Need help with 357 loads. Too much info out there!

[sniper]

Hi;
My powder measure is one of the vintage Hornady-Pacific ones that use bushings. My go-to load for ~40 years has been 5.5 gr. Unique, which gives a 150-160 gr. SWC 860 fps from a 4" barrel. This is a warm +P load in 357 Magnum brass, standard primer. I verify the thrown charge weights with every new can of powder, and somewhere in the middle after the can is opened. It is seldom more than 1/10 gr. +-. Sometimes, the measure will hang up, but I inspect each case for powder level before booliting it, and don't worry, because the load is nowhere near full snort, and very pleasant to shoot. I may try 6.0 gr "just to see", but, being lazy, will probably just leave things like they are, and enjoy the journey.

[trapper9260]

Throw the handle to the up position, tap the side of the drum with fingers a couple times to settle the powder in the measure then throw the charge into the case. A +/- of .1 gr with Unique is uniform and what I get with my RCBS powder thrower.

I have a Lyman and I use a small peace of wood like 1 1/2" by 1/2" about 7" long and use that to tap the same amount of times as you,just like you do with your fingers.and tap one more after the throw of the charge. it is right on what ever powder I use in the Lyman .

[P Flados]

Hodgdon book max for 231 is shown as:

6.9 gr, 1220 fps, 40,000 CUP

The above is probably good enough to qualify as warm.

Your 8 gr of Unique is also right at max and is probably 100 fps or so faster.

The next question that needs to be considered is what guns will this ammo be used in. There are some 357's that I consider wimpy and would not subject to a regular diet of book max loads.

Regardless of what your scale is telling you, you gun may not care about the minor charge variations.

I would just try both "book max" loads side by side (or a little less if you have one of "those" guns).

I would recommend going with the one that shoots with the best accuracy if you can tell the difference.

If you can not see any accuracy difference, it just boils down to choice.

The 231 will give you a stout plinker with less powder, the Unique will give you a smidgen more bang.

For boolit style, the RNFP and the SWC are both popular. I would actually recommend the RNFP over the SWC for most applications.

[marek313]

Win231 for light loads, Unique for mid loads and 2400 for full house loads. Thats how I would use these and I probably wouldnt use W231 in 357Mag at all to be honest. Full house W231 will have very sharp recoil and slower powders are better for 357 in my opinion. I can tell you 5gr of W231 under 158gr SWC makes a great pretty warm 38 Special load.

For full house stout 357 loads i would look at H110 as well but 2400 should work.

[Mitch]

For my needs mostly plinking.I like the 231 and 2400.I have the RCBS uniflow.I use all 357 cases.231 is wat I use the most for punching paper or just shooting at any old target.for yeas all I used was 231 and 296.then I tried 2400 it meters well and the starting londs pretty much picj up where the max loads of 231 end.The if you wand all you can get for a hunting load with the XTP bullest I use 296.just my 2 cents worth.