reloading for 686

[l.carroll]

I just got my new 686 revolver last weekend and was curious what bullet weight did you find the 686 liked best?

I was thinking of ordering the 158 grain SWC's from mastercast for plinking...or should I go with the lighter grained bullets?

anyone have a favorite load for their 686 they care to share?

[Hook686]

I shoot 158 and 170 grain bullets mostly out of my 686. I load SJSP, SWC and Gold Dots for the most part. I use Alliant Unique. You can go to the Alliant web site, look at their data, and work up a load that ought work well in your 686.

I did fool with 125 grain SJSP bullets for a while, but came back to 158 grain. Mostly because I have a Marlin carbine that does not do well with the 125 grain bullets. Currently I fooling with the 170 grain Gold Dots.

Good luck with your load development. Post some results you get.

[dave b]

I've found that 7gr Unique with a 125-158 gr lead bullet, sized to .358 shoots well in just about anytyhing. Rifle or pistol. Not an earthquake, but hotter than a 38spl.

[Targetslayer]

I load my 686 with a 158 Gr. Magnus LSWC on top of 3.7 Grains of HP-38 Powder and a CCI 500 Small Pistol Primer. It puts out about a 855 fps. Low recoil and very consistent load. Cheap to load also.

Targetslayer

Checkout Hodgdon Reloading Data Center for more info.
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

[Skip Sackett]

Mild to WILD in the "L" frame!

I usually use something in the 158gr-160gr area. I cast a Sharpe designed 160gr LSWC sized to .358". I have used my M586 & M686 in PPC competition with loads as light as 3.5gr of Bullseye under the bullet mentioned above to hunting loads that I don't want to publish here. Suffice it to say that the lead slug is traveling at a sufficient speed to take deer hunting. It comes from an older manual and employs SR4756 as a propellant. I get 1280fps from the 6" barrel.

[Snapping Twig]

125g JHP zipping along is a nice round. I used to shoot a lot of them, but these days I prefer a cast bullet of either 160g or 170g at moderate speed.

Rather have penetration than the expansiona 125g JHP offers.

.357 was designed around the 160g bullet FWIW.

In a magnum case, 5g of W231 under a 160g cast is a pleasant round to shoot.

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm a big fan of 158gr bullets in both the .38 Special and .357 Magnum, especially for plinking.

My favorite .38 Special round is 4.0gr W231/HP-38 under a 158gr LSWC.

In a .357 Magnum case I charge 5.0gr W231 under the same bullet. (like suggested above)

Both rounds are extremely accurate in my revolvers and clean if the right lube is used on the bullets...

[pop-gunner]

Fresh back from the range with my results. I'm about 109ft above sea level. 65 degrees today. Loaded 14grains of Alliant 2400 over a Zero 158gr JHP.
This load gives me an honest 1250fps out of a 6 inch 686 and is just silly accurate. I can't say much about recoil as I had just finished testing some .44 mag loads but it didn't feel bad at all. More than a plinking round but not full bore by any stretch.

[Paul5388]

Hmmm, 1250 is about what I get out of .38 Special brass with slightly less 2400 and using a 358429. I used a 6" N frame to get that velocity, but a 4" M66 will shoot pretty close to the N frame.

If I want something to shoot out of a M14, I use 5.0 gr or less of Bullseye with some sort of lead 148-160 gr bullet.

[brucev]

Originally Posted by l.carroll

I just got my new 686 revolver last weekend and was curious what bullet weight did you find the 686 liked best?

I was thinking of ordering the 158 grain SWC's from mastercast for plinking...or should I go with the lighter grained bullets?

anyone have a favorite load for their 686 they care to share?

My first and still favorite load for the .38 Special is a 158/160 gr. cast SWC bullet over 5.0 gr. of Unique. It is a excellent load for any barrel length. It you want more power, there are loads available that will "strain your rivets." This load has worked well in just about any .38/.357 revolver I have ever owned/fired. Try it... you might just like it!

