HELLO!
I'm looking for a target load using 357 brass, a fast powder and wadcutter or semi-wadcutter cast bullets.

Some where, I saw a recipe using 148gr. HBWC seated just a tad longer in 38SPCL cases to mimic 357 OAL.
Is that common?
PP.

Try a Lyman Cast Bullet manual or one of the other Lyman load manuals; such books will give you a good starting point. There are some, but few universal loads that will be best for every gun. It takes some experimentation. For cast wadcutters, even in .357 brass, I'd start with a middle .38 Special wadcutter load and a fast powder like Bullseye and increase or decrease the powder charge as necessary for best accuracy. Shoot groups at 25 yards from a steady benchrest. A chronograph is always helpful, but not necessary, just don't obsess over standard deviation or extreme spread numbers despite the current fad.

I don't know exactly why one would want to load wadcutters "...a tad longer in 38SPL cases to mimic 357 OAL", but...

Hodgdons has 18 357 Magnum loads for a 148gr lead bullet (LHBWC) from 830 to almost 1,100 fps... And another 18 loads in 38 Special.

Cheers!

I've been using Titegroup for 357 loads with 158gr LSWCs with good results from a Model 19 with a six inch barrel. You may want to think about LSWCs more than LWCs. I get mine from MO Bullets.
I follow the Hodgdon dosages. My most accurate loads are with velocities close to 1k fps. I don't alter brass length.
Favorite powder for 38/357 lead bullets is HP38, but that stuff is not as easy to come by as Titegroup.
BTW, WELCOME!

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" I don't recall, senator."

Alliant has data for 158 gr lead using Unique or American Select in the sub 900 fps velocity. I use American select and like it for a mild .357 target load using 357 brass. My bullet is from Acme but lots of people make WC and SWK bullets.

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That's just somebody talkin.

That is a pretty good first post

I have been loading the 150 grain SWCs that drop from my mold on top of 5.5 grains of Unique and a Winchester primer all stuffed into a 357 Magnum casing for about 40 years now.

If you want to mimic a 357 COAL, just use 357 brass. I will bet that you saw the information from someone that did not want to adjust their dies

Since my press has removable tool heads, I keep a separate set of dies for 38 Special and 357 Magnum ready to go at all times

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"Acta non verba"

The "standard" 38 Special target load since Day 1 is 2.7/2.8 gr of Bullseye under a 148 gr HBWC. I seat mine flush with a slight roll crimp, some like to see a little lead, some taper crimp, some don't really crimp but just straighten out the bell - they all work. You can use exactly the same recipe in .357 brass. I've fired many thousands of each over the last 45 years that I've been handloading. I guess if you're a perfectionist type you could bump the powder up a couple tenths in the .357s to get the same velocity as from the smaller .38 cases, but I've never bothered to do that.

Just wondering, why you want to have your 38 Specials "mimic 357 OALs"? I have been reloading 38/357 for a few decades and while I have fired well over 100 rounds of 38 Specials in my 357 Magnum revolver in a session, I have had no problems. At one time I experimented with OAL with wadcutters; from flush to cylinder length and found no appreciable improvement in accuracy. I would suggest using the data from whichever manual you have and disregard any data found "somewhere".

I have used wadcutters in 38 and 357 brass a few thousand times and in a 357 Mag revolver both were more accurate than I can shoot...

Yes, this in spades.

My favorite wadcutter load using 357 Magnum brass was a hard cast 148 grain DEWC over 4 grains of Bullseye, standard small pistol primer. These provided more velocity than the classic 38 Special target wadcutter, in the neighborhood of 900 fps, but were very accurate in my revolvers.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

38 special +P load data would work as you are just wanting target loads . Fast burning powders work best for target loads ---- bullseye , titegroup , 700X , red dot and HP-38 / W231 . I would not use a powder any slower burn than HP-38 / W231 . Regards Paul

If you are a new handloader, I suggest Trail Boss as the safest. If you try overloading; it is so bulky, it just falls out of the case showing you a mess.

The seating bullets out further than normal I have seen with folks who believe that too far a distance between bullet nose and rifling can cause inaccuracy. The belief is that the bullet may wobble before it gets to the forcing cone. This same issue is seen when cylinder diameters don't match the bullet or groove diameter; wobbling in the cylinder.

The match shooters I've known go the other direction when seating; they deep seat the bullet and get the longest OAL possible.

Accuracy from a 38 case in a 357 cylinder will have questionable accuracy, but not dangerous. It will however leave a CRUD ring that you need to clean. The crud ring may make seating a round in the 357 gun with a 357 cartridge difficult to shove in.

I used to do it a lot, but no more. I don't care for the cleaning or the inaccuracy.


Prescut

I would start with exactly what I use as a .38 target load. 148 gr LHBWC seated flush with 2.8 grain Bullseye or similar. Sometimes I use Titegroup, can't remember the dose, but similar to the Bullseye.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

38’s in a 357 cylinder leaves a ring around the collar that tide detergent has a hard time removing? Kidding.

If we look at the reloading specs on the 38 special and 357mag I believe the leadcast load is the same or close but we get a higher velocity from the shorter 38 special case that’s a higher chamber pressure.

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Plant garlic in the fall

Welcome to the S&W site;

Even though the little 148 lead WC target bullet will shot well in the .357 Magnum..........

I find that with the extra weight of the .357 frame, the larger 158 gr Lwc has less recoil than in a lighter 38 special revolver and makes
for a great target load that can be loaded from a light 700 fps up to 1024 fps if needed.
It can also be loaded in a 357 case to a full 1320 fps without the need of 2400 powder.

Both bullets will give you lots of enjoyment.

Stay safe.