Old School .357 bullets, Speer 160 grain Jacketed LSP (pics)....

[canoeguy]

A few years ago, maybe as many as four years ago, I stopped at a small gun store on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, "Peace Token" Trading Post. They sold guns and cigarettes not far from the Maryland line.

I saw behind the counter a few dusty boxes of bullets, couldn't make out the price but looked like $12... Sure enough, after examining the bullets, $12.25 per box of 100 for Speer 160 grain JSP and 158 grain JHP. I bought everything he had, one box Speer 160 grain and two Speer 158 grain JHP.

Looks like they had been placed on the shelf years prior, and never re-priced as prices rose. At the time, I think a box of jacketed .357 bullets were $22 or more, now they are $30 or more.

Didn't get around to loading them till today. The 160 grain jacketed soft points look "Old School", like something folks were shooting in the 1980's. The jacket forms a cup, with a lot of lead exposed. The loaded round doesn't even look like a jacketed bullet.

The box of bullets with price tag:

Finished loaded rounds with projectiles and the rifle they will be used in, a Rossi M92 carbine:

I loaded them with 12.5 grains AA#9, which should give 1175 feet per second from a revolver, 1475 FPS or so from a 20" barrel carbine. I'll use these bullets for deer hunting, should give good performance.

I stepped out back and ran five through the Rossi this afternoon, they give good accuracy at 50 yards (probably 2" fired from the seated position), and light recoil in the carbine.

I probably won't do to much shooting of these bullets through my Model 66, I have other cheaper bullets to shoot through it.

I don't know if these bullets are still available today, I've never seen them on dealer shelves before.

 

[TAROMAN]

IIRC, back in the day these were known as "half jackets".
Always read that they are best loaded at higher velocity.
If loaded down too much, there was a chance that the jacket might separate and remain in the bore, with obvious results.
They should perform fine as you have already proven.

 

[Rule3]

Back when Speer had the BIG mouth 45 ACP JHP "Flying Ashtrays"! I have a box of those I am hoarding. Why I don't know but I don't want to shoot them. Maybe I can be rich some day!

 

[Gunhacker]

Those are more "old school" than the 80's... I was using them in the mid '70's.

Back then, no one really made or sold commercially hard cast bullets... if you wanted cast bullets you had to scrounge for lead/linotype/wheel weights and "roll your own", unlike today when a Google search turns up everybody and their Grandmother selling hard cast bullets.

Seeing those again sure brought back some memories.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Those "Old School" Speer 160gr JSP bullets are the cats meyow
when it comes to knocking BIG Nevada Bucks in the dirt with a 6" 357 Magnum revolver !!

They have to be three times as good out of a rifle...........

Don't waste them...... practice with the 158 XTP or some thing else if possible. Those bullets are like "GOLD" !!

In my M19 I got that 160 up to 1230 fps with a heavy dose of Unique back in the 70's. Blue Dot kicked out 1270 fps.

I did not have any slower powders since they had to also work for my 12 Ga. reloads for hunting, back in those days.

Don't try to pull a bullet once loaded..........
the lead comes out but leaves the jacket in the case !!

Enjoy those bullets.

 

[.455_Hunter]

IIRC, back in the day these were known as "half jackets".

Are you sure? I have seen some Hornady 240 gr bullets where the copper is truly a "half jacket" coming only halfway up on the bearing surface of the bullet and allowing for lead to directly contact the bore. The bullets shown above would shoot no differently than a modern style JSP.

To me, these Speer bullets represent the best style of projectile- hits and cuts just like a LSWC, but does not lead the bore. Too bad they are discontinued, as I have a small cache myself I found at a gun show for when I want to load some "Pre-War" .357 style loads.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Nice find. I used to use a lot of the Speer half jackets in .357 Mag and .44 Mag back in the day. Oddly enough I too just found and bought some 160 grainers in .357" two weeks ago. This particular LGS has a reduced/ clearance table and had two boxes of em, not as good as your price but at $15.00 a box were a no brainer these days.

