Since it is raining like cats and dogs our and I am bored, I decided to take some pics of 3 different manufacturers of 357 180 gr hard cast ammo that I just recently recd. I have Buffalo Bore Heavy 357 Magnum Outdoorsman (19A/20), Double Tap 357 Mag 180gr Hardcast Solid, and Underwood 357 Mag 180gr Lead Flat Nose #720. There is no shooting information involved since I have not shot any of them yet. This is simply an observation of each round from the different companies.

The first three pictures show the box that each come in with the manufacturer's information.

The fourth pictures shows that apparently each manufacturer use Starline shell cases. The case on the right is from Double Tap and it appears to be maybe an older case or something as the markings are a little different but show the same information. Underwood apparently uses nickel plated cases.

The last picture shows the crimping around the bullet and length of each cartridge. The crimping on the Buffalo Bore on the left is definitely wider than the crimping on the Underwood and Double Tap. I also noticed that the cartridge from Double Tap, furthest right, is also taller than the Buffalo Bore and Underwood.

Finally I weighed 6 random cartridgess from each box using my gram scale. Here is the results.

Buffalo Bore ranged from 17.4 - 17.6 grams
Underwood ranged from 17.6 - 17.7 grams
Double Tap ranged from 17.5 - 17.7 grams

So, there it is. Nothing scientific about this. I didn't even use calipers to actually measure the length of the cartridges, but you can clearly see that the cartridge from Double Tap is slightly longer. I am not brand loyal to any of them. I bought the three different brands just to use in either my GP-100 6" or my 686+ 3" when I go into the woods.

Cheers

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I once touched off a Buffalo Bore 180 gr Outdoorsman in my 11oz 340...WOW!!! That's exhilarating! I'll save the others for when I'm wrestling, and actually loosing to a grizzly..

hahahaha!!! I am surprised you were actually able to hold onto it!!

Personally, I feel these heavier bullets are one of the main advantages of a revolver. Carrying the lighter stuff gives you basically 9mm performance. For my .357 revolvers I prefer 158 grain and heavier.

I am pretty sure I will appreciate the way they feel a little more from my 686 + 3" with the Talo grip than my Ruger GP100 6" with the Hogue grip.

The weight of the weapon, the type of the grips and the way you......
grip the weapon, has a LOT to do on how you "Feel" the recoil of the load
through a certain weapon.

Don't shoot heavy loads like they are target loads !!

Hmmm.... No semi-wad cutters. Are they no longer in fashion?

That's correct, but most factory SWC loads were of soft lead and badly leaded bores and didn't expand.

If you loaded Speer's 160 grain with the jacket up to the bullet shoulder, you avoided leading and had a deep penetrating round. But I think they were always a handloading proposition.

Hard-cast bullets in home loads are good if you need penetration, but are not the best for killing lighter animals, inc. humans.