357 Mag/Hornady 158Gr HP/XTP Universal load?

[JesterGrin_1]

357 Mag/Hornady 158Gr HP/XTP Universal load with Starline Brass.

I am looking to load a universal 357 Magnum that can be used in any pistol made for the round and was wondering about the powder charge weights. I currently have H-110/W-296,2400,Unique,TiteGroup powders on hand?

Yes I have reloading books but in the spectrum of charge weights listed for powder I was not sure what charge weight to pick.

Thank You.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

for powder i would pick 2400

[merlin101]

I used to use Win.296 for all my .357's but then i tried 2400 and now I use both. Sooner or later I'll pick one over the other.

[Outpost75]

for powder i would pick 2400

+1 on #2400. I always used 14.5 grains with a 158 Jacketed, about a grain below published max. in most of the manuals.
Magnum primers NOT necessary.

[JesterGrin_1]

Thank You Outpost75 for informing me of the charge weight. Of course I am still open to opinions but I guess to many this is simply a dumb question lol. And yes I am probably over thinking it. :)

[phonejack]

I use 14.0 / 2400. Works well in my rifle also.

[NSB]

I like 2400 quite a bit but it's second place compared to either 296 or H110 (same powder). I use 16.7 grains, a max load. You should start at 15.0 and work up to see what your gun likes best.

[Outpost75]

In my experience H110 and 296 are good ONLY for full-charge loads and the charge cannot be reduced without getting into problems. The advantage of #2400 is that it can safely be reduced to .38 Special +P levels, about 10-11 grains with 158-160 grain cast bullet in .357 brass, and ballistic uniformity is still acceptable.

#2400 is also suitable for reduced loads in .30 cal. rifles using cast bullets, something you DO NOT want to do with H110 or 296!
On the low end about 12 grains, 1200 fps, works well with a heavy, plainbased bullet such #314299 used without the GC in the .30-'06, whereas about 16 grains for about 1500 fps is a fairly standard target load with any standard weight 150-210 grain gaschecked bullet in the '06, .303 British or 7.62x54R and if alloy, lubrication and bullet fit are correct, you can increase the charge up to about 20 grains for 1800 fps. without loss of accuracy.

[357Mag]

Jester -

Howdy !

IMHO -
WW296 / H110. Hogdon's minimum charge listed WW296 and the 158 jacketed is 15.0gr

Lead boolits:
My favorite .357Mag load ( handgun & rifle ) for 4 decades has been: 14.5gr WW296 + SP Magnum primer, and a .357" cal Lyman SWC of 158 - 172gr.

The 158gr bullet wt jacketed load and a similar 158gr " boolit " load are pretty close on charge wt.
IMHO - a minimum load of WW296 as quoted, oughta be close to what you seek.


With regards,
357Mag

[NSB]

Jester, I'm guessing that since you specifically mentioned Hornady 158g XTPs you were looking for a magnum load, not a lighter/plinking load for your gun. The 296/110 are still your best powder for magnum loads with very uniform velocity, great accuracy in good guns, and will make those XTPs do what they were designed to do. Yes, you can load your gun down but then it's giving up doing what it was designed to do. Are you looking for magnum loads or just any powder that you can use to shoot reduced loads?

[Hogdaddy]

Jester, I'm guessing that since you specifically mentioned Hornady 158g XTPs you were looking for a magnum load, not a lighter/plinking load for your gun. The 296/110 are still your best powder for magnum loads with very uniform velocity, great accuracy in good guns, and will make those XTPs do what they were designed to do. Yes, you can load your gun down but then it's giving up doing what it was designed to do. Are you looking for magnum loads or just any powder that you can use to shoot reduced loads?

^^^^^^^^^^^^AGREE^^^^^^^^^^ H 110 is my magnum powder for 357 @ 15.5 is a accurate load in all my 357s ; )
H/D

[rintinglen]

15.7 H-110 and Sierra 158 grain JHC worked extremely well for me. As a bonus, the same load under a gas-checked Lyman 358-156 is wonderfully accurate. I have not used the hornady bullet, but Hogdon lists 15.0-16.7 grains for that bullet. I use this powder charge with all .357 level 158-165 grain projectiles.

[imashooter2]

For jacketed bullets, I'd use the H110. Hodgdon lists 16.7 grains as max.

[fecmech]

As far as .357 magnum loads are concerned I think the 2400/296,H110 argument is a continuation of the old Ford Vs Chevy thing. My experience has been max loads of both powders are very accurate and in the same velocity ballpark. My personal preference is 296/H110 for that duty but I've used enough 2400 in that application to know it works as well. Try them both if you can find the powder and see what you think is best for you.

