Generic .357 magnum loads

[NoAngel]

I load for .357 mag rifle but not pistol. Don't own one, yeah shame on me.
I have a bag of brass I will not be using for my rifle and thought about loading it and tucking it away for another day. Who knows, maybe I'll get a revolver some day. I would just load the same load as my rifle but I shoot 200g from my rifle and that's not something you just toss in any ole pistol.

Bullet will be a 358156 sized .359 w/ a hornady check.
I have AA#5, #7, Bullseye, Unique, Lil'Gun & Titegroup to spare. I have a few others but I'm kinda stingy with my 2400 & 296.

I realize it's not a very professional practice to load ammo that's not dialed into the gun it's intended for, but I have this habit of loading everything I find. Even mediocre ammo is good ammo when things go bad.

I really appreciate any suggestions as opposed to just pulling random data from a manual. Thanks.

[rintinglen]

My go to load with that boolit is 15.7 grains of H-110, but that's not on your list. I have used 6.9 grains of Unique, and 11.2 grains of AA#7, but the H-110 load is better. RCBS lists 7.0 grains Unique as Max with their virtually identical 38-158 SWC, so you may want to tone down the Unique load, at least to start.

[dragon813gt]

14.5 grains of H110 is my universal load. No point in loading a magnum to anything but magnum velocity. Accuracy tapers of dramatically if I push it any harder. Plenty comfortable to shoot in a revolver. And it's the charge under a MP 359-640 that I use for hunting.

[357Mag]

Noangel -

Howdy !

As for what Dragon813 said:
Same song... second verse.....
My go-to load ( for a long time ) has been 14.5gr WW296 and SP Mag primer, under a Lyman SWC of 158 - 172gr. WW296 & H-110 are one-in-the-same.

This load also worked great in my 1894SC.

RX -
Burn some of that 296.


With regards,
357Mag

[NoAngel]

I DO burn the stuffin' outta 296 but it's "THE LOAD" for my .454 Casull.
The Casull is very stingy and doesn't wanna share.
I haven't seen any on the shelves for a while so I'm keeping it for what makes the best results for me.

[dragon813gt]

Both H110 and W296 are on the shelves here. H110 was the first powder to come back. I don't use Unique because it's dirty, relative term. You can make up some light target loads w/ Bullseye and Tightgroup. Your firearms will tell you what load they like. I won't use Lil'Gun due to the heat it generates. In most cases you will achieve the greatest velocity w/ it at a lower pressure then other powders. But it runs hot, literally, and is known to flame cut revolvers.

[triggerhappy243]

i would not load anything I may regret later on.

[Jupiter7]

Both H110 and W296 are on the shelves here. H110 was the first powder to come back. I don't use Unique because it's dirty, relative term. You can make up some light target loads w/ Bullseye and Tightgroup. Your firearms will tell you what load they like. I won't use Lil'Gun due to the heat it generates. In most cases you will achieve the greatest velocity w/ it at a lower pressure then other powders. But it runs hot, literally, and is known to flame cut revolvers.
Little gun does generate heat. But h110/w296 have also proven to flame cut revolvers, especially with light bullets and hot loads.


I like h110 behind the 358156 at about 15.5grs. Really nice load in a rifle, my kids even like it.

[seaboltm]

You use the work "generic". If that is to be interpreted as informal shooting, light duty, target practice, or plinking, Unique is hard to beat. But it is a dirty powder. A Ruger BH should handle your 200 grain rifle load. Hard to beat a BH.

[dragon813gt]

Little gun does generate heat.

I will politely disagree. I have been unable to touch my barrels after a string loaded w/ Lil'Gun. This is not abnormal and one of the common complaints you will hear. All shots heat up your barrel. Lil'Gun does it a lot quicker.

[Jupiter7]

I will politely disagree. I have been unable to touch my barrels after a string loaded w/ Lil'Gun. This is not abnormal and one of the common complaints you will hear. All shots heat up your barrel. Lil'Gun does it a lot quicker.

Politely agree I think. I did say it generated heat. Also have first-hand experience of damage it can do. Running near max loads in 300blackout AR with 10" barrel and pistol length gas system. About 8k rounds and it ate the port in the gas tube open and caused the gun to be a single shot til the gas tube was replaced.

[dragon813gt]

Politely agree I think. I did say it generated heat. Also have first-hand experience of damage it can do. Running near max loads in 300blackout AR with 10" barrel and pistol length gas system. About 8k rounds and it ate the port in the gas tube open and caused the gun to be a single shot til the gas tube was replaced.

My bad, misread it. Thought you said it didn't generate heat. I apologize.

[NoAngel]

You use the work "generic". If that is to be interpreted as informal shooting, light duty, target practice, or plinking, Unique is hard to beat. But it is a dirty powder. A Ruger BH should handle your 200 grain rifle load. Hard to beat a BH.


I used the word generic with 'Winchester White Box" in mind.:drinks:

Fair enough to use in anything but nothing spectacular for anything specifically.

[Jupiter7]

My bad, misread it. Thought you said it didn't generate heat. I apologize.

No worries, happens to the best of us :)

[Groo]

Groo here
Use a mid-range load of AA7 or Unique for the J-word data.
Most cast data is down loaded and as long as the boolet is hard you
will be ok.
Ps. Unique will clean up as the pressures go up.

[Thumbcocker]

Lee 158 rnfp 4.5 of red dot is the woods walking paper punching load at our house.

[Southpaw 72]

I'll give a vote for BE. 6.2 under a 160 gr cast is good for about 1100 out of a 4" sp 101.

