Do you have a "Favorite Bullet Weight in 357 Magnum"?

Comments appreciated.

Hornady 125 grain XTP over 9 grains of Unique is my current go to in 357 Magnum.

My .357 ammo is basically 100% handloaded so I use 158gr cast SWCs.

I shoot a few 125 XTP through the snubbies. I have been loading some 140's lately too, but whether cast or jacketed 158 gr projectiles have always been my go to weight for the magnum.

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

Played around with 125, and 148.
Still prefer 158

I use the same load. You get 95-98% of the velocity you’d get with a load using one of the slow burning colloidal ball powders, but with 65-67% of the recoil and no forcing cone erosion.

I like the 140gr for JHPs, and 158gr works for most everything else, from mild to WILD!

Cheers!

P.S. The fact that I picked up 500 140gr JHCs for next to nothing (like dime each!) long ago might have something to do with it: they do shoot pretty sweet with that same 9.0 gr of Unique.

Almost exclusively 158 grain regardless of bullet type.

Robert

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

I'm Other! 180 soft point over a case full of IMR 4227, that's my favorite Highway Patrolman and Carbine load!

Ivan

Was working on a 125 JHP load with lower recoil in mind, and thought Power Pistol was the most promising.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

The 158 SWC has served me well since the 70’s. I load it over 13.5 gr of 2400 or bump it up a bit for deer hunting.
I cast a bunch of different 357 bullets that range from 150-160 grains. The attached photo’s are my 160 gr HP’s, I sized & lubed them yesterday. This bullet has put venison in the freezer.
These are carried in my 4 & 6” M-28’s.
I carry the tried & true a Federal 125 JHP’s in my 3” 65, I have a lot of history with this load, and trust it to perform.

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Favorite 357 mag load is 12.1 grains AA-7 and Fed 200 primer under Win 125 jhp. Not the top velocity available, but has proven very accurate in mid/large size revolvers and controllable in smaller ones . These get loaded in quantity, with 125 xtps a substitute when can't find the Winchesters.

Originally used this load with the Rem Golden Saber 357 mag 125 gn bullets, when they were cheap and available. Then these got expensive and limited availability.

Second favorite is 158 xtp over V V N110 with Fed 100 primer.

Third favorite was the Rem 180 gn sjhp, but these are tough to find and keeping the col suitable for rifle involved reducing the case length.

Will confess to actually liking shooting a 6 in L-frame or a 4 inch N-frame with the 125 grainers.

I am fond of the Keith design Lyman 358429 over a healthy dose of 2400, but not all my revolvers have a cylinder long enough to accept it. For that reason, I load more 158 grain lead semi-wadcutters.

I've been casting my own since 1973, have several molds. The most frequently used are the 158 SWC and 150 SWC-HP. Cast with wheel weight metal the actual weights are 152 and 143. Thousands of these over the years in both .38 Spl and .357 with complete satisfaction.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

I shoot a lot of different weight bullets and powder charges. My favorite is any 158 grain bullet (either jacketed or cast) with 11.5 grains of 2400. I use this nowadays in a S&W Model 27 3".

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

NOE 160 gr wide flat nose is mine. I voted for the 158. Good thing you didn't ask about 38's.

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Front sight and squeeze

All of my 357's love about 8gr of HS-6 and a 158gr SWC.

I use the 125 JHP on two legged critters,

the 110 JHP on smaller four legged critters and

the 158 gr, lead bullets on killing dangerous, killer, papers and the rest of the vermin.

125gr jhp 10.6gr A5 close to1300fps recoil manageable laser accurate.Berrys 125g fp`s run great too,no fragmentation good economy bullet.
Jim

If I want a bullet lighter than 158 gr. I shoot my 32-20. For heavier than 158 gr. I shoot my .44. Larry

This cartridge was designed for a 158 grain cast SWC. That remains the best choice unless you've done sufficient testing to prove that another weight, style, and bullet composition is more accurate.

I've found the original .357 Magnum bullet designed by Phil Sharpe that became the Hensley & Gibbs #51, a 158 gr. plainbase SWC still works quite well especially when sized to .358" with a BHN of around 11 - 14.

No need for painted, plated, coated, or jacketed bullets if you have a well fitting cast bullet of the proper alloy mix for the load. The "right" cast bullet with a well-developed load will usually outshoot everything else.

I've tried several powders but found nothing better than #2400. Standard small pistol primers will usually work very well (I prefer CCI-500) but try magnum primers if they're handy. Sometimes there's an accuracy difference between the two, but usually not.

Lachmiller 160 gr LSWC for magnum loads in 357 Mag.
Lee 358-124-RF PCed for 38 Special (also 9mm).

38 Special has many applications so that would be a great topic. I was the Team Captain of my Police Department's Pistol Team for 10+ years. That was PPC and many 148 grain Speer HBWC down range.