[JesterGrin_1]

Jester, I'm guessing that since you specifically mentioned Hornady 158g XTPs you were looking for a magnum load, not a lighter/plinking load for your gun. The 296/110 are still your best powder for magnum loads with very uniform velocity, great accuracy in good guns, and will make those XTPs do what they were designed to do. Yes, you can load your gun down but then it's giving up doing what it was designed to do. Are you looking for magnum loads or just any powder that you can use to shoot reduced loads?

What I am trying to do is find a Universal load that I can use in my S&W Stainless Steel pistols from a 2" snub to a 6" of which some of them are of the older design.

The reason I asked about the type of Powder to use is I will try and load these on an RCBS Piggyback II with the RCBS Uniflow and the Hornady Powder drop system as I would like to get uniform powder charges.

I like W-296/H-110 as I have a good supply but I am not sure how uniform it will charge the cases as compared to other powders.

[imashooter2]

The fine ball configuration of W296/H110 flows like water through powder measures.

[Gus Youmans]

Jester,

I use a heavy load of H110 with the Hornady 158 grain XTP in four different Smith & Wesson 586 and 686 revolvers and it is very accurate in all of them. None of the four revolvers averages more than 1.25 inches for five, five shot groups from a Ranson rest at 25 yards and one of the 586s will do that at 50 yards. The Hodgdon website lists a starting load of 15.0 grains and a max load of 16.7 grains with the 158 grain XTP bullet.

Your original post notes that you are stymied by the wide range of charge weights given by the various reloading data sources and want someone to give you their pet load. I would advise that you always begin with the starting load from a current reloading manual or manufacturer's website and work up from there. The load I currently use is from an older source and exceeds Hodgdon's current recommended max but the powder I am using is as old as the data and the load has shown to be safe in my guns. I also have current production H110 and when the old powder is gone I will start all over again with the load development, just to be safe.

I don't think you will find a pistol powder that meters more accurately than H110/296. Like you, I use a Piggyback II to load my .357 ammo but use a Hornady powder measure with the Powder Drop system instead of the RCBS. Once the powder measure is set, each powder charge is dead on. I generally stay a few tenths of a grain under the max load as a safety precaution when loading pistol ammo on a progressive press but have found that H110/296 meters so accurately the precaution is unnecessary. However, I recommend you confirm for yourself the accuracy of your powder measure system before loading max charges.

I use baffles in all my RCBS and Hornady powder measures and highly recommend them.

Gus Youmans

[tja6435]

I've been able to obtain 1# of 2400 in the last 6 years or so. If you have a good supply of 2400, that'd be my choice.
However, I am able to find Titegroup almost all of the time and it's cheaper (around here) than 2400. If I wanted to load up a lot, I'd go with Titegroup---unless I had plenty of 2400. I'd just hate to work up an awesome load only to run out of the powder and have to start over again with another powder.

[Electric88]

Out of curiosity, has anyone here used Blue Dot for the 158gr XTP's?

[JesterGrin_1]

Jester,

I use a heavy load of H110 with the Hornady 158 grain XTP in four different Smith & Wesson 586 and 686 revolvers and it is very accurate in all of them. None of the four revolvers averages more than 1.25 inches for five, five shot groups from a Ranson rest at 25 yards and one of the 586s will do that at 50 yards. The Hodgdon website lists a starting load of 15.0 grains and a max load of 16.7 grains with the 158 grain XTP bullet.

Your original post notes that you are stymied by the wide range of charge weights given by the various reloading data sources and want someone to give you their pet load. I would advise that you always begin with the starting load from a current reloading manual or manufacturer's website and work up from there. The load I currently use is from an older source and exceeds Hodgdon's current recommended max but the powder I am using is as old as the data and the load has shown to be safe in my guns. I also have current production H110 and when the old powder is gone I will start all over again with the load development, just to be safe.

I don't think you will find a pistol powder that meters more accurately than H110/296. Like you, I use a Piggyback II to load my .357 ammo but use a Hornady powder measure with the Powder Drop system instead of the RCBS. Once the powder measure is set, each powder charge is dead on. I generally stay a few tenths of a grain under the max load as a safety precaution when loading pistol ammo on a progressive press but have found that H110/296 meters so accurately the precaution is unnecessary. However, I recommend you confirm for yourself the accuracy of your powder measure system before loading max charges.

I use baffles in all my RCBS and Hornady powder measures and highly recommend them.

Gus Youmans

Thank You so much for the information. But I have never loaded with the RCBS Piggyback. These loads will be my first since getting it set up. The only change I made was to eliminate priming on the press as I will do that separately.

