Loaded up some 158 rnfp, 358439 HP's and some standard 358429's over 6.3g. Ready for the range. Hurry up Sunday!
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Last edited by Bula; 10-27-2016 at 12:43 AM. Reason: Pic added
Hi...
My preferred load for the .357Mag for many years has been 9.8grs of Blue Dot with a 158gr LSWC, somewhat under the maximum load according to the Lyman pistol and revolver reloading handbook. No chrony, but it should be at right about 1200fps. Enough power for a general purpose/plinking/target shooting load out of half a dozen .357mag revolvers I have.
I have several other loads that are closer to the book maximums that I use for hunting or hiking loads that are used in specific revolvers, but the above load has proven accurate in all of my revolvers out to 25-50 yards so I use it as my generic load in .357Mag. Not as powerful as some, not a ridiculous amount of muzzle blast and just enough recoil to get your attention...all in all, a good general purpose load.
Follow up on the 6.3 grain Unique load. They all shot great. Loads felt good, shot good and ran an average of 1085 from my 6" 686. I do believe I found a keeper! Thanks again everyone, all the advice is sincerely appreciated! My favorite was the 358429. Nothing wrong with a 173g boolit at just about 1100 fps. Easy on the shooter but felt just strong enough to remind me it was a .357 mag.
Excellent !!Originally Posted by Bula
Sounds like you found a winner. There's a LOT of usefulness in a good load below full magnum levels. I'm always a bit mystified by people that think one must always shoot full house loads all of the time. Unique seems to be a good powder for those mid-range loads.
I think because Unique is a little bulkier than some of the faster powders it really fills that niche when you're looking for that 900-1100 fps range in a magnum casing.
I'm not sure how I missed this thread for nearly 2 weeks. Unique is the first powder I ever loaded when my dad was teaching me. 357 is one of the first I ever loaded.
These days, my go-to is a Lee 158gr TL-SWC that's been powder coated over 6 grains of Unique. It's a great light load, not much recoil, but it hits steel with plenty of oomph.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
It is one reason I like Unique. It does many things in many applications. I have two pistols and two rifles in .357; and a .38 Spl rifle; but being cheap I use .38 Spl cases in all of them. Loads are adjusted accordingly. I have 200 .357 cases that have never been loaded - saving them for deer loads if I ever have grandkids. One of the 1894 rifles has been cut down for my lady friend (12" LOP) and it will be the kids rifle.
Great thread folks. The .38/.357 is one of my favorite cartridges.
Don Verna
Went out and shot the bracket loads. All performed fair (2 inch 15 yd groups) with the 5.5 grain load getting better with just over an inch at the same yards.
Gonna continue as these are the cats meow thru the Colt SAA. Will begin with 6 grain loads and may go up to 7 or so to see where the sweet spot is.
As mentioned ... Great thread! Some reason i never used unique in the 357. Thanks for the inspiration.
Used to use unique as mid power load ,couldn't fine any so I tried true blue ,cleaner Meters better and 7 gr works well with Lee 158swc pb boolits ,8.5 gr with 165gr swc for a bit more power.
My best ever load for my Marlin 1894C is the powder coated Lee 125gr RNFP sized to .358 over 6.7 grs of Unique. I regularly get 50 yard 5 shot groups that measure around 1 1/4 inch. Same boolit without PC shoots 2 inches or more.
I'll bet that the RNFP hits like a freight train and cuts paper clean too!
What lead mix are you using?...on the HP's? That 358429 looks like the deep pin, is it?
a m e r i c a n p r a v d a
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That big 'ol meplat does smack with authority for sure. The Hollow point is a factory 358439 and it is a deep pin. As for the alloy, its a mix of COWW, a little pure lead and sweetened with a little Lino. It casts pretty hard so I'm not sure how well that HP would open up or break apart.I'll bet that the RNFP hits like a freight train and cuts paper clean too!
What lead mix are you using?...on the HP's? That 358429 looks like the deep pin, is it?
My favorite 357 midrange load is 6.0 - 6.3 gr. of unique with 168 gr Lyman #358429 seated and crimped in the crimp groove. Its over max length but it will work in s&w 686. It usually runs about 950 - 980 fps out of a 4 in. barrel.
My Unique load is 7.5 gr. with 158 RNFP.
I know this is an old thread but I just found it.
I am going to load up some Unique starting at 5.8gr. and go up .2 to say 6.6gr. under some 158 Extreme plated
and Some 158 Poly coated lead for my GP-100
Failure is not an Option
Glad this thread was brought back up. Saved me from doing it myself! Have a bunch of Unique, so I'm planning on using it for all my 9mm, 40 S&W, 38 Special, and 357 Mag loads.
As someone who's yet to cast a single bullet (although that should change next weekend!) I'm confused by this alloy. Seems like the pure lead would soften the COWW, and then Lino was added to harden it back up? Edjumicate me.
And I gotta ask what mold is that RNFP? That is a great looking bullet.
Don,
Please share your 38 SPL load data. Thanks in advance.
Bluejay
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Very timely thread for me. I purchased an eight pound jug of Unique recently. It really is a go to powder. I am loading a 158 grain PC SWC with 6-7 grains. Shoots great out of my Henry Steel rifle. I plan to use it in my 38-55 and 45-70 for light loads also.
Back from the range.
All loads shot at 25yds. benched.
All loads shot horrible, my new GP-100 is going back to Ruger today
So far I have gone to the range 3 times with several different loads including factory
and the best I can get is a 3.5" group if you want to call it that. Most are shotgun patterns of 4.5" - 5.5"
It is not the nut behind the wheel a I can shoot my other revolvers into 2" all day long at 25yds.
Failure is not an Option
I do not share load data that is not published due to liability issues. Please understand I am not trying to be a jerk...but it is a crazy world out there.
A Maximum load with the 158 gr bullet (Lyman source) is 5.1 gr in the .38 Spl. It is always wise to start lower...at say 4.0 gr and work up looking for signs of pressure. In a .357 Mag, it would be possible to go past 5.1 gr in the .38 case, again looking for signs of pressure. The danger in doing so is that if an overpressure load (for the .38) finds its way into a gun for .38 Spl only, it may be dangerous. The risk of mixing up loads may be minimized by marking the bottom of the cases with a felt tip marker...but only you will know its significance. So, generally the advice is to never load above the rated maximum for the case/caliber.
I believe there is no difference in the .38 or .357 case except for OAL. Therefore the case itself is safe at higher pressures. DO NOT use .357 Mag data in a .38 case as the reduced case capacity will spike pressure.
You have a low post count so I am not sure of your experience. Do not use any load data that you cannot verify in a loading manual or on the manufacturers web site...there are idiots out there. Forgive me if I had stated the obvious.
Don Verna
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