357 magnum rifle

[wvmedic]

I've not found any specific loads for the Lee 358-158 SWC GC.

I have to load some up for a Ruger 77/357 and a Rossi 92, hunting season starts next Monday.

I've not loaded full magnum loads in the 77/357, I loaded some Lee 358-158 RNFP over 6 grains of unique with 45/45/10 and no leading.

I have Alliant 2400 and Hodgdon H110

My Lyman manual shows:
2400 starting at 11.4 to 15.5 should I use CCI 500's or 550's with the 2400?

H110 starting at 15.8 to 16.5.

What would you experienced 357 magnum shooters suggest?

Jeff

[trapper9260]

In the lyman manual it have a rifle data for the 357 I say go with the starter and see from there .

[wvmedic]

Trapper it is from the Lyman pistol and revolver manual.

Jeff

[fecmech]

I have not loaded that particular bullet but ALL of my .357 handguns and 3 lever rifles(2 Rossi's and a Winchester) using the Lyman 358429 have done their best work with max loads of H110/296 followed very closely by the max loads of 2400. It is very hard IMO to beat those two powders for max effort .357 loads for accuracy.

[wvmedic]

fecmech, I'm thinking about trying 13 and 13.5 of 2400 tomorrow with the CCI small pistol primer. You think that's to hot or not enough? 2400 didn't do well with my Hornady 158 XTP's and they shot ok with 14.5 and 15 of H110.

The 77/357 is scoped and will be a 100 yard gun, the 92 will be a 50 or 75 yard gun.

Jeff

[sghart3578]

I have great luck with the Lee TL358-158 SWC in my revolvers and my Rossi 92. I load it over 14.5 gr of 2400. This load shoots 1200 fps in my 586 and M28. The 2400 really shines in the longer barrel of the 92. I get 1800 fps with the same load in my Rossi. Accuracy to 75 yards is excellent. I am not a fan of H110. 2400 works great with standard, not magnum, primers.

[FergusonTO35]

I've been shooting 14.5 grains H110 with a magnum primer under a 158 grain gas checked slug in my Marlin 1894c with good success. Haven't chrono'd it yet but POI roughly coincides with my 1675 fps jword load.

[357Mag]

WVMed -

Howdy !

My favorite .357Mag load is: 14.5gr WW296 ( H110 same stuff ) and SP Mag primer under any Lyman SWC of 158 - 172gr.
This includes GC boolits, but... they don't HAVE TO be.

This " load" also works just fine w/ other manuacturer' molds that produce 158SWCs ( GC ).

It's my go-to load for "N"-frames of 4, 5, and 6" . Also, it worked superbly in my M1894SC.

Per older WIN load data, the quoted charge was the minimum amount ( grains of WW296 ) they recommended.
It's a no-kiddin' "Magnum" load, albeit from the lower-end of the Mag spectrum.


With regards,
357Mag

[runfiverun]

I'd just use the 6 grs of unique load and not worry about it.
there's enough oomph there to penetrate a deer out to 100 yds or so.

[Idaho Mule]

In my Marlin 1894 I am using the rcbs 158 rnfp over 13.5 gr of 2400 with cci 500 primer. Sized to .359 to fit the micro-groove brl this has proven to be a very accurate load for me, 2" at 100 yds, and it kills white-tail deer too. JW

[Lonegun1894]

I use 14.0grs of 2400 under the Lee 158SWCGC or the Lyman 358156, and get 1.5-3" @100yds depending on the day out of my 20" Rossi. However, I have also taken a buck with my 4" Ruger Security Six with the Lee 158gr RNFP pushed by 7.0grs Unique @ 45yds, and that did fine too, so I would say just make sure you put the boolit where it belongs and you'll eat well. I would say, depending on the load and powder type, you should be able to use any revolver load in your rifle and expect a 2-500fps increase in velocity going from the revolver (with the cylinder/barrel gap and shorter barrel) to a rifle.

[robg]

13.5g 2400 std small pistol primer,or 8.5g true blue shoot very accuratly in my 94 trapper , 2400 load at 1520fps over chrony.

[Airman Basic]

LGS has one of the Rossi SS 16 in. 357 levers. I'm almost hooked. Only thing is the bad reviews on the net. Seems it's a **** shoot whether you get a good one or not. What do ya'll think. BTW, $500 is the asking price.

