Help me pick a powder for my new 357

[Schreck5]

I just bought a new Ruger SP101 3" bbl .357 that I'm needing to develop loads for. For powder, I have Red Dot, Vectan Ba 6 1/2, Vectan Major Pistol, HS6, and Power Pistol. I will be using a 168 gr. cast swc (158gr Mihec mold).

I have a rather limited supply of primers, and I need to keep my load testing down to a minimum if possible. I have decided to pick only 2 powders to start with, Power Pistol and HS 6.

Is this a wise choice? What 2 of the above powders would you start with? Should I just use 1 powder? Which one?

As I understand it, Major Pistol = AA 7 and Ba 6 1/2 = H110. Thanks.

[Recycled bullet]

Power pistol is excellent for this. It reduces well and at the top end is almost as powerful as 2400.

[Delkal]

I do not believe Vectan Ba 6 1/2 is the same as H110/W296 or Major Pistol = AA 7. Look up the loading data for the powders you have.

Especially for H110/W296 loads that are always loaded to max without working up. You can get in major trouble with a powder with a different pressure profile.

[P Flados]

I did some Quickload (QL) stuff. BA 6 1/2 looks to be too slow/bulky for good performance with a heavy bullet in a 357 mag.

I have loaded lots of "mid range" 357 loads with Promo (Bulk version of red dot). Once you get a full power load you like, consider trying a warmish Red Dot load (probably in the 4.5 to 5.0 gr range) if you can find enough primers to justify higher volumes "at the range". My range loads for 357s use a lighter bullet as I see no need to use up my lead stash any faster than needed for making holes in paper. And with a 120 gr bullet, a warmish Red Dot load is more in the 5.5 to 6.0 gr range.

Vectan Major Pistol is not in the QL database. I found a recent looking Vectan loading guide at Grafs and it did not list a Major Pistol powder.

Shooter World does sell a Major Pistol powder. And when you run SW Major Pistol in QL, it gives identical results as AA#7.

HS6, Power Pistol and SW Major Pistol are all decent for stout magnum loads. There are some powders that will do a little more speed, but with a 3" gun these powders are all both more than needed for most applications and more obnoxious than desired.

When choosing a powder sometimes the focus will be the most velocity available for a given chamber pressure. Other times it is useful to consider what different powders will do when delivering the same velocity. I ran QL both ways and generated the info below. These were generated just to let you compare powder performance, they are not tested load data.

Note that QL does not account for cylinder gap. I generally assume a 50 fps loss for a revolver. Also the QL barrel length is muzzle to breech. I am sure the cylinder of your 3" gun is more than 1.5", but the 4.5" number I used should be close enough for this effort.

Cartridge          : .357 Magnum (SAAMI)
Bullet             : .357, 168, LYM LSWC 358429
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.590 inch = 40.39 mm
Barrel Length      : 4.5 inch = 114.3 mm

C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

Powder type          Filling/Loading Ratio  Charge    Charge   Vel. Prop.Burnt P max  P muzz  B_Time
                                      %     Grains    Gramm   fps     %       psi     psi    ms
---------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------
Shooters World Major Pistol         72.9     10.4     0.67    1161    88.1    30625    8785   0.521  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant POWER PISTOL                75.6      7.9     0.51    1150    96.0    30625    8271   0.518  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon HS-6                        62.3      8.2     0.53    1107    99.1    30625    6998   0.522  ! Near Maximum !

Alliant POWER PISTOL                71.8      7.5     0.49    1100    94.4    27341    7789   0.548
Hodgdon HS-6                        61.9      8.1     0.52    1100    99.0    30117    6949   0.527  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World Major Pistol         69.2      9.9     0.64    1100    85.4    26643    8167   0.558

[Jack Russel]

I almost always use 2400

[Forrest r]

I did some Quickload (QL) stuff. BA 6 1/2 looks to be too slow/bulky for good performance with a heavy bullet in a 357 mag.

I have loaded lots of "mid range" 357 loads with Promo (Bulk version of red dot). Once you get a full power load you like, consider trying a warmish Red Dot load (probably in the 4.5 to 5.0 gr range) if you can find enough primers to justify higher volumes "at the range". My range loads for 357s use a lighter bullet as I see no need to use up my lead stash any faster than needed for making holes in paper. And with a 120 gr bullet, a warmish Red Dot load is more in the 5.5 to 6.0 gr range.

Vectan Major Pistol is not in the QL database. I found a recent looking Vectan loading guide at Grafs and it did not list a Major Pistol powder.

Shooter World does sell a Major Pistol powder. And when you run SW Major Pistol in QL, it gives identical results as AA#7.

