OK, my friends. I finally got hold of some .357 Mag brass and I've got a box of 180gr Hornady XTP to load. Don't see any load data for that weight bullet on the Hodgdon site. So far I've loaded 125gr XTP with 8.0gr Win 231 and 140gr XTP with 7.0gr Win 231. Would somebody care to give me an idea on what I should use (Win 231) for the 180gr? Would dearly appreciate it.

When you can't find info from a variety of sources for a certain bullet/powder combo(such as a 180gr jacketed projectile and W231 in .357) it generally means it is not a good combo. W231 is a fairly fast powder and as such does not work well for heavy for caliber bullets in magnum handguns. I suggest you try something slower like AA #9, 2400 or IMR4227 for low to moderate velocity loads and 2400, 4227 or H110/W296 for legitimate magnum velocities.

Thanks for you input. I appreciate it.

I found IMR 4227 powder in my .357 to give low velocities with a 158 xtp and also had all kinds of powder flakes over the gun and table surface.
Out of my six inch, a 110gr xtp with 18.5c grs of IMR 4227 only hit 1290 fps............
On one outing the flakes locked up my m49 snub nose cylinder and I had to go home and clean and dismantle the revolver to get it to work again.................but 4227 does make grass green !!

w 231 was at its best with the 125gr xtp in the magnum as far as accuracy went but it only kicked out medium fps vs the slower powders. Time to move to a better powder for best results if going to heavier bullets.

Good shooting.

I went to the range yesterday but actually wound up talking more than I did shooting. Anyway, I wanted to put the chrono on my 140gr Hdy XTP. I only got an average or 1073 fps with 7.0gr Win 231. My average fps with the 125gr Hdy XTP was 1253 fps. Those figures were with my 686-2 6" barrel. I haven't even tackled trying to load the 180gr bullets that I have. Actually, the accuracy of both of these loads seems good. I did buy a pound of 4227 but haven't done anything with it yet. The only 158gr bullets that I have are Berry's and they say to stay under 1200 fps. Can't seem to find anybody with them in stock. Don't care for the "flaking" issue you're describing with the 4227. Anyway, I'm have fun and that's why I got into this game anyway. Thanks for you post.

Finally someone that is shooting 140 grain bullets. I asked about them and got a lot of replies about 158 grain. I find 2400 to be a good magnum powder with a wide operating range where the only fault is leaving unburned powder (golden specks) all over the gun at lower pressures. It's not at all finicky or unpredictable and you don't have to use magnum primers. The 140 grain and 2400 is an interesting combination because at that weight bullet, velocity is as good as 110/296. I've approached the upper ranges of .357 and I still get residue, though maybe not as much. I'm using Sierra 140 grain jhp bullets.

rw;

I think I posted some data on the 140 a while back but here is a little info with the 686 6" way back when it was new.

140 xtp oal 1.59 cci500 medium crimp.....25 yards

Unique 8.0 grs .......................... 6 @ 1.81
BlueDot 9.5 gr ............................. @ 1.58

2/28/2010 chrony
BlueDot 10 grs f100 1250 fps ...5 @ 1.28
same.............. cci500 na ........5 @ 1.18
SR 4756 10 grs cci500 1296 fps...5 @ 1.28

All loads in the 94% pressure area in my L frame.
Cases fell right out and no signs of pressure on my used .357 brass.

Years ago I tried 4227 in the 357 and 44 magnums and with heavy
loads in the 45 Colt. I could never get cleaning burning with any loads.
Lots of powder granules in the bore and chambers. Gave up on it. 231
is too fast for 140 gr bullets. I would think that best velocity with 140-
158 gr bullets would be with 2400 and best with 180s would be with
296/H110. A chronograph is your best friend.

There are 10 entries on the Hodgdon site for 180gr bullet in the .357 Magnum. Like said above, you really want to use a slower powder than W231 with such a heavy bullet. The Hodgdon site has data for W296/H110, Lil'Gun, 4227, Longshot and more. AA#9, 4100, Enforcer, 2400, Power Pro 300-MP and the like will all do well too.

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