I guess I worded things a bit wrong as I was leaning towards H-110 as I have a good supply and only a single pound of 2400 but I am not loading thousands of rounds. What my main problem is in a nut shell is Family lol. So I wished to load up 2 or 3 hundred just in case they wish to go shooting and use one of the .357 Revolvers. And to be sure that no matter which S&W they put them in that they will not cause harm to the revolver and still be pretty accurate.

So what I originally had in mind as you stated for a safety zone in a progressive press is to use the middle of the road suggested powder charge of H-110. But as you mentioned I will check metering and if it does meter very accurately then I will back off a few tenths for a bit of a safety zone.

[JesterGrin_1]

I've been able to obtain 1# of 2400 in the last 6 years or so. If you have a good supply of 2400, that'd be my choice.
However, I am able to find Titegroup almost all of the time and it's cheaper (around here) than 2400. If I wanted to load up a lot, I'd go with Titegroup---unless I had plenty of 2400. I'd just hate to work up an awesome load only to run out of the powder and have to start over again with another powder.

I will have to say I like TiteGroup and have used it a good bit but I am also very leery of the powder as when powder charges go up it can build pressure extremely fast. So when I do use TitGroup I tend to weigh every single charge. So at this time I would not even take a chance on TiteGroup in a progressive press.

The main cartridge and firearm I initially tried TiteGroup in was in .44 Mag with a JM Marlin 1894SS and it had over pressure when I was no where near the higher end of the recommended charge weights listed in the book or on the Hodgdon web site. I had very hard extraction and flat primers. So now I only use TiteGroup in the lower spectrum of powder charges. My favorite for pistol if I choose TiteGroup is a Cowboy load that is a 240Gr SWC with 5.5Gr of TiteGroup as it is a good all around and accurate load.

Forgot to mention I no longer have the JM Marlin 1894SS in .44 Mag due to lack of accuracy. That is why I mentioned pistols for the load. I traded it off and went with a JM Marlin 1895GS in 45-70 Government which is probably one of the best things I have done as far as a firearm. :)

[Gus Youmans]

Jester,

My recommendation of H110 as the powder of choice in the .357 was predicated on the assumption that you are looking for near-top velocity and good accuracy. It would not be my first choice for ammo loaded for an afternoon of family fun on the range. If I only had 158 grain XTP bullets, 2400 or Unique would probably be a better choice for more reasonable practice loads. Even better would be a good cast bullet with a moderate charge of Unique or TiteGroup. 2400 and TiteGroup meter better than Unique but as long as you stay away from top loads, you would be safe with any of them.

If you will take the time to throw, weigh, and record a sample of 100 charges of TiteGroup on the progressive press I suspect that you will find the extreme spread to be no more than plus or minus .1 grain, which you can easily manage by staying away from top loads. My experience indicates that powder charges thrown on a progressive press-mounted powder measure tend to be more uniform than the same powder measure mounted on the bench. I believe the press mounted powder measure operates more consistently than a stand alone measure.

Gus Youmans

[rintinglen]

Whoa, dude. Unless you found those XTP's, using them for family plinking seems a waste. 15.00 bucks a box for mag loads with the XTP versus 6.00 for boolit loads in the +p range. A 150-158 grain Lead boolit will kill paper, dirt clods, tin cans and the like just as well as any magnum, and do so at a much cheaper price. Even if you buy them, the lead boolits run a lot less.

[JesterGrin_1]

Whoa, dude. Unless you found those XTP's, using them for family plinking seems a waste. 15.00 bucks a box for mag loads with the XTP versus 6.00 for boolit loads in the +p range. A 150-158 grain Lead boolit will kill paper, dirt clods, tin cans and the like just as well as any magnum, and do so at a much cheaper price. Even if you buy them, the lead boolits run a lot less.

I have been looking into some of those Copper coated bullets from RMR that are the 158Gr RN/FP as they seem like a good deal?

[str8wal]

16-1/2 grains of H110 works for me.

[JesterGrin_1]

Just an update. I used H-110 and it worked great. And for boolits I loaded some 180Gr TC/PB and will have to see how they do. But on another plus side I just received a new Lee C358-158 SWC/GC 6 cavity mold to give a try and to lube those with some LARS Carnuba Red.

[rintinglen]

Now your Titegroup will come into play. 5.0 grains of TG in 357 Brass will give you around 1000 FPS, for a stout +p 38 equivalent load, 3.3 grains of TG in 38 brass will get you a standard-velocity load that will shoot close to point of aim in your fixed sight 38's. Be warned, though, these lighter loads are so much fun, your brass will empty faster than you can refill 'em.