2400 in a 357 Magnum

[357shooter]

Based on searching this site I decided to try some 2400, I loaded some test rounds and figured out that:

13 grains under the 158 SWC tumble lube boolit is an absolutely wonderful combination. I used CCI SP primers and they worked great.

I tried up to 13.9 grains, the groups dropped off just a bit and it was huge fun to shoot.

I'll probably retest as the slightly larger group from the heavier load may have been me. (shot off a rest but I wan't quite flinch free)

My lead is an alloy mix that tests out at 15BHN, FYI.

Is this pretty consistent with y'alls results? Would accuracy improve with harder boolits in the heavier loads?

It was a nice suprise as the accuracy was still very good, didn't try anything heavier yet.

[GP100man]

The joy of mid loads , life is good !!!

Just watch for the kernels left from 2400 ,If they get under the star they`ll make ya scratch ya head a time or 2.

Ya still should be in the 1100fps range , a good load for shootin what needs shootin!!
Your alloy at 15 could stand all ya want a 357 to do.

[MtGun44]

Glad you are having good results. H110 is another good .357 powder, altho it is
more oriented to top end loads. Sounds like you have a good middle power load
and that can be a wonderful thing to have.

[theperfessor]

Nice to find a good load that's fun to shoot, isn't it.

I've found 2400 to be a very useful powder in a lot of different straight wall handgun cartridges.

Slight thread hijack: You can keep most of the crud out from under the star if you eject the cartridges while the barrel is pointed safely upwards. Some powders are worse than others, and at different pressure ranges. This to me is the one major weakness of conventional DA revolvers.

[hoosierlogger]

I love 2400 in the .357 When I start developing the load for my .44 Mag I will start with 2400

[BruceB]

In my book, 2400 is THE classic magnum-revolver powder. I've messed with quite a few others over several decades, but I'm back with the tried-and-true 2400 in .357, .41 and .44 Magnums.

Easy ignition and a decent pressure performance have endeared it to me. Full-power loads are readily reached, and it works very well at reduced levels, too....which can't be said for H110/296.

I've said it before....I could still be perfectly happy today with the powders which were available in 1965. 2400 is a major player in that statement.

Great stuff, really. Curmudgeon still eats it on his breakfast oatmeal (according to him).

[38-55]

FWIW
I've had real good results with 12 gns and lymans nice little 358156 and 18gns in the 44 with anything 240 gn.. Just thought I'd throw my two cents in..
Good luck
stay safe
Calvin

[kbstenberg]

If anyone doesn't mind i need some help with 2400. I tried it recently in my 44Mag. I got all kinds of unburnt powder granualls either left in the casses or in the barrel.
My loads were 10gr powder under a 503 remake by Mihec , Fed LP primers , Starline casses with only a moderate role crimp
kevin

[rhead]

If anyone doesn't mind i need some help with 2400. I tried it recently in my 44Mag. I got all kinds of unburnt powder granualls either left in the casses or in the barrel.
My loads were 10gr powder under a 503 remake by Mihec , Fed LP primers , Starline casses with only a moderate role crimp
kevin

When you tried 9.5 grains and 10 .5 grains what were the results?

[dubber123]

If anyone doesn't mind i need some help with 2400. I tried it recently in my 44Mag. I got all kinds of unburnt powder granualls either left in the casses or in the barrel.
My loads were 10gr powder under a 503 remake by Mihec , Fed LP primers , Starline casses with only a moderate role crimp
kevin

10 grains of 2400 is a very light load for that powder, it doesn't make enough pressure to burn well. A faster powder is needed, Unique for example, or a higher charge weight of 2400. Good luck.

[Bret4207]

If anyone doesn't mind i need some help with 2400. I tried it recently in my 44Mag. I got all kinds of unburnt powder granualls either left in the casses or in the barrel.
My loads were 10gr powder under a 503 remake by Mihec , Fed LP primers , Starline casses with only a moderate role crimp
kevin

You'd need a heavy crimp to hope for better ignition. You can also try seating deeper or a filler.