The Lachmiller version as well as one by Cramer ( and probably several others) came along well after the #51, but are fairly similar to H&G's design. I've had no experience with these but I suspect with adequate load development, any of these bullets would shoot pretty well in .357 or .38 Special.

The popular #358429 design remains a favorite with many for the .357, but I never found it to be quite as accurate as the #51. However, the HP version #358439, for reasons unknown to me, seems to shoot a bit more accurately than the #358429 design. Same in .38 Special loads.

Splitting hairs here, but that's another interesting facet of handloading.

I shoot several different cast bullet weights but all hover around the 158 grain mark. One exception is an NOE mould that throws 185 grain RNFP that I got for my 357 rifle.
In jacketed 158's I use Hornady XTP or a lot of the budget priced Zero 158 jacketed either FP or HP. I buy these 1000's at a time.

I use 125 JHP Remingtons for self-defense and 158 for targets.

For any caliber I tend to primarily shoot bullets of "Standard for caliber." weight. In other words for .38/.357 158 grain.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

I think this is the best advise for 4 to 6 inch revolvers! I stumbled onto the 180 JSP load in an early 80's article by Ken Waters article about loading for lever action carbines. It also turned out to outshoot anything else in my 4" 28-2!

Ivan

If I'm carrying a .357 mag. I'm probably in the country/mountains. I generally carry a 9mm or .45 ACP in town. If I'm in the mountains I'm more interested in dealing with dangerous animals, though dangerous humans can be a concern, of course. For dangerous animals, I like a 180 gr. flat topped, hard cast bullet with as much H110 or 2400 as I can get behind it. Penetration is the name of the game with big animals and the full charge .357 with a good, hard 180 gr. bullet is a great penetrator.

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Everybody could shoot

can't say as I have a favorite in any magnum cartridge.
If you are limited to a single bullet, you're life is kinda boring.

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it just needs more voltage

I voted 158 gr . I have cast untold thousands of Accurate Molds version of the lyman 358156 in a plain base version , sans the gas check . It's the double crimp groove design by Ray Thompson . It is very accurate at any power level , from " mild to wild " . Regards Paul

My standard load for 357 is my cast 168 gr grain SWC in front of 14 grains of #2400. Shoots great in all my guns long and short. Killed a big 8 pt with this load in a 4 in mdl 19. I don't like light bullets(125 gr) in any 357 load.

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S&W Accumulator

Me too. I can't see any advantage to the light bullets other than slightly reduced recoil but apparently they are popular with some shooters.

I do not shoot light weight bullets in 357 magnum . I have 3 designs that I use the most . The 158 gr plain base 358156 design , Lyman 358429 173 gr and LBT 180 gr RNFP . Regards Paul

There's ONLY one bullet weight for 357mag, the one which cartridge was designed for, 158gr, 'nuff said😉

I do load a few 125 Rem HPs in 357. They shoot well. but I pretty much use the 358 156 bullet in both plain based and gas checked. I have a bunch(3000?) of 158 gr SWC commercial bullets that were pretty much free and I load them in both 38 and 357.

All of my 357's shoot 158 SWC's 'really well. I've tried other weights, but I always go back to the 158's.

The 357mag is my favorite cartridge, has been since the 80's. Been able to cast and swage my own bullets just as long. I've made +/- 50 different bullet weights/shapes/designs over the years to use in multiple firearms with 2"/2 1/2"/4"/6"/8" & 10" bbl lengths.

For plinking and general range play it's hard to beat any standard +/- 160gr bullet. I prefer the hp versions of the cast bullets out there. Some of the latest bullets I cast or swaged for the 357's.


There's anything from the Sharps #51 to a cramer "hunter" hp in that picture above.

Not all bullets are created equal. A picture of a lyman 358477, cramer #26 (cramer's version of the keith 358439), sharps design h&g #51 and keiths 358439.


Of those bullets pictured above the cramer #26 outperforms the rest over a wider range of pressures and velocities with it's massive bottom drive band/bullet base.

When I really want to put a thump on something I use these 175gr wfn's in 8" & 10" bbl's and the 158gr hp's in 4" and 6" bbl's.


In the snubnosed 357's I prefer the 170gr fn's over a 158gr hp. The 170gr fn I like to use next to it's 158gr hp version of the same bullet.


I keep a s&w 586 l-comp 7-shot filled with those 170gr fn's laying around with a 1200fps load. That's pretty hot for a 2 1/2" bbl'd 357 & that 170gr fn a real thumper.

Voted 158+- as my favorite bullet is the 357156 Lyman/Thompson. Have an original and an MP that does HPs also.

For self-defense against 2-Legged Vermin I prefer a 125 JHP...less recoil for faster followup shots and just a proven reliable stopper...

Bob

Forrest r's input is ALWAYS worth listening to.

180 gr LBT LFN for a cast bullet.
140 gr XTP for a jacketed bullet.