I am waiting on a new for me gun to arrive a Marlin 1894 Cowboy with 24" barrel made in 1999. I figured I should start casting some bullets. The only mold I have for 38/357 is the lee TL358/158swc. Its all I need in my S&W 38-44 heavyduty. Just thinking I would buy a new mold for the rifle. What mold would you guys recommend? Should I look for a ranchdog 357 mold. I have the 360 &430 grm 45/70 molds for my 1895 45/70 and they shoot awesome.
Well, I also have that Lee TL358/158swc but prefer the Lee 358-158-RF mold for my Henry 357 Mag and also my 357 mag handguns.
I size to .358" but suggest that you slug your rifle bore (for groove diameter) to determine what you need for sizing.
First off, after determining your groove diameter, size up some TL358-158-SWC bullets and shoot them to see how they perform.
You may be happy with the performance and may not want to get that 358-158-RF mold.
But, perhaps your curiosity will take over and you'll get the 358-158-RF mold just to see how you like that one.8-)
If your "cowboy" is like mine, it is going to show a preference for heavy bullets, which Lee don't make. Check on a bunch of the old threads on here and Marlinowners and you will see that opinion comes up a lot. Go for a mold at 170 - 180 grains. My go to bullet for several years now has been Accurate's 36-175-B, which casts at 180 with COWW + 2% tin. Before that I had a Mihec mold which cast at 175 gr, which also shot great.
I like the NOE 360-180-WFN, sized to .360". It is available in PB and gas-checked versions.
I have a 1894CS with a microgroove barrel. After a couple of years of experimentation with different molds, powders, etc. I have settled on two loads:
For my lighter plinking stuff I load a 180 gr PB bullet, sized to .360" and lubed with one very light coat of BLL, over 8.5 gr of Accurate #7. From my 18.5" barrel it runs around 1350 fps.
If I want a stouter load I go with the 180 gr gas checked, same size and lube, over either:
12.5 gr of 2400
12 gr of Accurate #9 or
14 gr of W296 (with Winchester Small Pistol Magnum primers).
I hope this helps. I love the longer barrelled cowboy models.
Best of luck,
Steve in N CA
I'm a big fan of the 175gr ranch dog boolit designed just for that rifle. Now that NOE has picked up his designs you should be able to get one from them.
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Lee tl158 shot great in 38s, I ordered a noe ranchdog 178 gen mold today. Figured it will be a good one in my h&r 357 max. Also.
This is my go to bullet for my 38/357 lever guns. http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_deta...=36-158V-D.png
I use the 6 gang version of Lee's Double Cavity Mold 358-158-RF 006-90303.
A rounded flat nose that feeds very well in my Marlin 1894.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...5nh37jt7lifcu2 this is mold I got. Just loaded up some ammo. did 10 rounds of h110, lilgun, enforcer and true blue. On top of lee tl 158 swc mold I already had. My rifle cycles everything fine except 38 wadcutters.
.358-158-RF LEE-6
Is a tack driver in a IMI 357 pump rifle
well I finally made it to the range again, had loads with enforcer, true blue, lilgun and h110. 13.5 grns of H110 was the winner with 8.0 grns of true blue a close second. all loads shot good but h110 a 10 shot group was all touching. I love this gun, so much fun to shoot.