[Edubya]

If anyone doesn't mind i need some help with 2400. I tried it recently in my 44Mag. I got all kinds of unburnt powder granualls either left in the casses or in the barrel.
My loads were 10gr powder under a 503 remake by Mihec , Fed LP primers , Starline casses with only a moderate role crimp
kevin

I've tried 14 gr of 2400 but generally, I'll stay up between 17 and 20gr. The gun and I like that better. I have gone to as high as 22gr.
EW

[winelover]

I've settled on 14.5 grains of 2400 under a RCBS 158 gr. SWCGC for my 357 Magnum.

Winelover

[357shooter]

Thanks for the great info, as always.

[hoosierlogger]

I've settled on 14.5 grains of 2400 under a RCBS 158 gr. SWCGC for my 357 Magnum.

Winelover

I have loaded rounds from 11 to 15 grains in 1/2 grain increments with a 140 Lee SWC. gonna look for the best group then break it down to the tenth of a grain. 15 grains looks like it comes pretty close to the base of the boolit when its seated.

[bootsnthejeep]

I'm with Bruce, 2400 is my go-to for 357. Between that, Unique and Bullseye, I'm pretty much set for the handguns I load for.

[44fanatic]

Cant tell you what the charge is but I had 100 rounds loaded for my 44mag. Shoot all 100 chasing empty water bottles. It was fun and very little recoil. I save the Win296 for top end loads.

[sundog]

I've had pretty good results with HS7 and AA7. It appears that HS7 is no longer available as new mfg. Looking at the burn rate tables and data on the Hodgdon web site, it appears that Longshot might also be useful. These are all a tad faster than 2400.

[Larry Gibson]

prgallo

What .357? And barrel length please. Seems you've found a good load.

Larry Gibson

[kbstenberg]

Im sorry Prgallo I didn't mean to take the thread in a new direction! Ill start another thread.
Kevin

[357shooter]

prgallo

What .357? And barrel length please. Seems you've found a good load.

Larry GibsonI have a 6inch Taurus 66. 40oz, very sweet shooting gun. The load is pretty awesome.

[357shooter]

Im sorry Prgallo I didn't mean to take the thread in a new direction! Ill start another thread.
Kevin
No problem, I was enjoying the conversation.

[Thumbcocker]

18.5 of 2400 under a Keith in .44 mag. is a good load and has put deer in the freezer for me. FWIW.

[Larry Gibson]

I have a 6inch Taurus 66. 40oz, very sweet shooting gun. The load is pretty awesome.

Excellent barrel length for hunting (that which I prefer ;-) ) and obviously a good load with that bullet.

Larry Gibson

[Cherokee]

2400 is my go to powder for heavier 357 Mag loads. Been using it since 1965. Still working off my supply of Hercules 2400, don't know about the new 2400. Back in 1984 I did some chronographing in several guns shooting 14.0 gr and the 358156GC bullet:
Ruger 10" 1467 fps
Ruger 6.5" 1404 fps
Python 8" 1434 fps
Colt 357 6" 1359 fps

Lyman manual shows 1299 fps for 14.0 gr from a 4" unvented barrel.

[rbrtdun]

I have some 158 gr cast from Missouri Bullet with BNH of 12 and want to load using 2400 powder. What would you recommend for about 1100-1150 fps that would keep down leading and burn clean? I was thinking about 12 to 12.5 grs would work. If I need faster powder, I can use Blue Dot and was thinking somewhere in the 9 gr range. Your thoughts please.

[Char-Gar]

I have been using 2400 powder in the .357 mag since 1960 and the 44 mag since about 1963. With an experiment or two with 296 and AA9 I have stuck with that powder for that use.

When Alliant took over production from Hercules there was quite a bit of "todo" about the newer powder being faster than the old with figures, percentages and lots of information being tossed about while Alliant maintained there had been no change.

I am convinced that Alliant and Hercules 2400 is the same with no more difference that what you would expect to find in different lots of the same powder. The first lot of Alliant was a smidge faster than the last lot of Hercules, but these things sway back and forth.

