"light" 357 mag loads - suggestions?

[deadear dan]

I like to load light 357 loads rather than shoot with 38 spl brass through my 586 no dash. Hate scrubbing the powder ring in the cylinders. Almost out of trailboss which with 3.2 gr and a 125gr cast swc will give me about 800fps. Any suggestions for light loads in 357?

 

[MTKTM]

I like to load light 357 loads rather than shoot with 38 spl brass through my 586 no dash. Hate scrubbing the powder ring in the cylinders. Almost out of trailboss which with 3.2 gr and a 125gr cast swc will give me about 800fps. Any suggestions for light loads in 357?

I think that any load which would work in a 38 Special case would also work in 357 brass, maybe bump it up one or two tenths of a grain, depending on the powder. Check the manuals, they'll have lots of options.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I have used 3.3grs of.......
Bull
Red
Green
Trail Boss

and 4.0 - 4.3 grs of the medium powders like w23, for my light .357 and 38 snub nose target loads with the 125gr RN and LFN style bullets, with a medium crimp used.

A Heavy crimp will add fps to the load without needing to add more powder but it will also have an effect on accuracy and POI.

I have also used Universal,SR4756 and IMR4227 but quite a bit more powder is needed with these slower powders in a short barrel.

These were minimum loads worked "DOWN" with my chrony and I do not know if they are safe in a long 6" barrel due to the low fps!!

Check your manuals for starting loads to be on the safe side.

 

[mikld]

Even though I don't have a problem with the dreaded carbon ring, I'll often reload my .357 brass with .38 Special data. The only difference will be the velocities attained will be lower than listed because of the .357's larger case capacity. I have shot a lot of 150 gr DEWC over 3.0 gr. Bullseye for a really mild, accurate load. (BTW; I use the same components but load up to Special +P levels for a SD load).

 

[klausinak]

The most accurate load I've ever shot out of my 586 is a Lee 358-158-RF w/ 5.0 gr Unique in 357 brass. It turns the revolver & my hand black, but it's scary accurate. 5.5 gr is a lot cleaner, but the groups open up a bit.

-Klaus

 

[Nevada Ed]

If you do try a 158gr lead bullet in your .357..........

A maximum load of Trail Boss in my 6" 686 only hits 788 fps
with a f100 primer and my swc at 1.61" OAL.

A fun load for almost all shooters.

 

[deadear dan]

thanks folks. The manuals tend to assume that with 357 brass one wants to shoot 357 loads. Just found in "Reloading for Handgunners" to simply bump up your 38spl load by about 10%. However always good to have first hand accounts of chosen loads

 

[johngalt]

Same as what I use in my .38

 

[alwslate]

I've had good results with 700X in light loads in 357 brass but any of
the fast burners should work. I've also never had any problems from
using 38 spl brass in my 357s. A swab of the chambers with CLP after
shooting has been sufficient.

 

[rwsmith]

.38 loads in .357

I even use swaged HB wadcutters in .357 cases. My wife loves to shoot them out of my 686.

I usually shoot .38s early in the range session, then I had to clean the chambers to shoot .357. I just quit using .38 special cases. Of course the .357 cases were like gold for a while, scarce and expensive.

 

[ironhead7544]

Unique will work.

Today, it is about finding pistol powder. Generally, the 357 is easy to find a good load for. WW231 is also a good one for moderate loads.

There are a lot of loads out there for cowboy shooting. If you do a search you should be able to get the info you need.

 

[Granddad]

5.6 of 231 over a cast LRN in my M27-2. Light recoil and accurate. With swaged, I tend to get leading.

 

[fredj338]

Just use max 38sp data, add 1-2/10gr more powder if you like & call it good. Shoot enough, the carbon ring is real. Shoot a lot, hot powder like TG, & pitting of the cyl walls is also real with 38sp in mag chambers.

 

[AveragEd]

I load a 158-grain Missouri cast lead semi-wadcutter over 6.0 grains of IMR 4756. It makes for a pleasant, clean burning and accurate load but with that powder no longer being available, I will have to find a replacement once I use what I have on hand. I may go back to 5.0 grain of Clays.

Ed

 

[TAROMAN]

In 357 cases I load a 148 grain DEWC over 4.5 grains of 231.
Chronographs 876 FPS.
Very accurate out to 50 yards.

 

[fatman73]

5.7 grains of universal with a 158 cast bullet works well for me. Good accuracy out of my 686.

 

[Collo Rosso]

I loaded some 158gr. LSWC's in 38spl brass with 3.5 grains of WST. Very soft shooting and they went right where the sights were aligned. Hodgdon lists 3.7 grains as a max load for 38spl. Probably be good for 357 mag brass.

 

[fredj338]

I load a 158-grain Missouri cast lead semi-wadcutter over 6.0 grains of IMR 4756. It makes for a pleasant, clean burning and accurate load but with that powder no longer being available, I will have to find a replacement once I use what I have on hand. I may go back to 5.0 grain of Clays.

Ed

Yeah but Clays isn't being made right now either, maybe not until the end of 2015???

 

[riverrat38]

I bump up the plus P loads by 15%, but I make sure that is a load shown in the magnum data, as some powders are not linear into the magnum range.

Best,
Rick

 

[AveragEd]

Yeah but Clays isn't being made right now either, maybe not until the end of 2015???

True Fred, but I have three pounds of SR4756 right now and since I don't use it in anything but revolvers and don't shoot them a lot, that should get me through at least another year. And I have two pounds of Clays so I'm good for now.

A Hodgdon's rep told me that a good replacement for 4756 would be Trailboss - anyone had any experience with it? Specifically, I would like to know how cleanly it burns in target-level loads.

Ed