What bullets for 38 and 357 reloading? lead?

reddog81 said:
If you start casting your own I'd look at the LEE 140 grain SWC 6 cavity mold. I've had very good luck with it accuracy wise.
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I will 2nd this. I use the same mold. I have even used pure lead. When the barrel gets a little leading I take a copper chore boy from Kmart. I cut it into about a 2 inch square. I wrap it around a worn out cleaning brush. I simply run it dry through the barrel back and forth for about 30 seconds. Barrel is clean as a whistle. Do it over a thrash can though. It can make a mess on the floor.
 
xtreme bullets lead semi wad cutter 158 grain. Put it over 4.5 - 5.0 gr. of Win 231, nice medium crimp. Great for plinking, cheap and easy on the wrist.
 
I've had some problems with 'candy coated'

I got what turned out to be 9mm 'small ball' with the M&M coating. After I realized what they were and that they need to be loaded really short, I loaded them really short (1.06") they STILL gave trouble by sticking in the lands of my Shield barrel. They miked to something like .356" diameter so they weren't oversized. I just think that there wasn't enough taper to the bullet profile and adding to the 'candy coating' was too much for short-chambered Shield. The chamber was really tight and I sent it to the factory and they put a new barrel in it, but it still gives trouble with this particular bullets. Everything else works fine.
 
I like 148-grain DEWCs and 158 LSWCs, both as soft as I can acquire, usually 12 BHN. I haven't tried hollow-base wadcutters, or any hollow-based lead bullet in .38 Spl, but they're all accurate enough from 17-25 yards.
 
I buy cast lead unplated or coated bullets since I don't cast my own
bullets and see no advantage to plated or coated bullets. Dardas is
a good company to do business with. I shoot mostly 158 gr bullets
and I get better accuracy with RNs and prefer them for 38 spl loads.
I use SWCs for mid range to full power 357s.
 
The cheapest bullets are lead without question. But I don't like the dirtiness of them. A quick google search will show you the top sellers and the prices are quite cheap.

I would rather pay a little more for jacketed ones. I used to use FMJ but the cost has gone up. I have since started using plated ones. I buy from Rocky Mountain Reloading. They have about the most competitive price and their plating is superior to others such as Berrys. At one time RMR stated their plated bullets could be pushed to 1500fps. They have since backed it off to 1400fps, but I suspect that is some liability thing and not because they can't handle it. I have never had separation from any of them. They are very accurate too. I currently have a few thousand of their 158gr flat nosed bullets. Love them.
 
Neumann said:
I'm a chemist by training, and know what I don't know, such as the the proper tools for an accurate assay. I'll pay a little more and let the folks at Oregon Trails handle the details. Let them deal with the fumes which will eventually cloud your mind enough to vote for Hillary.
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Using that logic you might as well just buy loaded ammo since the ammo manufacturers do load development and testing us reloaders could never afford. Since your a chemist please let me know what temperature lead will vaporize so I can make sure to keep my pot below that threshold.
 
A few years ago I used to buy commercial cast bullets locally, but then I moved and started to shoot at an indoor range that doesn't allow plain lead bullets. At first I wasn't too happy about it but since I started shooting there I wouldn't go back to plain lead if you paid me.

Now I shoot Berry's plated for everything. A lot cleaner in ever respect, and actually not much more for a thousand than the cast lead I was buying locally for 500. By ordering 1000, shipping is always, or has always been anyway, free. Arrives at the door in a couple of days. Right now I've got 38, 9mm, 44, and 45 on the shelf here.
 
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I second RMR bullets. They are great quality plated bullets, no leading, and I recall pushing some 158gn 357s pretty hard under a full house H110 load with no separation. RMR also makes lead bullets, Thunder-Cast or something like that. It they are anything like the quality of their plated bullets then they are probably pretty good.

Rainer makes a decent bullet as well. I've loaded 1000's of em in .380, 9mm, .38/357 and 10mm and can't recall any problems. Their max velocity is lower than RMR, somewhere around 1200-1300 fps I believe. Never had a problem pushing them hard out of my Glock 20.
 
Stopsign32v said:
I'm considering strongly casting my own
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If you have the time, this is the way to go. For 38 I love the little Lee 105 swc's. With the 6 bullet mold I can cast gobs of these things pretty quick. I get about 60 bullets cast per pound of lead. For plinking they can't be beat. Very accurate and I'm loading a box of 50 for about $3.50. I do powder coat mine which also works really well...but they tumble lube just fine too.
I use the Lee 158 grain swc 6 bullet mold for 357....but I only load medium power magnums with these as my lead is mostly ww or range scrap...these I also powder coat and leading with both bullets is non existent.
 
iPac said:
The cheapest bullets are lead without question. But I don't like the dirtiness of them.
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$8 will buy you a box of 100 blue nitrile gloves from Amazon. That's a pair a week, for one year. Keeps the grit off your hands, if you care.

As for shooting, they're really no dirtier than plated or jacketed bullets. Although I'll admit they're not as pretty.
 
I shoot a lot of Berry's 158 grain plated round nose. They really dont cost much more than lead, but are much cleaner and very accurate.
 
Also on board with the Berry's that I can get locally, I load the 125g for the wife as a nice target load and 158g in 38 and 357 for me. The Xtreme SWC 158g are the second choice for either caliber.

My minor foray into lead ended badly and was glad I only bought 100 of them as a test batch.
 
Wise_A said:
$8 will buy you a box of 100 blue nitrile gloves from Amazon. That's a pair a week, for one year. Keeps the grit off your hands, if you care.

As for shooting, they're really no dirtier than plated or jacketed bullets. Although I'll admit they're not as pretty.
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I don't agree with the part in bold

I normally shoot 150 to 200 rounds per session and with cast bullets I'll get a fairly good amount of soot on my hands, particularly my strong hand. The smoke from the lube is also visible on a bright sunny day, and on an indoor range, six shots rapid fire will leave a noticeable cloud.

However, the same 200 rounds with the same amount of the same powder and a plated bullet leaves much less of a mess, and produces much less smoke as there is no lube to get burnt.
 
Rocket3 said:
Go for it. It's a whole new dimension of fun!
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I can't deny that, and if you've got access to inexpensive lead it's a very cheap way to shoot - a lot.

However, at some point I found the fun largely went out of it and at a point where I found I had more money than time, buying commercial cast bullets started making a lot more sense for my handgun rounds, as it allowed a lot more time spent shooting than casting.

And there's also the lead exposures precautions and issues to think about and after quarter century of casting I started thinking about lifetime lead exposure limits.
 
Gold standard general-purpose,hunting,self defense,target 158 swc hardcast 850-900fps. Nothing else needed.
 
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