I use my 357 Magnums mainly in my rifles, a 1904 vintage octogon barreled 1892 re-barreled in 357 Magnum by a previous owner and a new Rossi round barrel M92. The Winchester is set up with a rear tang peep sight in a co-witness arraignment with the standard buckhorn sight setup and the Rossi currently has a 1.75X Nikon Monarch EER scope mounted on a scout rail.
The most accurate load I've found for the Winchester is a 158 grain Hornady XTP with 14.8 grains of H110. This load clocks 1615 fps from the 20 inch barrel and I've managed groups just a whisker under 1 inch at 50 yards in full daylight. Second most accurate load is a 140 grain XTP over 17.5 grains of H110. This one clocks 1875 fps and groups just at 1.5 inches at 50 yards. The 140 grain load also shoots hits about 2 inches right at 50 yards which still has me scratching my head.
Out of the Rossi both bullet weights group at 1.62 inch at 50 yards at an indoor range with the 140 grain load hitting about 3/8 inch lower than the 158 grain load. Because the Rossi also features a 20 inch barrel I expect that the produced velocities are similar. As for the larger group size, in the dim lighting at this indoor range I suspect seeing the target clearly enough is part of the issue. Prior to installing the scope I was able to shoot the Rossi under an inch at 25 yards using reading glasses with the buckhorn sights.
Finally, I've chronographed the 158 grain load out of a 6 inch Dan Wesson and the velocity produced was 1200 fps. As for the accuracy, I can't see handgun sights worth a hoot without using reading glasses and the outdoor range I was shooting at mandated the use of ballistic rated eyewear. So, I did a bit of squinting and managed to keep 18 rounds fired within a 9 inch circle at 50 yards.
I recently acquired 2 lbs. of 2400 and with all the good things I've heard about this powder I plan to giving it a try next spring. I also intend to pick up a 4 power scout scope for the Rossi to see if it can do better. One thing I can say for certain is I'm a real fan of the Hornady XTP line of bullets, every load I've built using these bullets has been quite accurate.
