CB loads for 357 Magnum/2400

[sniper]

My wife, bless her, is going to pick me up a can of 2400 today while she is in the gun emporium's neighborhood.

I have been doing some study about 2400, and am somewhat confused. My brother in law says it is the best powder he's used, but can't remember what his load was. (He's 82.) He also said he "just filled the case" , and loaded the bullet on top. (Old model Ruger .357.)

Ahhh...no thank you, old boy!:roll:

The classic Elmer K. load was 38 Spl. brass, standard primer, 172 gr. bullet, with 13.5gr. of powder. A 357 magnum load, at ~40,000 psi.

Skeeter Skelton was said to use the same 13.5gr. load in 38 Spl. brass, but with the Lyman 358156 hp bullet, seated in the second crimping groove, which also gave a 357 Magnum level load.

I don't use 38 Spl. brass, because the carbon ring causes more trouble than its worth, imo.

Other than my Lyman #46 manual, and RCBS Cast Bullet Handbook, I can't find much info on 2400/357 Mag. cases/standard primers/cast boolits, and current Alliant info only deals with jacketed bullets.

Both of my publications are old, and current information seems to be that 2400 s manufactured since the early '90s is hotter than the old formula...by about 10-15%. And, it appears the current Lyman manual contains exactly the same information as #46.

It looks to me as if you could dump the old classic load of 13.5gr. into a 357 magnum case, load with either my RCBS 162 GC or 150gr. KT boolit, and have a load that is enough below currently published max. loadings to be safe and very usable. What do you guys think?

I think I will start at about 10 gr., and work up from there.

Or, would anyone be willing to share 2400 loads using the current generation of powder that have worked in your revolvers, which have proven to be both safe and accurate? Thanks.

[1Shirt]

I am partial to 12 gr. of 2400 under Elmer's 170 PB. Not the hottest, but shoots well in both my handguns and my 94.
1Shirt!

[Echo]

The classic .357 load has always been 15 gr 2400 under a 150-175 gr swc boolit. I believe the current edition of 2400 burns somewhat faster than older lots, so I would cut back to 13 grs and work up, looking for primer flattening or accuracy deterioration. I don't mind somewhat flattened primers in my old BH, but I have no need to stroke my ego with maximum blasters.

[crowbeaner]

Having used several kegs of 2400 in my misspent youth, I can give you some input on your loads. If you load the RCBS 38-150-KT over 11.0 of it you will have one of the best loads for all around shooting you can find. Cast your boolits out of WW and 50/50 and size to .358. If you really want to see just how good you are, try the Lyman 357446 sized .358 over that load in .357 cases. Crimp in the top groove which is correct for the .357 OAL. I shot thousands of the 11.0 in .38 cases in my old M19, and it was a love affair for the K-frame. If you want the best load available, try the Speer swaged lead 158. 13.5 grains and either the Lyman 358156 or the RCBS 38-162-SWC will put you into the realm of .357 when you seat the boolits out and crimp in the lower groove in .38 cases. Don't use magnum primers. Pressures get hinky when you do. Each gun is different, and you need to do some measuring before you start; chamber mouths, forcing cone, and bore diameter. Make sure every threaded part is TIGHT. Be aware that 2400 is a bit on the dirty side when not enclosed in a rifle case, and will leave unburned powder in the chambers, forcing cone, barrel, and under the extractor star. Keep a toothbrush handy to clean out under the extractor. Work your way up to the 13.5 loads watching for any oddities in the gun's performance. Check the primers for signs of excess pressure. Trim your cases to make sure all cartridges get the same amount of crimp and to make sure the boolits don't jump out of the case after the 3rd or 4th round. Have fun. And no, I don't have stock in Alliant; too much liability.

[Lonestar22]

Hi Sniper,
I just completed chronograph testing on .38/.357 loads using 2400, and here are the results.
Six rounds of each load were fired, all from a S&W 686-1, 4-inch.

.38 Special Tests
125gr LRN
11.5grs 2400
Avg. Vel. 1157.7fps

150gr LSWC
10.5grs 2400
Avg. Vel. 1093.6fps

170gr LSWC
8.0grs 2400
Avg. Vel. 789.8

.357 Magnum Tests
125gr LRN
11.0grs 2400
Avg. Vel. 960.5fps **

150gr LSWC
10.5grs 2400
Avg. Vel. 1093.6fps

170gr LSWC
11.0grs 2400
Avg. Vel.1068.8fps

Bullets were cast from WW + 2% Tin adder, air curred.
Bullets sized .358” and lubed with NRA type 50-50.
Cases ejected without any problems, and primers showed no flatening.
The 125gr .357 magnum load is an oddball, as the high velocity was 1057.3fps, and the low at 881.2fps. A light charge is the suspect.
In my next round of testing I will step up to the 12.0gr to 13.5gr 2400 range.
Hope this is of some help.
Tim

[sniper]

Thanks, all. That is exactly the type of info I was looking for. :-D

[LAcaster]

I use 15.0 grs of 2400 and a ww 358156 GC cronys aroung 1250fps shoots accurate in both my Ruger blackhawk 3 screw 6" bbl and my smith mod 27