Discovered a new .358 bullet

[dj454]

After reading some good things about the Lee 105 SWC mold I decided to give it a try. I picked up a 2 cavity in case my revolvers didn't like it. After testing I will be buying a 6 cavity. I tested 2 loads today. 3.5 grains of Bullseye and 4.0 grains of Bullseye. Both were shooting under an inch out of my 686. They were the softest shooting load I have ever tried. The 3.5 grain load would knock down the 8" plates at 25 yards but they went over slowly. I think I will run the 4.0 grain load for plates to be sure a low hit will still knock the plates down. I doubt a pepper popper would be impressed but I have a new plate load with very little recoil.

[melloairman]

I have not found a bullet that weight or lighter that is accurate out to 65 yards for my air rifles other than it .Marvin

[Elkins45]

It is a fantastic and extremely versatile bullet. And it's cheap on lead too.

[Walter Laich]

I use that bullet in my derringer. Bit lighter load of BE power and it is a mouse-f@rt load.
If it's not fun it's not worth doing

[jcren]

Use this little bullet to introduce my girls to my wife's 38. 3.4 of unique is a very mellow accurate load that hits just low of the sights.

[snowwolfe]

I need a mold to cast practice rounds for my S&W 642 and this seems like a good choice. What are you guys sizing this bullet at?

[dj454]

I need a mold to cast practice rounds for my S&W 642 and this seems like a good choice. What are you guys sizing this bullet at?
I size mine to .358.

[AtomHeartMother]

I need a mold to cast practice rounds for my S&W 642 and this seems like a good choice. What are you guys sizing this bullet at?

No resizing here...shoot them as cast, after powder coat. They're running around .359 with powder coat. Super accurate in my model 66-3 with 3.6 grains of 700x. I get just a hint of lead just past the forcing cone after 250 rounds or so. Not enough to make cleaning difficult. Great little bullet .....got the 6 cavity mold to save casting time.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Very accurate in a little Browning 1971 .380.

[gwpercle]

Not only good for 38 special, but works great in 9 mm Luger. size to .357.
I tried it in an old WWII era Walther P-38, light loads for the old war horse, wanted to shoot it but not batter it with hot and heavy loads. Bullet works like a charm, feeds, fires and ejects with 4.6 grains of Red Dot in my P-38 and three other 9mm's. This little bullet is a keeper.
Going to size some to .358 and see what I can work up in my J-frame S&W.
Gary

[Bullwolf]

I enjoy plinking using the smaller Lee 358-105-SWC as well.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=142136&d=1434339770



- Bullwolf

[old benn]

Hi: old benn here. Please explain powder coat. Having leading problem in my Walther P-38 (1942). Tried to slug barrel with largest I have. .358 passes through and
dose not touch the groves. Any info on what the grove diameter was in Walther P 38's in '42?

[AtomHeartMother]

Hi: old benn here. Please explain powder coat. Having leading problem in my Walther P-38 (1942). Tried to slug barrel with largest I have. .358 passes through and
dose not touch the groves. Any info on what the grove diameter was in Walther P 38's in '42?

Powder coat is a bake on paint/epoxy that's used in place of conventional lube. It will increase the diameter of your boolit and some take advantage of this for better bore fit.
If your Walther is slugging larger than 358 I'm wondering about wear. In my limited experience I've never seen a 9mm slug larger than 358. I learned real quick that 9mm is one of the most difficult calibers to cast for. Slugging your guns bore is critical for proper boolit fit. The issue I had was case swaging. The 9mm case is one case swaging little bugger. I won't derail this thread with all that here but there's tons of info on this forum regarding leading in the 9mm. My concern for your Walther is if it's slugging over 358 you may have difficulty chambering a big enough boolit for proper fit. If you're fit is that far off I'm skeptical that powder coat could make up the difference. If the boolit fit is that loose, your charge will burn thru the powder coat and could still cause leading.

[AtomHeartMother]

I enjoy plinking using the smaller Lee 358-105-SWC as well.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=142136&d=1434339770



- Bullwolf

My boolits never look that pretty !

[JimP.]

i load that bullet in my glock 9 mm and my 357 mag and 38 S & W..shoot them as cast with LLA for lube...luv it

[spfd1903]

Like MLG mentioned, this looks like a great candidate for .380 auto.