I JUST PURCHASED A M19 (1971 VINTAGE) AND WAS WONDERING WHAT A NICE EASY 158 GR LOAD FOR THE OLD GIRL MIGHT BE. I'LL BE USING .357 BRASS AND I'VE GOT ALOT OF UNIQUE LAYING AROUND! THANKS

Just use any "Starting" load listed in any of the manuals. If you will be using lead bullets there is no concern, but if using jacket bullets don't go below the minimum starting load to reduce the chance of sticking a bullet in the bore.

6grs Unique works well with a 150 to 170gr cast bullet standard primer med crimp.

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dd884
JMHO-YMMV

i like 4.7grs of unique with a speer 158gr lswc. this bullet is swaged not cast. about 850fps it is very accurate with no leading of the bore.

thanks for the input. Are starting loads ok to shoot in the m19 as a regular diet?

sorry, I meant are .357 starting loads

The model 19 is a great gun that has 1 flaw. It is basically a .38 Spl that can occasionally shoot .357 loads. If you keep that in mind the gun will last forever.

You're doing fine starting low. I do not shoot the 125 gr bullets out of mine or use heavy charges of H110 or 2400 regularly.

I started a project about 2 years ago to see how simple I could get my reloading gear.

For 158 grain LaserCast SWC bullets in 357 mag cases I use 5.0 grains of Unique powder.

This is using a .7cc Lee dipper.

The dippers are simple light and easy to use after you have checked them with a scale. Just create you own reference cards for different powders and use them in the future.

This is my Jack Rabbit load in all my 357s here in Arizona.

If you use 158 gr. cast lead bullets then I would recomend Trail Boss powder for nice accurate soft shooting loads. You can find the data for Trail Boss on the Hodgdon website.
I was using the minimum recommended for steel plate shoots but I forget the exact amount and I am not at home too retrieve my data.

THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT, MUCH APPRECIATED!

I've been loading 4.4gr. of Unique with hard cast 158 gr. cast lead semiwadcutters, in 357 magnum cases for at least 20 or 25 years now.

That's a light 38 Special load, and has been very accurate for me. Leading is non-existent, from my 4" 686. They chronograph at about 700 to 750 FPS.