[Lonegun1894]

I have two Rossi .357s, both stainless and 20". Both shoot great, and did not need any tweaks like replacing the front sight or anything else that I read about so much. Now to be fair, with jacketed, they both shoot 6"-12" high at 75yds with 4-6" groups using 125-158gr JHPs of various brands. However, cast gives me 1.5-3" groups (depending on what kind of day I'm having) and dead on at 100yds, and opens up to 3-4" at 150yds, and 4-5" at 200yds. I have another 20" Rossi in .45 Colt, that does the same exact thing, but I have not fired any jacketed in it. I am thinking of picking up a .44 Mag next...

[wvmedic]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone, I've been procrastinating loading. Can't make up my mind as to what to load, Hornady or my cast I've been worrying about leading and having to clean it out this close to opening day. I really want to use cast, so I'm going to load some up and head to the range.

Airman Basic, both of our Rossi's needed tweaking but I wouldn't part with them. I've put peep sights on both of them, changed the front sights, replaced the plastic magazine follower with aluminum and changed the ejector spring. I wish they had a slower twist rate, but as I sais we love them and would not part with them. The only reason I bought the Ruger 77/357 is it was easy to put a scope on. $500 is about the going rate for them. If you decide to buy it and need to change some things PM me before you start buying parts. For example the front sights I bought, I could have ordered them from another vendor and paid less with even with shipping than I paid for the sight at the place I ordered ours from. I just didn't know better when I ordered ours and got burnt, I did so because they were supposed to be the Rossi specialist, that is fine but I was not happy with the extremely inflated price they charge.

Jeff

[Airman Basic]

Just pulled the trigger on the Rossi, so I'll be asking for those tweaks. My other levers have peep sights, so I'll probably be doing the same with this one. Thanks for the info.

[Airman Basic]

Just got through with my first range session. This is a shootin' dude. Tried all my cast rounds, RCBS 150 grain SWC, Lee 158 Grain gas check, Lee 140 grain SWC, 38's and 357's. Ate them all without a blip. Dead on at 25 and 100 yards. Just shot at steel, no groups. I'll try that later. Didn't try full wadcutter. Why tempt fate. But, some fun.

[wvmedic]

Congratulations Airman Basic. If it feels stiff when working the lever, the ejector spring will fix it. After I changed ours it was night and day, still has a solid lockup but is so smooth. It also does not throw the brass into the next county now.

Jeff

[Lonegun1894]

Glad yours is working and feeding great. If I may make a suggestion, shoot it for a while before doing any changes since it feeds well and POI is good for you. This way you give yourself a chance to break it in, and also get to know what really needs changing and what doesn't, so you're not wasting your hard-earned money based on what someone on the internet says needs fixing that may not be necessary at all on your specific rifle. Both my .357s and my .45 just needed to be shot and cycled a couple hundred rounds worth and have been great since, so no extra cost of any kind. Also, before changing sights, I would say do your load development first, get the best load, and THEN change sights if needed. I have seen friends do the opposite, buy a new set of sights, and then after doing load development, put the original sights back on with a couple different weapon designs, including a Rossi 92 and an AR. May be worth trying. Either way, congratulations on your new rifle and I bet yours will be as good as mine.

[wvmedic]

Lonegun1894, I agree 100%. I wasn't saying he had to change anything, just what I have done. I agree there is no need spending money when it is not needed.

Jeff

[Lonegun1894]

WVMedic,
I wasn't trying to be argumentative, and apologize if it came across that way. Mine just seemed to get much smoother after I put 2-300rds through it, and this seems to be common among guns I have bought over the years. I just hate watching people who buy a brand new gun and start replacing parts to "fix" it without even firing it so they never find out what they do and don't like about the gun they just bought. Kinda seems like a backwards thing of doing it. Reading some of your other posts, I believe we are on exactly the same page. But you're right that it is always good to know what problems other people have had and how they went about fixing them. Makes it much easier when you get to deciding what to and not to fix, and if so, to get several options on how to really make it work the way you want.

[wvmedic]

Lonegun1894, no Sir I didn't take it that way. I just wanted to be clear in that, I wasn't saying he had to change anything and I agree with what you suggest.

Jeff

[Lefty Red]

LGS has one of the Rossi SS 16 in. 357 levers. I'm almost hooked. Only thing is the bad reviews on the net. Seems it's a **** shoot whether you get a good one or not. What do ya'll think. BTW, $500 is the asking price.

