All around 357 cast boolit

[wgg]

Looking to buy a new mold for my 357. I want a cast boolit that would shoot well at mid range loads up to full magnum loadings.

[Beagle333]

That would be either the NOE 360-160 WFN or the Lyman 358156. I'd get both. 8-)

[tazman]

Nearly any 150-170 grain boolit will fit that description with appropriate sizing. I personally like the 358311 and 358429 offerings from Lyman as well as the 358-158-rf from Lee.
If you are thinking about a gas check boolit it is hard to beat the Lee c358-158-swc

[Shiloh]

358429 is my heaviest boolit. The LEE 140 gr SWC works well also.

Shiloh

[Jupiter7]

Another vote for 358156. But as above, just about any 150-170gr SWC design works pretty well.

[telebasher]

I have all the classic offerings from Lyman and RCBS but my most used is the Lee 158 TL SWC. I shoot a hundred of these to one of the other designs in my various 38/357 pistols and Handi- Rifle.

[Hurricane]

Another good all around boolit is Lyman 358665, the cowboy boolit.

[BruceB]

Just a note (without trying to invoke the standard joke about using gascheck-capable bullets without the check):

I've fired THOUSANDS of the 358156 bullet without gaschecks over the last fifty years.

Accuracy was superb, and effect on a limited number of critters up to 150 pounds or so was all that a man could want.

I have a 4-cavity mould for the design, and it's my standard .38/.357 bullet. I do occasionally install gaschecks when the impulse strikes, but frankly, they're not really needed for my uses.

[Scharfschuetze]

Probably any well cast SWC boolit of mid weight should do.

My favorite and my go to jackrabit and vermin boolit as well as paper and can puncher is the RCBS 38-150-SWC design. Forty some years of great service from that mold now and accuracy is great from 800 fps to 1,200 fps out of several different S&W revolvers. I guess at least a couple of dump trucks have been filled up with jacks, prairie dogs, picket pins and other hay eaters and diggers over the years with the boolit out of my S&Ws.

[Tar Heel]

No such thing as a "single bullet mold." Stand by.

[Vulcan Bob]

My go to bullet for the .38 Special and .357 Mag is the RCBS 38-150-KT.

[harley45]

I bought one of the MP molds 358-156 GC molds It works well as an HP in every 38/357 we have. Might be worth a PM to see if he has any left.

[TCLouis]

I have several different 35 Caliber molds, but the 358156 is the most accurate across the board so far.

Getting ready to run a batch of 357446 here whenever I work up the gumption.

I had hopes the 180-190 LAR45/Ranch Dog Boolit would be more accurate, but neither could match the 358156 in any case tested so far.

[Tar Heel]

My go to bullet for the .38 Special and .357 Mag is the RCBS 38-150-KT.

Yup! Ditto on the above

[h8dirt]

It's a NOE 360477 (150 grain PB SWC) for me. Works great at 38 and 357 velocities out of my Rugers and S&W's. I've had better luck with NOE than the other brands -- just my experience.

[6thtexas]

Lots of good ones, but the NOE 358429 is my favorite. For plain wadcutters, I like and use a Lyman 358495.

In homage to Skeeter Skelton, I got Buckshot to HP a cavity of my old Ideal 358156. It is a good one as well.

[altheating]

NOE 360-180 works for everything we are doing with a 357 mag.

[dh2]

My go to bullet for the .38 Special and .357 Mag is the RCBS 38-150-KT.
I will second that one

[Cherokee]

Lyman 358477 was my standard CB for many, many years with some 358429 and 358156 thrown in. Lately I have switched to the Lee 358158RF. Great accuracy in 38 or 357.

[gpidaho]

Really like my Saeco # 62358 RNFP Great PB use it hard or soft fast and slow always flys well for me. GP

[h8dirt]

My favorite is NOE's PB 360477 (150 grains). Using a 2/8/90 alloy sized to 0.358" and lubed with a 50/50 mix of White's C-red and BAC lubes, it works great in both my 38 Special loads and 357's.

[SteveS]

I'm having a great time with the Saeco #393, 160gr. swc with a gas check.

[GP100man]

NOE 360-180 works for everything we are doing with a 357 mag.

If I had to settle on 1 mold this would be the 1, PB for me. Next in line is the NOE 358429.

[hickstick_10]

RCBS 358-150 SWC

I bought this mold on a whim after I saw it sitting on the shelf of assorted junk at a gunsmiths, easily my favorite.

[tazman]

As I understand it. the RCBS 358-150-swc, lyman 358477, and NOE 460477 are all nearly identical and shoot the same.

[hickstick_10]

Near identical in shape but not in quality. Lymans new molds are disappointing for what they cost.

[StratsMan]

As I understand it. the RCBS 358-150-swc, lyman 358477, and NOE 460477 are all nearly identical and shoot the same.

Also a similar shape is the Mihec 360 640... and you can get it with hollowpoint pins... That's my go-to 160 grain boolit for 38/357...

[shoot-n-lead]

My go to bullet for the .38 Special and .357 Mag is the RCBS 38-150-KT.

X 2

But most any of them will work...and work pretty well.

[jonp]

I'm shooting quite a few of the Lee 358-145-WC

[MtGun44]

Since there is no need at all for a GC in pistols, I have entirely abandoned the 358156 for the wonderful 358477, 358429 or the
RCBS 38-150-K (now apparently called 38-150-SWC).

Bill

[randy_68]

My go to hunting boolit in my 1894 is the NOE 360-180 WFNGC and for my S&W 686 it is the RCBS 38-150 swc and the Lee C358-158-swc.

[mdi]

Well, the fellers above threw out a bunch of numbers that I don't have time (nor inclination) to look up, but for handgun use I have an excellent Lachmiller mold for a 160 gr. SWC. If I had a .357 rifle, I'd look into a RNFP bullet of 150-170 grains...

[Mk42gunner]

No such thing as a "single bullet mold." Stand by.

This is quite true. In fact saying "I have a single bullet mold," is comparable to saying "My dog has one flea."

More will come in a very short time.

Robert

[1Shirt]

For what ever it is worth, I would suggest a wad cutter mold of around 140-150 gr, and a good semi wad cutter of at least 160 gr plain base, and find decent loads that satisfy you.
1Shirt!

[CWME]

I have an old Lyman 4 cav 358495 that casts so well I have a hard time putting it down. Just happens to be a great shooter too. I also have a Lyman single cav 358242 that I hollow pointed that is fun to play with. When I am heading up north into the woods my Ruger GP100 is loaded with the NOE 358429. The first three are the HP version then three solids finish filling the cylinder. Not sure why but I have a love for anything that starts with 358 in the mold #.

[kelbro]

I have yet to find a 357 mold that couldn't be made to shoot. Some shoot a little better than others but that diameter must be magic or something as they all shoot well.

[rintinglen]

it is harder to find a really poor 38 Special mold than it is to find a good one. With a gun to my head and commanded to pick just one, I believe I'd go with a 358-477, but these days I mostly cast MP 359-640 HPs, not a cheap mold, but a great one, and hollowpoints nearly as fast as regular boolits--whats not to like?

[twc1964]

I really like the lee .358-158rf. nice big flat point that cuts paper nicely and should really smack critters well. ymmv

[bobthenailer]

I have several 38/357 boolet moulds 1- 148 /3-158 /3- 180 /and 1- 200 gr all shoot excellent from every 38/357 i have ever owned ! I currently have 8.
for best overall use 158 to 180gr swc or fn would be best.