[FullTang]

Since I have an 8 lb keg of Herco, I started using that for .357 loads in my 4-5/8" Vaquero and 16" Rossi M92. I've found that 7.9 grains will work very nicely with any 158 grain bullets, whether they are LSWC, jacketed SP or HP, plated RNFP or HP or TC, or any of several polymer coated bullets. Seems good in either gun; Unique also works reasonably well, but is much dirtier. These are mid-level loads, clocking in at 1200-1250 from the revolver and about 1350 from the lever gun. All the load data for these are from old Alliant manuals---they seem to have omitted these in recent years. Pressures listed are moderate, and I've never seen anything close to pressure signs after more than 1500 rounds.

[C. Latch]

I have more 2400 on hand than any other slow pistol powder so I load .357s with 14.5 grains of 2400 and 158-160 cast bullets. My one .357 seems to like it well enough, and it's mild enough that I'd be OK putting it in any other .357 I happened across.

[Ben]

As to Herco in the 357 Magnum, if my memory serves me, 50 yrs. ago a Lyman manual listed 11.0 of Herco with a 158 gr. Cast g/c bullet. I shot some of them, they were " sticky " in the cylinders and flattened primers badly.

There is no way I'd shoot that load today.

Ben

[Beerd]

I remember seeing those old Herco loads that Ben mentioned. At least a hundred feet per second faster than Hercules 2400!

Use current data.
..

[C. Latch]

My Lyman manual actually says 11.6.

No way I'd shoot that today, even with my 40-year-old can of Herco.

[nylocmik]

Ditto on what C. Latch said. 14.5gr. 2400 pushing a 158 swc . My '76 Ruger Security Six "barks" real nice with this combo.

[FullTang]

My Lyman manual actually says 11.6.

No way I'd shoot that today, even with my 40-year-old can of Herco.

I asked about this old Lyman data in another thread, and lots of people shot these loads, but everyone noted pressure signs. Maybe that's why Herco has been dropped from a lot of the current pistol reloading books, even though it makes a fine pistol powder. In any case, the 2004 Alliant manual (easily found online) has a bunch of good Herco loads (all much more conservative!)

[375supermag]

Hi...

My "generic" .357Mag load for all my revolvers, 3 Ruger BlackHawks, a couple of Colt Troopers and a S&W 686 has been the same for years and years. I also provide this load for a friend to shoot in his Ruger GP100 in exchange for all the factory brass he shoots in .38Special and .357mag.

I use a commercial cast 158gr LSWC with 9.8gr of Blue Dot with a SP Magnum primer. It seems to burn cleaner and is a bit more accurate than a standard primer in all my .357Mags. I don't recall the velocity that the manual this load is rated at, but it is well below maximum, yet is reasonably powerful and quite accurate. we shoot thousands of rounds of this load every shooting season between my myself, my son and my friend. The brass seems to basically last forever...I can't recall any that has needed culled for any reason and it never needs to be trimmed.

[C. Latch]

I asked about this old Lyman data in another thread, and lots of people shot these loads, but everyone noted pressure signs. Maybe that's why Herco has been dropped from a lot of the current pistol reloading books, even though it makes a fine pistol powder. In any case, the 2004 Alliant manual (easily found online) has a bunch of good Herco loads (all much more conservative!)


My Lyman manual and my can(s) of Herco are all older than I am (I'm a '75 model and I think my Herco was bought in the early 70's) so I wasn't around when the Lyman manual was new, but just looking at pressure data on Herco through the years, I think that Lyman just had a 'slow' can of the stuff, and maybe the crude pressure measuring system of the day allowed them to think those loads were within the safe pressure range of a .357. Truth is, I don't think a steady diet of 50kPSI loads would harm MOST .357 revolvers, at least not an L or N frame or Ruger, but I'm just not comfortable with the 11.6/158 Herco load. No clue what pressure that would make. I'd like to see that load ran through Quickload.

[dragon813gt]

Quickload gives erratic results w/ straight wall cases. I don't trust it as much as I do w/ bottle neck cases.

[Love Life]

I don't use Unique because it's dirty

I'm not your friend anymore.

[C. Latch]

Quickload gives erratic results w/ straight wall cases. I don't trust it as much as I do w/ bottle neck cases.

Didn't know that.

[dragon813gt]

I'm not your friend anymore.

Hey there pal. If you're going to quote me, quote the whole sentence ;)

I honestly don't use Unique because I use a lot of W231/HP-38. I don't need a "one powder to rule them all" type of powder. I'd do use Universal which I find to be "cleaner" than Unique. Cleanliness is a relative term. W/ Unique I have to use a higher charge then I want to achieve one hundred percent burn. I have a few pounds in the cabinet and I'm sure I will find a use for it someday.

[Love Life]

Hey there pal. If you're going to quote me, quote the whole sentence ;)

I honestly don't use Unique because I use a lot of W231/HP-38. I don't need a "one powder to rule them all" type of powder. I'd do use Universal which I find to be "cleaner" than Unique. Cleanliness is a relative term. W/ Unique I have to use a higher charge then I want to achieve one hundred percent burn. I have a few pounds in the cabinet and I'm sure I will find a use for it someday.

You can do what I did with a couple of lbs of WSF this summer and use it to fertilize flowers. The stuff eats powder hoppers like nobody's business!!

Now to the subject at hand: 2400 is my go to for 357 magnum followed closely by any powder that will make it go boom bigger than the 38 special.

Load it to the book, and within SAAMI, and I guarantee there is a very high probability that it will fit in and fire safely in the firearms made for the cartridge.

I do the same with 45 acp. I keep an ammo can full of 230 gr RN boolits over 5.0 gr of Bullseye that I use to test any 45 acp gun I get. Makes life easy plus leaves me a bunch of ammo to play with.