I've been watching this thread with interest, having picked one up last year. I bought a box of SNS 125g TCFP coated boolits to start with. https://www.snscasting.com/38-357-12...coated-1000ct/
A couple weeks ago the gun shows got going again and I stumbled on a big jug of AA#5 covered with dust for $45. Seal was intact so took a chance. Did a ladder load and it likes 7.5g. This was on the 50yd line, which is what I got it for. Fun shooting blowing up clay pigeons on that berm as fast as I can like I'm one of the Magnificent 7 lol! My first foray in the lever gun scene and these things are fun! Loaded in .357 brass at 1.575"
Nice shooting...............I'd try 7.0 grains to see what it would do.
Winelover
Tried the 7/7.5g loads yesterday. The 7.5g was still a little better. Not quite what I got last try, had to hurry as the rain was rolling in. I concur with the others whose rifles like the lighter boolits. I also couldn't along with the stock rear sight. I went with a red dot on the rail.
I've never noticed any tumbling in my 357 mag Puma 92 (1-30), and I shoot 125-180gr bullets. The 125 is a lee TC, and I usually load slightly above the 38+p load levels. With anything heavier, it's full power only, mostly lil'gun for ~1850fps with a 180gr. I can shoot nice groups at 50yds with that load, but I'm not sure about anything father than that.
" The 125 is a lee TC, and I usually load slightly above the 38+p load levels. With anything heavier, it's full power only".
Thats exactly the same thing i've determined and others like us have mentioned. The 125s & 140s have made a huge difference from when i first started with the Rossi using 158s. Gun very finicky with 158s ala "find something it likes and you'll be ok". The 180s near/at max are also very good. Trouble now is that i placed an order for 500 each of the 125/140s and the supplier is backed up 1 month .....
Try these guys:
https://www.snscasting.com/38-357/
Good find !!
They've always been good to me, and very decently priced. That said, I cast my own 95% of the time
my old ugly pre safety Rossi does not feed well with very many bullets loaded in 357 mag brass but two that do work well are mp 360125's from an old group buy and 358156's. both will shoot down 1" trees at 50 yards
OK, after quite a bit of experimenting over the last year with red dot and bue dot, here's my subsonic .357 load:
Rifle: Ruger 77/357
Scope: Old Japanese Bushnell Banner 4x32 with BDC
Chrono: Ohler 35P
Bullet: 180gr FN cast
Powder: 6.5gr Blue Dot
Handload Speed: 1090 fps
...I was zeroing the Bushnell scope for various ammo (BDC, remember?)...and comparing factory .38 spl FMJ (130gr factory - 1240 fps), .357 SJHP (158gr factory - 1750 fps), and 180gr (subsonic hand load - 1090 fps)
Last 3 180gr shots yielded about a 1.5" group @ 75 yards...I was quite tired by then and I think the I could tighten the group with a little more concentration. But now I have the BDC settings for the above listed rounds.
Give me a varmit target and I will choose my round. I hand load for subsonic and heavy. Why? Less noise, less recoil, bullet impacts terra firma at 200 yards (my property limit), and it hits like a hammer with through and through penetration.
A little late but thought I would add what little I know. I've had a Rossi .357 for several years and had about given up on an accurate load. Recently I bought an Arsenal 429215 SWC Clone mold from a member here. The weight is listed as 225 gr. I'm hoping it will solve the problem of slow twist in the Rossi. I'll try to remember to post my results here
John
W.TN
Slow twist requires lighter bullets. I'd be surprised if you get good results with a 225gr in a 1-30 twist.
Sorry! I gave conflicting information in my post. The Arsenal mold(429215) is for my Browning BL-92 in .44 Mag. That is the gun I'm hoping to have better luck with.
John
W.TN
The 1:30 twist rate certainly SCREAMS for lighter projectiles. I don't want to speak heresy on a site devoted to cast lead bullets, but MY first inclination would be to use a 125 gr. Sierra J-word SP over a substantial charge of Alliant 2400 or IMR-4227. It's not a load made for the Cowboy-Action set, but it should be a more-than-adequate whitetail deer round out to 125 yards.
There are those who insist that the .30 U.S. Carbine is adequate for deer under the same conditions, if soft-points are used (I am not among those). The load I mention has 14% more bullet weight, 26% more frontal area, and the same or similar velocity to the .30 USC. Given meticulous marksmanship from the hunter, this could make for a very nice deer harvester.
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Ecclesiastes 1:18
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool become servant to the wise of heart. Proverbs 11:29
...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40
Carpe SCOTCH!
Pretty much any bullet weight up to 180 will work fine, as long as it is running at full power levels. A lee 180 with a gas check is my favorite projectile.
Did I mention already...180 grain Hornady XTP HP seems like it would perform with authority up to 75 yards. A tube-full of those seems like it would be hard to beat.
R/Griff
I've had best luck with 148 grain wadcutter seated long over a light charge of Unique. 3.5 to 4.0 grains. OAL 1.444. These have been most consistent.
Last edited by Charlie Horse; 11-18-2020 at 01:50 PM.
I've owned a '92 Rossi in .357 for nearly 10 years, bought when the wife and I dabbled in CAS. We gave up CAS but the Rossi has stayed around as a utility rifle. If it's not in the laundry room gun rack in case a coyote gets in the chickens, then it often rides on the dash of the pickup when I'm feeding the cows or just out and about in the pasture. A couple of years ago I used it a little for hunting and wound up taking a sow and a doe with it.
My momma used to tell me "don't borrow trouble", and I think that's pretty sage advise here. Don't worry about the twist of your rifle's barrel, just shoot. Honestly I had no idea what the twist of my Rossi was until I stumbled on this thread. So I trotted out to the shop and checked it and sure enough, 1-30".
Funny thing is I long ago worked up a load consisting of a Sierra 170 gr. HP running around 1700 fps for a hunting load and it was plenty accurate for deer out to 100 yds. Later I bought an MP mold that casts a 180 gr. FP, a 172 gr. HP and a 166 gr. HP, all of which stabilized at velocities from 1580 to 1700+ fps. As you can see, it isn't exactly a short bullet (The expanded bullet was recovered from the sow)-
I haven't done much serious accuracy testing because the rifle pretty much a 100 yd. affair, but glancing at my load log I found that 12.5-13.0 grs. of AL2400 ran this bullet pretty close to 1600 fps and grouped 1" @ 25 yds. and 2.5"-3" @ 50 yds. Switching to 15.0 grs. of H110 bumped the velocity to a bit over 1700 fps and grouped 2.5" @ 100 yds.
For a plinking/target load I used a 160 gr. SWC from an H&G #51 mold loaded in .38 Special cases over 3.5 grs. of Clays which averaged 1012 fps.
My utility load for my .357's is a 152 gr. SWC cast from a Lyman 358477 mold loaded over 6.0 grs. of Unique which averages 1240 fps from the Rossi and about 1000 fps from my 4 3/4" Uberti's. I haven't really grouped it in the Rossi, just clanged some 100 yd. steel, but the load is incredibly accurate in the Uberti's-
Hope this helps.
35W
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There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand.
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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 |