357 target load????

[abunaitoo]

I'm not much of a pistol shooter.
Maybe once or twice a year.
I've been shooting 38spl for our matches.
Lite target loads.
Would I notice any difference if I just load lite 357, instead of shooting the 38spl????

[Thomas Traddles]

I don't think so. I've loaded 3.5 g of BE and Red Dot under both 148g DEWCs and 158 g RNFPs and have shot them in both 38 cases and .357 cases in my Ruger Blackhawk and GP 100. I do not really notice a difference in recoil or accuracy. I think velocity would be slightly less with such charges loaded in the .357 case because of increased case volume, but others more knowledgeable than I can speak more certainly to that.

[NSB]

I never use 38 cases for target loads. Just load the .357 case with the target load you want. You won't see any difference in recoil or accuracy. I've shot thousands and thousands of rounds loaded like this. I used to shoot competition with some serious customized handguns (Bill Davis made two of them) and they'd shoot "one holers" with five shots off the bench at twenty-five yards. All with 38 loads in 357 cases. I suppose if you measured the pressure and velocity you'd find some kind of difference, but in all practicality you'll never see it. So what if you lose twenty or thirty feet per second? It's a target load so who cares....the paper?

[Scharfschuetze]

Like the posters above, I also often use 357 cases for paper punching loads. No issues although instead of the classic 2.7 gr BE under a 148 grain wadcutter, I bump it up to 3 grains to compensate for the increased volume of the 357 case and get about the same ballistics.

At one time I thought that by using 357 cases I would get slightly better accuracy in S&W magnums, but the accuracy reamained the same using either 38 or the longer 357 cases. Six of one and a half dozen of the other I guess.


Bill Davis made two of them

I also once used a Bill Davis made Model 10 S&W PPC revolver for competition during my LEO days.

[Walt]

3.5 WST under a 158 swaged swc in a 357 case works well. 148 HBWCs over 3.0 Bullseye works well in the big cases too.

[Hickok]

I personally don't shoot .38 Special cases in my .357's. I hate cleaning out the crud ring a .38 leaves in the cylinder. I just load target load in .357 mag cases.

[Virginia John]

I somewhat agree with Walt, I like 3.4 WST or 3.3 Tight Group for my 158 SWC and 2.8 BE for the 148 WC. These are very soft and very accurate.

[bluelund79]

Those are some great choices. I use 3.4gr of Titegroup over 158gr SWC in a 357 case. It works well in my GP100 and my HandiRifle