Best boolit for 38 spl. in 357 mag. revolver

[KennethF]

When loading 38 special cartridges to be fired in the 357 mag. revolver, which is the best boolit design ( make and # ) to be used for this purpose? The boolit needs to be seated out of the short 38 special case far enough so that the front driving band will enter the chamber throat. I would like to be able to use the same boolit for both cartridges in the 357. Thanks for your help with this.

[jameslovesjammie]

Doesn't make any difference which design you choose. When loading the .38's to be fired in a .357, you load them to .38 Special over all length. When loading .357's in a .357, you load them to .357 over all length. I would guess that 95% of rounds that go through my .357 are .38 Special.

To complicate things, you CAN load .38 Specials out to a longer length, but there is really no advantage to doing so, unless the boolit in question would be too long to fit in a .357 chamber, then you could load it in a .38 case. This was done quite a bit with long Keith style boolits to fit in Model 27's, which have a shorter cylinder than, say, a 686.

[earplug]

Not that I have your answer. I'm finding out that my old favorite 158 grain SWC is not the best boolit to use for revolver competion due to the shoulder slowing down my reloads when using speed loaders. A round nose is better for fast reloads.
Then for slow fifty foot target practice, a 148 grain wadcutter is nice.
So tell us what you want your boolits to do, and somebody will tell you to buy two molds!
I think the old Layman/Keith 172 grain SWC design mold would work for you.

[docone31]

I use the Lee 150gn FP.
I load to both .357, and .38spl lengths as indicated. They take a stout load, speed load fast, and when sized to .358 in my revolvers, no leading.

[rbuck351]

I really like the lyman 358477, its a plain base kieth type swc at 152gr cast from wcww. I shot a 50yd group slightly under 2" with a model 28 4" using 38spl cases and normal oal.

[atr]

lyman #358430 / 150 gr RN / flat base
works very well in both 38 and 357 loads

[anachronism]

Geez... the obvious answer is Lyman 358156. This bullet has two crimping grooves so you can crimp them in the top groove for .357 mag cases in short cylindered .357 guns like the S&W M27 or the Python. You can crimp them in the bottom groove for 38 Spl cases in .357, or for longer cylinder .357s like the 686 or GP100 with magnum cases if desired. I do wish the bullet was just a little heavier than 155 gr, but you can't have everything.

[pdgraham]

This probably doesn't answer the question but I'm using Lyman # 457446 162gr in 38 and 357.

I like a bit heavier bullet and this works just fine in both.

[Vern Humphrey]

I suggest selecting a bullet based on its interded use. I shoot as lot of .38 Special in my .357s, and my use for them is target and small game.

My favorite bullet in .38 Special is the Lee TL358-148-WC. I lube with Liquid Alox (which is my good-for-everything lube) and load them over 2.7 grains of Bullseye. This gives gilt-edge accuracy in my Colt M357 and kills squirrels like the hammer of Thor.

For .357 loads, I like the Lee C358-158-SWC. This is a gas check bullet and my Colt .357 likes it.

[armyrat1970]

As far as weight I believe the 158gr is the best for 357 for accuarcy. I believe most handguns in 357 have a twist that will stabilize the 158gr bullet the best for the barrels performance. Something lighter or something heavier will perform well depending on bullet design and charge. Have gotten great results with 125gr bullets and 110gr also. Loading for a 357 with 38 cases is a different story. If you seat the bullet out to far to match 357OAL you may get a lot of runout which could cause problems going through the forcing cone giving poor accuracy as it may shave the bullet somewhat. You can use the same bullet for both loadings but don't try to turn a 38 into a 357. If you shoot a lot of 38's through the cylinder of a 357 clean it very well as the shorter case will cause a residue build up and over a period of time you may not be able to even chamber a 357 case.
Use 357 cases for your handloads and use the start charges given in the reloading manuals. If you choose to use 38 cases be sure to clean the cylinders.

[Bula]

I've had great success with the Lee 158 RNFP in both .38 and moderate .357 loads-ie. 12.5 gr of 2400. Once I pushed them a little harder in the .357, there were better choices (for me) like the lyman 358156 or the 358429

[MtGun44]

+1 on 'for what particular application?'

:bigsmyl2:
Bill

[Sprue]

That is a loaded question. Need more info as stated previously. But IMO 38's should be loaded with the 38 spl recipe data tables as well as 357.

[bobkk]

I really like the lyman 358477, its a plain base kieth type swc at 152gr cast from wcww. I shot a 50yd group slightly under 2" with a model 28 4" using 38spl cases and normal oal.

That's the same bullet that I use. Also like Lyman's W-C think it's 358495 just to target shoot with. Have some 4 cavity molds now I need some WW to melt.

[mooman76]

There is no best powder, there is no best bullet, there is no best load. Each gun is it's own and likes different things. It's best to figure out what you want it to do and go from there. Are you wanting it for self defense, punching paper, pistol competition, light plinkers or heavy knock down loads or what? If there was one best, everyone would use it and nothing else.
I agree with sprue. If you are going to load in38's then load per 38 data. If you are wanting light 357 loads like 38, you can load 357's using 38 data with no problems.

[Lloyd Smale]

my go to load is in the 38s is one of two bullets both lees. The 150 rf and the 105 swc. Im not much on lee molds but both of those bullets are good designs. Favorite powder is surplus aa2 (pr200) but unique works well too.
When loading 38 special cartridges to be fired in the 357 mag. revolver, which is the best boolit design ( make and # ) to be used for this purpose? The boolit needs to be seated out of the short 38 special case far enough so that the front driving band will enter the chamber throat. I would like to be able to use the same boolit for both cartridges in the 357. Thanks for your help with this.

[Echo]

I've never had good luck, accuracy-wise, with light boolits/bullets in a .38/.357. The Lyman -495 or H&G 50 are the standard WC boolits for these guns, and nominally cast @ 148 grs. I like 150 grains and up... And +1 on the Lyman -156.

[jnovotny]

Well you opened a can of worms with that question. I really like the Lyman 358311 I do alot of cowboy action shooting. They feed real well in all the guns I use. I even loaded some in my S&W 686 .357mag and they shoot very well.:castmine: