Advise please, .357 mag loads

[Alstep]

I just picked up a Ruger new model Blackhawk in 357 mag. Along with the deal came some handloads using the Lee 358-150 1R cast boolit. The loads are:
8 gr AL-5
4 gr Red Dot
8 gr Unique
Question: are these safe loads for the Ruger Blackhawk???
Thanks for your thoughts,
Al

[polara426sh]

I would pull the bullets and dump the powder. I don't trust other peoples reloads. The way I see it, it's better to waste the powder than to discover a double charge in one of the cases while shooting.

[rmcc]

While a Ruger will take a lot of punishment, for no more than the effort is to pull the bullets, it is not worth wrecking a gun over. Reload your own, shoot your own.

[Old Ironsights]

Dittos.

A little time with a puller beats a double Red Dot any day...

[Recluse]

Agree with everyone else.

Pull 'em, melt 'em, re-cast 'em, re-load 'em, shoot 'em.

:coffee:

[Alstep]

I'm going to take your advise and not shoot them. Will junk the lot and start over right. Should have heeded my own caution, I had similar thoughts. Sometimes it takes someone else to remind me of my own stupidity.
Thanks to all.
Al

[Sprue]

yep I agree with the others. I'm not near a manual right now but that 8g Unique sounds hot to me. I do remember right off that I use 7gr with GC in my rifle/pistols

[Cowboy T]

yep I agree with the others. I'm not near a manual right now but that 8g Unique sounds hot to me. I do remember right off that I use 7gr with GC in my rifle/pistols

Just checked the Lyman book. The max for 158gr jacketed bullets is 8.3gr, which has a pressure of 38,300 CUP. This is starting to approach the original Keith loadings, which any .357M-rated gun should take.

But even with that said, it's still someone else's handloads. The *ONLY* handloads not loaded by me that I will trust are those of my cameralady, Miss B.H.C., because I taught her how, she's using my setup, and there's a "double-charge" safety factor built into the load (it's a light .38 Spl load shot only out of our guns, which are all .357M's). Anything else gets pulled.

[JIMinPHX]

Are those recipes safe? - The 2 out of the 3 powders which I recognize sound like safe recipes just off the top of my head without looking them up. I would need to look them up before giving the recipes a green light.

Do I trust someone else to have actually put the correct amount of the correct powder in each cartridge - No.

Twice, I've had bad experiences with reloads that I bought. One batch came from a large volume dealer at a gun show. The other batch came from a gun shop. I don't trust either of those sources for hand loads anymore. I certainly don't trust some guy that I don't know.

[44man]

I don't even trust old factory loads. Seen some where boolits never left the barrel.
The only reloader I trust is me!

[steg]

Dittto on no trust, I once met a guy who claimed to be a newbie at reloading, that being said he pulled a 9mm round out of his pocket, for show and tell, he said "This is a hot load", I replied by asking him what the powder was, he said "Bullseye", myself not being familliar with 9mm at the time, but I figgured Bullseye would work in a 9mm, so I asked him what the charge weight was, and he got this confused look on his face and asked what I meant, I told him I meant how much powder was in the casing that he reloaded. get ready for this one............he said" I just filled the casing with powder and leveled it off with my finger! need any other reason for only shooting your own? Yes I did set the guy straight.........................................s teg

[dragonrider]

Pull em.

[zxcvbob]

8 grains of Herco with a 158 grain boolit is a good hot load. So 8 grains of Unique would be too much but not *way* too much. But you said a 150 grain boolit not 158 -- so it might be OK but if so it's a max load. I wouldn't start there even if I loaded the rounds myself personally.

Pull the bullets and reload the primed cases yourself. If the Red Dot ones really have RD powder, you can identify it by the red dots and reuse it (may not be enough to bother tho'). Use the Unique and AL powder to make lacquer for making fuse, or for burning up a fireant mound, or some other useful purpose :D

[bgokk]

+1 Pull and be safe!

I was given some .45/70 rounds and they appeared to be factory loads. I pulled them as there was no way to be sure what they might contain.

Better safe than sorry...........