HS6, Power Pistol and SW Major Pistol are all decent for stout magnum loads. There are some powders that will do a little more speed, but with a 3" gun these powders are all both more than needed for most applications and more obnoxious than desired.

When choosing a powder sometimes the focus will be the most velocity available for a given chamber pressure. Other times it is useful to consider what different powders will do when delivering the same velocity. I ran QL both ways and generated the info below. These were generated just to let you compare powder performance, they are not tested load data.

Note that QL does not account for cylinder gap. I generally assume a 50 fps loss for a revolver. Also the QL barrel length is muzzle to breech. I am sure the cylinder of your 3" gun is more than 1.5", but the 4.5" number I used should be close enough for this effort.

Cartridge          : .357 Magnum (SAAMI)
Bullet             : .357, 168, LYM LSWC 358429
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.590 inch = 40.39 mm
Barrel Length      : 4.5 inch = 114.3 mm

C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

Powder type          Filling/Loading Ratio  Charge    Charge   Vel. Prop.Burnt P max  P muzz  B_Time
                                      %     Grains    Gramm   fps     %       psi     psi    ms
---------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------
Shooters World Major Pistol         72.9     10.4     0.67    1161    88.1    30625    8785   0.521  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant POWER PISTOL                75.6      7.9     0.51    1150    96.0    30625    8271   0.518  ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon HS-6                        62.3      8.2     0.53    1107    99.1    30625    6998   0.522  ! Near Maximum !

Alliant POWER PISTOL                71.8      7.5     0.49    1100    94.4    27341    7789   0.548
Hodgdon HS-6                        61.9      8.1     0.52    1100    99.0    30117    6949   0.527  ! Near Maximum !
Shooters World Major Pistol         69.2      9.9     0.64    1100    85.4    26643    8167   0.558

WOW!!! Fantastic info

FWIW:
Awhile back I did head-to-head testing with 2400 VS H110 VS mp300. I used a 170gr fn bullet for the testing and max loads for all powders. Used firearms with 2 1/2", 4" (2x), 6" (3x), 8" and 10" bbl lengths.
With the 2 1/2" bbl'd revolver 2400 produced the highest/most consistent velocities.
With the 4" bbl's they all were pretty equal.
With the 6" bbl's and longer the H110 & mp300 really started to shine producing higher velocities (50fps+) than the 2400.

I'd stick with the powders P Flodos ran in quickloads.

[Schreck5]

I am very impressed and greatful for everyone's help. P. Flados, your time and willingness to go the extra mile is especially appreciated and helpful!

[Schreck5]

By the way, how does one gain access to Quick Loads? Is there a fee, if so, what is the monthly cost? Is it a pretty easy system to learn?

I was pretty impressed with the info. P. Flados was able to provide.

[Thumbcocker]

Red dot for light loads. Power pistol for mid power.

[P Flados]

Quickload is a great tool, but:

- You have to buy it.
- It is not cheep.
- They periodically come out with updates that add new powders, but you have to buy the updates
- It only comes on a CD rom, this can be a pain if your computer does not have the drive.
- It can be tricky to use.

[charlie b]

A good alternative is GRT. It is a program free for download and actually does a pretty decent job of predicting loads. It can also do a powder comparison for a given cartridge and bullet combo.

FWIW, I also worked with a little SP101 quite a bit, next to a 4" revolver and 10" contender. The shorter barrel liked faster powder. I could eek out a little higher vel at same pressure as the slower powders. I ended up using AA5 a lot which seems like it might be in between the HS6 and Power Pistol.

[Texas by God]

Shooting “to the sights” is the most important thing for a fixed sight revolver. The best most accurate load won’t cut it if the POA and POI don’t jive.


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[Schreck5]

Texas, My SP101 has adjustable sights.
Charlie, I don't agave any AA5. If I can't find a load with something I've got, I will try it out. Thanks.

[Three44s]

I am a huge fan of HS 6

I have not used Power Pistol or the Shooters Workd powders, nothing against them however.

I have a 3" SP (mine is fixed sights).

I came to trying "6" because I needed a slower dwell time to get my POA and POI closer.

It worked! Slower dwell time also produces a slightly softer recoil impulse.

Before long I was testing 800x and "6" side by side in a 44 mag. Equal muzzle velocities but much different recoil impulse.

The softer start of a cast bullet also gives benefits.

Three44s

[Sgt H]

FWIW I have been loading much of my 357 with AA#7 (shooters world major pistol) for less than full power loads. I am loading 10gr under a 155 cast swc and actual chronograph results are 1100fps from a 4" Ruger revolver and 1500fps from an older 18.5" Marlin 1894 carbine with microgroove rifling. Good accuracy in both.