.357 powder

[44man]

Been shooting some Black Hills 158 gr .357 loads to play with. They were given to me with the gun. I see they only go around 1250 fps. I would like to duplicate them because they are accurate. But they are gone and I have none left to try and guess what powder they used. Does anyone have any idea what they are loaded with?
I also need more powder and have been thinking of either Lil'Gun or R-123. I have not had a .357 for years until I picked this one up. Nice little Ruger. I might not keep it long because a friend is getting divorced. Sort of a buy it, sell it back thing so she doesn't get the money from it.
Any suggestions?

[racepres]

I use alot of H-110 in the 357's. But I do notice that according to my records, Blue Dot is maybe the better choice. It's just that 110 meters so good... and I'm lazy! MV

[leftiye]

Second that emotion re: Blue dot. One of my favorite powders. Also 2nd LiL Gun, it is just a hair faster than H110, and more forgiving if you don't run max loads (ignites better too). But don't forget 2400, it is thee classic .357 powder.

[klausg]

I shoot 2400 almost exclusively for that weight class; I save the H 110 for the heavier boolits. I found some AA #9 on a deal and that has done well w/a 358429; I still need to do some tweaking of that load. For plinkers, (38 SPL level loads) I generally use Unique.

-Klaus

[Lloyd Smale]

Black hills does alot with military ammo and if i had to make a guess at what theyd use to load with id guess surplus powder probably aa9 or wc820

[44man]

Great, now I have a starting point. Feels like old times with a .357 but I know he will want it back. At least I will have a load for it and have fun too. Maybe, if he has any money left, he will kick in a bottle for the work.

[BruceB]

My very first .357 loadings were used in a 6" Model 19 S&W back in the '60s. The powder was 2400 and the bullet was Lyman's 358156.

I now use 156s from a 4-cavity mould, but that's about the only change. My standard 15.0/2400 of long ago has been reduced to 14.5 grains, due to the slight chance of trouble from the minor change in 2400's burning rate. The loads work great in four different S&W revolvers, even without gaschecks installed. I find that lately I've been using the RCBS 38-150 SWC in reduced loads and .38 Specials, but for full-power .357s it's the 156 bullets, with gaschecks.

Since it works so very well, I've seen no reason whatever for a change. My revolver loads in all calibers tend to a "standard" load for each caliber, which also works well for me.....RCBS 210/2400 in .41, RCBS 44-250/2400 in .44, and the above recipe in .357 Magnum. KISS for revolvers!

[9.3X62AL]

My agency's carry load in 357 Magnum is the W-W 158 grain JHP, which gives about 1225-1250 FPS from 4" barrels. I snagged all the fired brass I could after quals days, and ran some test loads with bulk W-W 158 JHP's from Midway to "match" the ballistics. W-W nickeled cases, CCI 550 primers--

14.5 x WW-296

13.5 x Alliant 2400

12.0 x WC-820 (fast lot)

Cast bullets (usually #358156) get 2400 for fuel in my revolvers, and I seat The Warm Ones out to the second crimp groove and slightly compress a 100%+ density load in the BisHawk for a bit over 1500 FPS from its 7.5" tube. Now, THAT is a Magnum--in the Doug Wesson tradition.

[454PB]

My vote is Bluedot. I've used about every powder mentioned above over the years, but with a 160 gr. cast boolit, 9.5 to 10 grs. of Bluedot yields 1200 to 1250 fps. in a 6" barrel with good accuracy.

[44man]

I have all the powders and some Lil'Gun is on the way and maybe some R-123 if I can find it.

[DEVERS454]

I have used BlueDot alot in the past, but, its pretty dirty compared to 2400 or AA#9 or H110.

Lil'gun is fun. :)

those are serious magnum powders and don't "load down" well at all. (well, 2400 will load down if you use magnum primers instead of standard)

Another good one that has been around the block but gets little press is Ramshot Enforcer. Its alot like 2400 and meters really well. Pretty clean.

enforcer needs a magnum primer, as does W296, H110, and AA#9.

2400 doesn't need a magnum primer... but it helps make a complete burn along with a firm roll crimp or at least a decent amount of neck tension.

I find that most powders will burn cleaner if you use more roll or more neck tension. if your brass is showing a loss of neck tension after resizing a few times, you need to use that brass for target/practice loads where you can use more roll crimp instead.

That is, if you even care... 99% of plinkers don't. :Fire:

[7BRU]

lil' gun for sure.

BRU

[44man]

I tried some loads to start with a bunch of powders. IMR4227 was the worst, then 2400. Blue dot was the best with 296 a close second. I now have some Lil'Gun and more bullets, so this week, the work will go on.