A mold for some .357 Mags

[DaveN]

Im looking for a good general purpose bullet (mold) for loading my .357 mags.
I’d like 4 cavities or more. I’m looking at the NOE 360-154 SWC and the NOE 360-158 WFN.
I’m not looking for hollow points or gas checks. It’ll get shot at more steel and paper than anything. Maybe something with fur, but rarely.

What do you all think of the two mentioned, and are there any other that you would suggest?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have the NOE 360-160-SWC plain base style (it's a older mold and is likely that same as the 154-SWC, as I have noticed Al does adjust the numbers/weight of his mold names).
Anyway, It is my favorite for standard loads and also some H110 loads. If fact I just shot some this week with in a new to me revolver.

[Mr Peabody]

I just bought NOE's TL-359-178-RF. It works nicely in a 2 inch snubby and as a quiet light boolit in my .35 caliber rifle. It might be a good one for a .357 rifle too. I pc this one and size it to .359.

[lightman]

I like a Keith type SWC. I have two, a 150 grain and a 170 grain. They shoot very well but you may have to crimp them over the driving band for some revolvers.

[tazman]

The NOE 360-158 WFN would be my recommendation. That nose profile would be good for accuracy and useful for everything you mentioned.
I owned an earlier version of that mold and it worked very well.

[Wheelguns 1961]

I have several 357 molds, and they are all good. These include a noe 359-173 wfn, an mp-molds 359-hammer hp mold, and a lee tl 358-158 swc. For just plinking, the lee mold is an accurate bullet.

[curioushooter]

I have found excellent service in the Lyman 358429. It and any of its clones seem good. MP Molds are in my opinion the best made molds presently available. I've been waiting on an 8 cavity version in the group buy like for a year now. I have the HP 4 cavity brass version and it rocks.

I've had 3 Lyman versions. Love iron, but why cast two when you can cast 4 or 8?

I also really like the RCBS 358-158-SWCGC. This is the one to go with if you plan on shooting it out of a N-frame S&W or a carbine. The shorter nose on this version feeds and isn't too long for the short cylinder N-frames. Also, I have found gas checks to be essential in carbines. If you prefer a non-swc design the MP Molds 359 Hammer is a pretty outstanding design.

[Kraschenbirn]

My 'go-to' for .38/357 is the Arsenal 360-162 RF which, except for having a single lube groove, is pretty much a clone of the NOE 360-158 WFN. I size .359 and load it to 'standard' .38 Spl. level for practice/general plinking and to 'mid-level' .357 Mag for more serious applications. Btw: My Rossi 92 also likes those mid-level .357s.

Bill

[Beerd]

nothing wrong with the Lee 158 RF either. And you can cast 6 at a time.
..

[Larry Gibson]

Im looking for a good general purpose bullet (mold) for loading my .357 mags.
I’d like 4 cavities or more. I’m looking at the NOE 360-154 SWC and the NOE 360-158 WFN.
I’m not looking for hollow points or gas checks. It’ll get shot at more steel and paper than anything. Maybe something with fur, but rarely.

What do you all think of the two mentioned, and are there any other that you would suggest?

Either of those should suit your purposes just fine.

[tward]

Ditto on the Lee RF. Piles of pretty,nice shooting boolits! Tim

[rockrat]

I have the Miha 358429 8 cav. and boy,it puts out a lot of boolits. The Lee 158rf is another one I use a lot (6 cav.).

[quilbilly]

I recently acquired an NOE 184 gr RF -pb in a four cavity mold (#360-182WF). It might just be to your liking. I like the heavy drive band and have driven it to 1350 in my 357 Max with no leading and in my 357 mag, 4.7 gr of Bullseye gives me a very pleasant to shoot 995 fps +/- 10 fps out of the 4" barrel.

[megasupermagnum]

The Keith bullet with 10 grains of Bluedot will always be my standard that all others are measured by. I like the NOE 360-176-SWC best.

[cwlongshot]

The Keith bullet with 10 grains of Bluedot will always be my standard that all others are measured by. I like the NOE 360-176-SWC best.

AMEN!!!

My all time favorite is the 358429. Hands down. I just yesterday received a 358429 HP mold after wanting one for years.



Truth told most all mentioned here will suite ya fine. I’m no LEE fan but must give credit for cheap it’s hard to beat and nothing to say bad about the 358158. Maybe only mine drops a lil small. But with PC it’s just fine.

NOE/Accurate/Mina/Aresonal make awesome molds and I have some of each. Your in good company with all these choices.

Do yourself a favor work up to and at least try this BlueDot load. It’s a goodun!

CW

[dverna]

Have to love the .357. Hard to find a bullet it will not shoot. Looks like you're mostly plinking with it. My plinking bullet is a 130 gr RNFP and I would be OK using it on coyotes and such. It uses less lead and delivers a bit less recoil if that matters.

I built a bullet trap last year and will be switching over to a heavier bullet as more effective general purpose option. Also looking at a 158 but the RNFP from Magma as I will be using a Master Caster. I like the RNFP as I think it may feed better in the lever actions rifles. (3 rifles and 4 pistols to feed)

[Dapaki]

nothing wrong with the Lee 158 RF either. And you can cast 6 at a time.
..

+1! It's my go-to boolit for .38-.357.

[mainiac]

The 358429,,with about 2 grs under max,of 2400,,,will shoot exellent,in every .357,ive ever shot.

[WRideout]

I have used the Lyman 358477 for years in both 38 Spl and 357 mag. In the distant past, I used a hollow-point mold; the one I have now is a two cavity SWC. They both shot very well, with almost any powder. I can't think of a reason to get a different mold.

Wayne

[sniper]

My favorite, hands down is the RCBS 150 SWC-K!