In the days of yore a charge of 15.5 grains of 2400 was the go to load under the 158 grain Thompson GC bullet (358156) with 16 grains for the HP version of the same bullet.

Most folks have backed down to 14 to 14.5 grains for the same bullet these days, but I still load 15 in my heavy N frames and SAs. IIRC 15.7/2400 for the first factory load for the 357 mag, and was hotter than the hinges of hell.

Mr. Stenberg... You can back 2400 down from top loads and still get good results, but there is a limit of how far you can back down and still get good combustion. your charge of 10/2400 in the 44 mag was way below that point.

10/Unique makes a nice mild 4 mag load, but 2400 is too low to fire off well at that charge weight. With a nominal weight bullet in the 44 mag, you don't want to back off much more than 16 grains of 2400 if you want/expect good performance.

Too little powder can cause problems, just like too much.

As I said 10/Unique makes a wonderful mild field load in the 44 Mag, giving a velocity in the 1,100 fps range. Easy to shoot, easy on the gun, but still enough stomp for deer.

5/Bullseye is a good target/small game and plinking load in the 44 mag, again under a bullet of nominal weight.

[Recluse]

In my book, 2400 is THE classic magnum-revolver powder. I've messed with quite a few others over several decades, but I'm back with the tried-and-true 2400 in .357, .41 and .44 Magnums.

Easy ignition and a decent pressure performance have endeared it to me. Full-power loads are readily reached, and it works very well at reduced levels, too....which can't be said for H110/296.

I've said it before....I could still be perfectly happy today with the powders which were available in 1965. 2400 is a major player in that statement.

Great stuff, really. Curmudgeon still eats it on his breakfast oatmeal (according to him).

For "what needs shootin'" I like 2400. For just some occasional silliness and flash-bang fun, I like loading up W231 or AA5 in either .357 or .44 Magnum loads with light jacketed projectiles. You get a nice, big flash and boom out of the end of your barrel. Such things are nice when you have the bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang yahoo next to you at an indoor range (the guy who loads up his magazine and pulls the trigger as fast as he can :rolleyes:).

I like 2400 for some rifle cast boolit loads, too.

Give me W231, Bullseye, 4350 and a few others, and I can load forever and be just happen.

:coffee:

[MtGun44]

rbrtdun,

In almost all situations, the load does not 'keep down leading' by staying at some
particular (usually imagined as low) velocity. There is a situation where extremely soft
boolits can have accy problems at higher velocities due to the boolit actually deforming
so much that it doesn't really work any more. But with even moderately hard alloy like
ordinary air cooled wheel weights you will get no leading in a gun unless it has some sort of
a dimensional problem if you 1) use a good boolit design [there are many] 2) use a good
lube [there are many] and 3) FIT the boolit to the gun. For revolvers, this is usually fitting
to the throat (front portion of cylinder) - assuming that the throat and barrel have a proper
harmonious dimensional relationship [not always true]. See the mention above about there
being some dimensional problem with the gun.

It is perfectly feasible and commonly done to drive a normal cast lead, NON GAS CHECKED,
boolit to around 1400-1500 fps in a revolver with no leading and great accuracy. If done
correctly, it is not even difficult. Attempted in ignorance, it has driven many to distraction and
more to give up, never learning the proper way to do it.

If you want 1100-1150 fps because that is what you want, that is great. If you somehow
think this is as fast as you can hope to push a lead boolit without leading, you are wrong.

Please read the sticky on basic revolver accuracy and search on revolver boolit fit, and slugging
and then come back and open up a new thread with some questions. You will learn much
and that learning will lead to better and deeper questions.

Welcome to the board, sir. This is a nice place to visit and meet folks and learn about
the ways of cast boolits and bending them to your will. Altho some days it feels more like
they are bending me to their will! ;-)

Bill

[lwknight]

One time just for kicks I loaded some 243 winchester full of H450 powder and 65grain bullets.
It was not accurate for squat but the flash and roar would make a cannon blush.