 

[scooter123]

Nevada Ed has it pretty well nailed, those 160 grain SJSP are a GREAT bullet for Whitetail. I do not believe that Speer makes these bullets anymore, they aren't even listed in my Speer 14. However Speer does list a 158 grain UCSP (Uni-Cor Soft Point) which is sort of a replacement. Sierra also lists a 158 grain SJSP bullet in their catalog and I have a Notify Me in on that particular bullet. Finally Speer now has a 170 grain Gold Dot Soft Point designed specifically for hunting.

BTW, one of my favorite 357 Magnum loads is 12.5 grains of AA #9 with a 140 grain Hornady XTP. Out of my 6 inch Dan Wesson that load is good for 1200 fps and from my 20 inch 1892 Winchester it clocks right at 1600 fps. I suspect that you'll find your handgun velocity estimate is probably a bit optimistic but your estimate for your rifle is right on the money.

 

[ironhead7544]

Excellent bullets. They may be the first available jacketed bullets that were marketed to the public for the 357 bore. Recently discontinued, sadly. Just doesnt look exciting enough, I guess. Speer called them "3/4 jacket". No lead touched the bore. Very accurate with practically any load. There was also a 146 gr hollow point version. With heavy handloads, it worked well in the 38 Special. Dead soft lead, IIRC.

 

[elpac3]

Speer half jackets

Loaded a lot of those back in the day - one of the best bullets I have shot. Speer used to make a .357 146 SWC-HP, .357 160 and a .44 225 half jacket SWC and a .44 240 Half jacket.

Still have a few of each in a box in the loading bench.

 

[weatherby]

I still find old school bullets and ammo.
One LGS takes in stuff like that and sells it cheap.

Some I'll never use.....just like having the odd old box.

Those cheap primers....yeah there getting used

 

[JimC]

Due to the low cost of those 160 gr. "short jacket" Speer bullets back in the late '60's, they were my first choice for my 6 1/2" bbl. Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Mag.
A max charge of 2400 and that bullet made for a great inexpensive round.

 

[dsink]

I wish Speer would bring back those 160's. They were a great bullet as long as you pushed them fast.

 

[Sekatoa]

I have a box of those from Dad's old stuff. Thought they were pretty neat. I haven't decided what to load them or use for though. Currently my only .357's are snubbys, and can use them for hunting here in CA anymore. I think my dad had them in his .357 revolver for back up when he went deer hunting in the 70's.


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[brucev]

Re: OP. Wonderful bullets! Outstanding in any .357, the longer the barrel the better. Seated over a appropriate charge of powder, those things were extremely effective.

 

[thardgrave]

Back in the late 1960's, I reloaded and shot a lot of both the 146 gr HP, and the 160 gr, all loaded with a healthy dose of 2400, and shot in my 27 no dash, 8 3/8". Great shooting rounds, and still have some loaded many years ago.....

 

[rwsmith]

That's a find....

Not a bullet I like, but if I saw them, I'd buy them, too. I haven't seen any Speer bullets (especially jacketed) in a long, long time.

 

[MikeyB]

The Speer half jackets was one of my favorite bullets for reloading .38's and .357's back in the '70'-80's. Wish Speer still made them.

 

[SMSgt]

Don't give them a "light load" as the jacket can separate in the barrel, probably the reason they are no longer available. They worked great in my .41 Magnum.

 

[Homie]

Don't give them a "light load" as the jacket can separate in the barrel, probably the reason they are no longer available. They worked great in my .41 Magnum.

Did this happen to you, or just something you've heard?

I've shot a bunch of them over the years, mostly .38/.357 rifles and revolvers, and never had a problem or even heard of one with them (except for Elmer's mention of a buddy and the .44 ricochet).

Also, FWIW, they were introduced in the summer of '60 and originally had a concave base.