Lyman 358311

[jaguarxk120]

Anyone make and shoot the Lyman 358311 round nose bullet in a
357 magnum?
I bought about 250 of them at a estate sale, now lubing them, sized 358, and want to
shoot.

[rintinglen]

They'll shoot. I generally use SWC's or RF's these days but I have loaded more than a few hundred of the 358-311. 7.0 grains of Unique made for an accurate, mid level load, while 15.0 grains of 2400 makes for plenty of oomph. were it I, I'd load 'em up with 7.0 grains of Unique and enjoy.

[ddixie884]

They are known to be a very accurate bullet, if well cast and sized to fit your gun......

[rockshooter]

be sure to make a dummy round and see that it fits the chambers ok- I have a Ruger SP101 that requires the bullet to be seated just a smidge shorter than usual.
Loren

[Hi-Speed]

I use the Lyman 358311 to duplicate factory 38-44 velocities, 1,100 fps from 6 inch tubes. It is very accurate.

[Alstep]

A good bullet, better than most. Your gun will tell you if it likes it.

[Char-Gar]

You won't find a more accurate bullets provided the alloy temper, size, powder and powder charge are all what they should be.

[gwpercle]

Loaded in 38 special cases ... 5.0 grs. Unique ( 890 fps)

Loaded into 38 special +P cases ... 5.4 grs Unique (954 fps)

Loaded into 357 magnum cases ... 6.5 grs. Unique (1020 fps)

My Pet Loads with this boolit .
Gary

[tazman]

You won't find a more accurate bullets provided the alloy temper, size, powder and powder charge are all what they should be.

I agree with this.
My experience has shown that when nothing else shoots well in a revolver, these will usually work well.
I have even loaded these in 9mm with good results. For load data, I used the Lyman 44th edition. Data is very limited but it does work.

[Low Budget Shooter]

The 358311 has proven itself to me on several occasions, one in particular. One day I was shooting 358311s cast from an old 2-cavity mold, over 4.5 grains Red Dot, in 357 Magnum brass, out of my 19-3 6". One of my sons was shooting next to me, and saw what happened. My first shot hit the very middle of the bullseye. The second shot went through the same hole, not making the hole perceptibly bigger. It was no great feat, because we were pretty close to the targets, but we still enjoyed it the experience. I should have stopped after those two shots and told him I could do that all day!

[smkummer]

Remember the crimping groove on that bullet was made for 38 special, so depending on which 357 you have, you will most likely have to crimp forward of the crimp groove so as not to exceed the chamber length.

[dg31872]

Question:
Will the round nose cause problems in a Rossi 38 tube magazine?

[Kosh75287]

[QUOTE]Question:
Will the round nose cause problems in a Rossi 38 tube magazine?/QUOTE]

I'D avoid using them in a tubular magazine.

[tazman]

Question:
Will the round nose cause problems in a Rossi 38 tube magazine?

RNFP would be your best bet there,

[dg31872]

I tried 358665 in 38 Spl brass, but it measures 1.41 OAL. Feeding problems in 92.
Steve recommended 1.500 OAL, so, I thought 358311 or 358250 would give the extra length.

I have a bucket of 38 spl brass and a handfull of 357.
Guess I will change to the 357 brass with 358665.

[tward]

I shoot 358311 sized .358 in my gp-100 and have found it to be one of the most accurate boolits. I was a bit reluctant to load these because of the old fashion look, but they are shooters! I load them in 38 Special with a heavy charge of Unique or Red Dot. Tim

[mainiac]

My latest test was 358311 in the 38 super.didnt do well until i got to 1100fps,,then it became a lasarbeam!!impressed!

[bedbugbilly]

I've used the 358-311 in my 38s for years with good accuracy. One of my favorites out of my vintage Colt Army Special as well as my Smithds.

As far as use in a Rossi lever gun - I can't speak for a Rossi because I don't have one- but - the 358-311 in a 38 Spl. feeds and shoots very well out of my Henry Big Boy Steel 357. Feeds better in my rifle than the Lee 358-158 RNFP in 38 Spl. casings. I have no qualms about using the 358-311 in 38 spl. in my tube feed Henry - the same as I have no qualms in using a soft round point 30-30 in a Winchester 94 or a Marlin 336.

The main reason I use a 358-158 RNFP in the Henry when loading 357 is because it feeds better in my particular rifle. Plus, at a glance I can tell whether it's a 38 or 356 for my particular loadings. I use the same 38 and 357 loadings in my Uberti 4 3/4" 357 Bisley - both work well out of it - but since this is about the 358-311 - I find that particular boolit to work very well out of the Bisley as well as out of my Uberti '51 Navy R & M Conversion.

I normally tumble lube mine, and although it hasn't been brought up, I have also used the 348-311 finger lubed with my BP lube over a compressed load of 3F Goes out of my single actions - a great shooting boolit. It's been a popular boolit for many years for good reasons. I even have an original Winchester mould stamped "38 S & W Spl" that casts an identical boolit that has to date back to near the birth of the 38 Special cartridge. Fun to cast with and use once in a while.

As already mentioned, in a 357 you might have to seat the 358-311 a tad deeper and crimp above the normal crimp groove. Load a dummy round and check in your particular revolver to check for clearance. It just clears in my Bisley in 357 but I had another revolver where it did not.

[Lefty SRH]

AWESOME bullet! Some 357 cylinder being shorter you will have to crimp over the front driving band and thats recommended per Lyman cast loading manual.
In my experience with said 311 bullet in 38spl, 2.8gr of Hodgdon CLAYS shoots EXCELLENT! But it more along the 38+P pressure side so be careful.

[pworley1]

It works good for me. I like it better in the 38 special.

[GBertolet]

Very true about the OAL length, in different 357's. Works fine in my 19 S&W. I gave some to a shooting budy for his Python. They stuck out the end of his cylinder, so he couldn't use them.