casting the 357 sig?

[evel knievel]

hey gunners my reloading manual says -unfortunately the short neck of the 357 sig proved unsuitable for use with any of lymanns cast bullets- is there any law breakers out there -
can it be done?i plan on casting for 40cal some day-

 

[Shadow1006]

I am casting the Lyman Devastators 125gr Cast HP and have loaded some in both 357Sig and 9x25Dillon. I also cast the LEE 122 gr TC that works well also with both.

They are sized in my Star sizer to 356" with Zambini Lube from Rooster labs. They are seat to 1.135" over 10 gr. Blue Dot shoot very well from my Glock-29 using a Lone Wolf conversion barrel.

 

[colt_saa]

Of course it can be done.

Most any Truncated Cone design should work just fine.

If you are not already using one, get a Lee Factory Crimp Die. This will make quite a few projectiles that are unsuitable due to limited neck contact work just fine.

 

[fredj338]

Of course it can be done.

Most any Truncated Cone design should work just fine.

If you are not already using one, get a Lee Factory Crimp Die. This will make quite a few projectiles that are unsuitable due to limited neck contact work just fine.

I haven't used the LFCD for the 357sig, but it plays accuracy havoc w/ other calibers & lead or soft plated bullets. You need a bullet design that allows the front driving band to have as much bearing as possible in the short neck. I have had good success w/ the Saeco 122grLFP, a common commercial bullet, & a modified RCBS 147grLTC that is a HP design. The HP makes it short enough to hit correct OAL & the 135gr wt is about right for 1200fps loads.

 

[planojack]

I had a problem with cast bullets for the .357 Sig with overall length. Happily solved by using the 95 grain round nose bullet that is designed for the .380 ACP. It is not a major power load, but very pleasant to shoot.

 

[woden]

Regards,

I'm newbie reloading 357 Sig, I order all the tools that i need, dies are backorder :'(, anyway, I'll like to know if someone has experience with mould lee 120-356-TC and 357 Sig.

I have bullseye, reddot, 700x and 2400 but i need tips and tricks before start reloading

Thanks all in advance

 

[fredj338]

The biggest isseu with the 357sig is getting the dies setup correctly. That means NOT buying the RCBS dies, they still have it wrong. The 357sig headspaces on the tiny shoulder, so the dies have to be designed & setup to palse the shoulder back properly. With a plated or lead bullet, you will have to give the case a little flare to not crush the neck. Then a mild taper crimp shpuld hold the bullet in place with proper neck tension.
Proper bullet selection is hugely important. The bullet has to have enough vertical bearing surface to fully engage the short case neck. Then do NOT over crimp, that can cause a lack of case neck tension & bullet setback. You can turn the expander down 0.0005" if you aren't getting good neck tension. Then it's pretty much like reloading any straight wall case.
I won't use powders any faster than Unique in the 357sig, just in case I do get a setback. Faster powders are just not very forgiving. Really, none of the powder you have are suitable for good 357sig loads. Powders in the medium slow range, PowerPistol up thru AA#9 will work well. You can get the 2400 to go bang, but vel will suffer a bit.

 

[woden]

Excellent,

Well i've read about it's hard to reload 357 sig ammo, but, well, Hope to dies arrive soon and start my tryouts.


Thanks for the info, btw, RCBS are at backorder since october2013, i switch to 3 dies set Redding

 

[Geno44]

I've read that statement in the Lyman manual and the one concern I have is that Lyman is, of course, in the casting equipment business and they are certainly going to encourage bullet casting for every caliber if they feel it is safe. I do reload .357 Sig with jacketed bullets and don't find it a difficult caliber to work with. I do use the .40 S & W sizer trick.

 

[woden]

You use 40 s&w instead 357 sig sizer die ??, and why is that, i can imagine that you adjust it, but what about the neck ??

So, I really freak out, jejeje