About the same price around here.
I have handled about 10 of them before I found one I would put in layaway. Its a blued version with the short barrel. All SS ones were very hard to cycle.
But, I have to get my 45/70 Guide Gun out of layaway first! :)

[wvmedic]

Went to the range today, only shot at 50yds. 2400 seems to work well in both the 77/357 and the Rossi, I'm working on loading more now. I'll hit the range Sunday to fine tune the 77/357 at the 100yd range.

I had no lead at all in either riffle, that was a relief.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Jeff

[TCLouis]

I loaded 15 WW296 behind 358156 in a new 20" Octagon barrel and they seemed ok in bad light.

Also shot 4 rounds of 180 grain RD over 14.2 grains of WW296, but it had to be hand fed from the top.

Neither RD or LAR45's old group buy 180 will feed in mine.

358429 loaded into the chamber great and I shot the 4 I had loaded with some mystery load just to test function.

Will try some of the suggested 2400 loads behind the 358156 tomorrow.

Then look for meat Sunday.

[wvmedic]

TCLouis, good luck on Sunday. The load I settled on for both the Rossi and the Ruger was 14 grains of 2400 with a SP primer.

Jeff

[ironhead7544]

Any of the handgun loads should work just fine as long as they work through the action. The 158 gr GC bullets are about right for a rifle IMHO.

[Ohio Rusty]

The Wife shoots a NOE 170 gr GCHP cast boolit from her .357 contender (14 inch barrel) with a max load of 13.5 grains of 2400. That load should do just fine with a 158 grain .357 boolit. BTW ...... The alloy for that hunting boolit is 50/50 WW's/pure lead with 1% tin added.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[LuckySavage]

Used my 20" Rossi 92 to take 2 white tails this year. Initially tried H110/296 at 17 gr. under a 150 gr. Mountain Molds custom boolit. Had some pressure issues and switched to 16.5 gr of Lil'Gun. Pressure signs went away and velocity went up 100fps. Best powder change I ever made. I was skeptical of the Lil Gun at first, but it will be my go to hunting powder in the Rossi from now on.

[Kosh75287]

I'D be inclined to use Alliant #2400 rather than H110/W296. The latter allows you about a 3% margin in which to work up a maximum load, while 2400 allows as much as 20%. It's far more forgiving during the work-up, works well without magnum primers, and will improve velocities as well as H110/W296, or better.
Just remember that the Rossi M1892 is a newly-made iteration of an old action, meant to shoot cartridges no longer than those which will fit inside the cylinder of the revolvers of that era. The Marlin M336 action, in .357, is much stronger. If you use data developed by manufacturers using a Marlin lever rifle, keep in mind that the Rossi isn't as strong, and it'd be wise to not go to the max.
With 2400 or H110/W296, you'll get a substantial velocity increase over the 6.0/Unique/160 load, which sounds to me like a marginal whitetail load at very best.

[MT Gianni]

I'D be inclined to use Alliant #2400 rather than H110/W296. The latter allows you about a 3% margin in which to work up a maximum load, while 2400 allows as much as 20%. It's far more forgiving during the work-up, works well without magnum primers, and will improve velocities as well as H110/W296, or better.
Just remember that the Rossi M1892 is a newly-made iteration of an old action, meant to shoot cartridges no longer than those which will fit inside the cylinder of the revolvers of that era. The Marlin M336 action, in .357, is much stronger. If you use data developed by manufacturers using a Marlin lever rifle, keep in mind that the Rossi isn't as strong, and it'd be wise to not go to the max.
With 2400 or H110/W296, you'll get a substantial velocity increase over the 6.0/Unique/160 load, which sounds to me like a marginal whitetail load at very best.
All my reading indicates the 92 action is much stronger than the 94 and that the 336 is weaker than the 92.

[wvmedic]

The 92 is a strong action, I've never seen a 357 magnum in 336. Now 1894 yes, 44 magnum in 336, yes. But not 357 magnum, I might be incorrect though.

Jeff

[Lonegun1894]

That fits with everything I have ever read, that the Win '92 action is stronger than both the Win '94 and the Marlin 336. Now, the other two longer actions are more than strong enough to handle a steady diet of the cartridges they are chambered for, so they are good actions. However, they are limited to lower pressure rounds, like the .357, .44, .45, .30-30, .38-55, etc, while the '92 can be safely chambered in high pressure rounds like the .454. Personally, I am happy with the lower pressure rounds and save the high pressure ones for bolt guns, and use them less and less these days. Why use a .30-06, when a .357 or .45 Colt will do just as well.