #358156 Cast of #2 or harder. Drive it at max with no worry in an I frame COLT. Use a good crimp on Gas Check. SEAT THOSE GAS CHECKS WITH A GAS CHECK SEATER ON A LYMAN OR RCBS LUBI-SIZER. Getting them on straight & flat, square to
    the base makes all the difference in accuracy.

    COLT certified the I frame OFFICIAL POLICE for the .38-44 Heavy Duty Load before WW2. They built the Pre War .357 off of the OFFICIAL POLICE.
    The COLT TROOPER followed the Model 357 and the PYTHON was a target version of the .357/TROOPER.
    If you want a lighter load, but still with a bit of power; the OLD .38-44 Heavy Load of the KEITH/LYMAN #358429 170gr over 5.0grs of UNIQUE. I use the LYMAN #358477 150gr over 3.5grs BULLSEYE for light target/plinking.
    You got a great gun. Remember to belt it high & to the rear when on a horse. With a good holster strap/snap. I hooked my sixgun out of It's holster more than once. Seen others have it happen to them too.
    I HATE auto-correct

    Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.

    My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.

    SASS #375 Life

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Your chamber mouths will probably be about .358. I've slugged two old .357/.38 spl. Colts, and the groove was .355 on both of them. I've done well either sizing a 358477 to .358 to get grease in the groove (my mold drops about .358 with COWW metal), or shooting it unsized tumbled in LLA. The most accurate powders in my moderate loads has been Titegroup, 231, and green dot.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check