Clean .357 158 grain ammo ?

runscott · Jan 4, 2019

I have three old blued .357's coming in soon and want to start shooting them using the cleanest ammo I can find. I don't mind paying more for it, as these are guns I won't be shooting often.

I use AE in my SS 686 and have tried some others that are a bit more dirty, but it's so easy to clean that it doesn't bother me...except the cowboy load which I won't be doing again.

Thanks!

nitesite · Jan 4, 2019

Believe it or not the aluminum cased CCI Blazer load is very clean. @ Under 18 bucks per fifty at online sites like Sportsmans Guide.

bigwheelzip · Jan 4, 2019

For plinking, I've been happy with Herters .357 158gr FMJ that I've gotten on sale at Cabela's for $16.99. I believe it is rebranded S&B.

At a higher price, the American Eagle .357 158gr JSP is a good utility round through all my .357s.

muddocktor · Jan 5, 2019

nitesite said:
Believe it or not the aluminum cased CCI Blazer load is very clean. @ Under 18 bucks per fifty at online sites like Sportsmans Guide.

Boy, that sure has changed over my experience with it then. It was 38 Special Blazer bought in the early 90's that I had tried. It was most possibly the absolute dirtiest ammo I've ever shot in my life. Glad to hear they cleaned it up.

mrdaputer · Jan 5, 2019

bigwheelzip said:
For plinking, I've been happy with Herters .357 158gr FMJ that I've gotten on sale at Cabela's for $16.99. I believe it is rebranded S&B.

At a higher price, the American Eagle .357 158gr JSP is a good utility round through all my .357s.

Do you or someone else reload your Herters brass? The reason I am asking is I have to swag their 44 magnum brass in order for the primers to fit

runscott · Jan 5, 2019

bigwheelzip said:
For plinking, I've been happy with Herters .357 158gr FMJ that I've gotten on sale at Cabela's for $16.99. I believe it is rebranded S&B.

At a higher price, the American Eagle .357 158gr JSP is a good utility round through all my .357s.

So S&B must also be good? I have a good supply of AE and have tried Black Hills, Magtech, Hornady and Fiocchi. Just wondered if any of you who had fired more rounds of various brands had strong opinions.

bigwheelzip · Jan 5, 2019

mrdaputer said:
Do you or someone else reload your Herters brass? The reason I am asking is I have to swag their 44 magnum brass in order for the primers to fit

I've just started saving .38/.357 brass in the last couple of thousand rounds, in the unlikely event I attempt to reload.

There are a couple of fellas at the range that I gave my brass to before that, and they were happy to have it, but I don't know how it reloaded for them.

bigwheelzip · Jan 5, 2019

runscott said:
So S&B must also be good? I have a good supply of AE and have tried Black Hills, Magtech, Hornady and Fiocchi. Just wondered if any of you who had fired more rounds of various brands had strong opinions.

I tried bunches of ammo brands when I first started shooting, and the only ones that was disgusting dirty were Magtech, in .38/.357.

I narrowed my ammo choices substantially when I got a .38/.357 lever rifle in that caliber. The rifle liked to feed ammo that had smooth shoulders, where the case transitioned to the bullet in a tight crimp. That's why I buy those Herters and AE, they work well in everything I have.

growr · Jan 5, 2019

To me it doesn't matter how dirty or clean the ammo is.....what I want is accuracy.
I am going to clean the gun when I am done anyway..........

Randy

PS. My comments come from the fact that I frequently shoot cap and ball revolvers in SASS matches...hence you are going to clean the gun anyway

JJEH · Jan 5, 2019

I recommend Buffalo Bore.

Heavy 357 Magnum Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

Tactical Short Barrel Lower Recoil Low Flash 357 Magnum Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

Damol · Jan 5, 2019

I like the PPU ammo priced right 158 grains of SJHP goodness.

Nevada Ed · Jan 7, 2019

I did things the old way but found something you might look into.

They start at $10 and go up and are called, a Bore Snake.
Should cut you cleaning time in half.

runscott · Jan 8, 2019

I put 36 rounds of Fiocchi FMJ through her yesterday, and it was so pleasant that I followed up with 42 rounds of Black Hills hollow point. Both were very clean. I shot the remainder of each through my 686 and it was also cleaner than usual. In the end, the 1955 is strong and beautiful - my concerns were unfounded.

I kind of like the flash of the Fiocchi and they were much less expensive - about 1/2

runscott · Jan 8, 2019

Nevada Ed said:
I did things the old way but found something you might look into.

They start at $10 and go up and are called, a Bore Snake.
Should cut you cleaning time in half.

I changed to a bore snake when I got my 686. Yesterday I followed up with the brush and patch after two snakings, and got zilch on the 1955 gun, and that was after close to 100 rounds.

(I'm glad that I caught auto-correct 's change of snakings to spankings - that would have sounded bad.)

Pisgah · Jan 8, 2019

I will never understand the obsession of some folks with clean ammo. Compared to the black powder days, ALL smokeless loads are clean as a whistle. Lead-bullet loads using soft lubes tend to create a bit more crud than jacketed loads, but if you stick with jacketed loads the worst you'll ever see is a bit of soot that will wipe right off the outside with nothing but a lightly-oiled cloth and right out of the bore and the chambers with a pass-thru with a lightly-oiled patch -- which things you need to do to a blued gun once in a while regardless of how "clean" your ammo is.

runscott · Jan 8, 2019

Pisgah said:
I will never understand the obsession of some folks with clean ammo. Compared to the black powder days, ALL smokeless loads are clean as a whistle. Lead-bullet loads using soft lubes tend to create a bit more crud than jacketed loads, but if you stick with jacketed loads the worst you'll ever see is a bit of soot that will wipe right off the outside with nothing but a lightly-oiled cloth and right out of the bore and the chambers with a pass-thru with a lightly-oiled patch -- which things you need to do to a blued gun once in a while regardless of how "clean" your ammo is.

Not an obsession - a question.

Thanks for teaching me something.

As an aside, we were driving through the Pisgah forest in SC and actually saw the end of a rainbow. Until that point I didn't realize they really had ends. Probably the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed. Unfortunately, when I tried to snap a photo, I was out of film. Most people have probably forgotten about the days before cell phones.

Pisgah · Jan 9, 2019

runscott said:
Thanks for teaching me something.

As an aside, we were driving through the Pisgah forest in SC and actually saw the end of a rainbow.

Well, now you've taught ME something. I've lived in SC for 65 years and never until just now did I know that Pisgah National Forest is in my home state. Always thought it was in North Carolina. (They are two different states, you know.) ;-)

runscott · Jan 9, 2019

Pisgah said:
Well, now you've taught ME something. I've lived in SC for 65 years and never until just now did I know that Pisgah National Forest is in my home state. Always thought it was in North Carolina. (They are two different states, you know.) ;-)

I am sorry for the faux pas. it was on a drive back from NC. Given your handle and home state, I made an assumption. It was my wife's neck of the woods- I was a foreigner.

Clean .357 158 grain ammo ?

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