For the .357 S&W Magnum... I simply do not at this time remember a specific load that I would recommend. I had absolutely stunning success using 125 gr. Zero JHP bullets with my 6" M-28. It is extremely accurate and effective on feral dogs and deer up to about 25 yards. Put the bullet into the heart/lungs and they drop like a sack of potatoes. For longer range shooting I very much like 158 gr. bullets over a heavy charge of Unique, which I always have on hand since I use a lot of it with cast bullets in both revolvers, pistols and rifles. I have also had good results with Red Dot. Now that Winter is almost here, I plan on loading some 180 gr. fairly soft lead hollow points in .357 Mag. to see what might be the results on range and in the field on game. I think it will be good for hogs, etc.

[cptdco]

I just recently bought Zero brand 158 JHP bullets and have loaded them the same as pop-gunner described above: 14 grains of 2400. Its my new favorite load. I also bought 158 grain HP lead SWCs from Zero and have been loading and shooting them over 6 grains of Unique. I have been very happy with that load; very accurate and no leading. This is the first time in years that I've bought Zero brand bullets and I am impressed with the results and especially the price. Other favorites include 158 grain plated from berrys or Ranier (sic?)bullets over 12.5 grains of 2400, and any soft lead 158 gr. SWC over 3.5 grains of Bullseye. I like the Missouri Bullet Company's soft lead bullet for the Bullseye load, but I'm sure the swaged Zero bullet will shoot just fine. Oh, and I've also been loading a lot of hard lead SWCs over the same 14 grains of 2400. It seems the faster I push the hard-cast bullets the less leading I get. Good luck...lots of good loads out there.

[ArchAngelCD]

Originally Posted by brucev

Now that Winter is almost here, I plan on loading some 180 gr. fairly soft lead hollow points in .357 Mag. to see what might be the results on range and in the field on game. I think it will be good for hogs, etc.

While I'm sure a soft bullet will work well in your revolver for the past year or so I've been loading a 180gr GC hard cast bullet from Cast Performance for use in my Carbine. In many ways it acts like a 45-70 because it's not super fast but it plows through and keeps going on what it hits. You might want to look at that bullet too. They also have a flat base 160gr bullet I like. (but they are expensive so I don't plink with them)

[l.carroll]

thanks for the great info! I tried Winchester WSF for the first time today and really like it...4.0 grains with a 158 grain SWC is crazy accurate.

My favorite powder is Clays and the WSF is just as accurate and just as clean as clays...and with minimal recoil.

There's not alot of info out there on the WSF for .38 special, but if you're shooting .38 you might want to give it a try.

[nightshade2x]

I shoot a 6" Python and a 8" 586 for our clubs steel matches. I'm running a Mastercast hard cast 148 Gr. DEWC over 4.9 Gr. Unique with a CCI 500 primer...accurate as all get out with .22 like recoil. Cheap buggers too...

Have fun and be safe.
Nightshade2x

[USSR]

My 686 likes:

.38 Special case with 5.0gr Unique and a 170gr 358429 bullet. Nice +P load.
.357 case with 16.0gr IMR4227 and a 158gr XTP bullet. Nice deer load.
.357 case with 13.5gr 2400 and a 170gr 358429 bullet.

Don

[Paul5388]

I was using 15.0 gr of Alliant 2400 to get 1420 fps and that was seated deep for use in a M28-2's short cylinder. 15.5 gr might get you up to original 1935 velocities.

I think I just posted this on the wrong thread, but I was referencing the 358429 being able to be pushed to 1420 fps out of a 6" barrel.

[ColColt]

I must be decades behind time. I bought my first 357, a S&W M28 HP, back in the mid-70's and a friend and I, who used a 4" Python I always lusted over, use to load the 125 gr JHP and the 158 gr WC's. I don't recall anyone ever using a bullet heavier than this or if they were even available. Bullets in the 160 gr or greater seem rather foreign to me-sort of like using a 300 gr or more in the 45 Colt. That seems odd as well. I reckon I'm just a dinosaur.