New 2 Me 357 Mag. Bullet help needed.

[Mrkdiver]

If bullets are properly powder coated and baked correctly you should not have any coming off in your press unless your seating stem is incorrect for the bullet and or you are not belling your case enough and they are shaving it off. Remember powder coating increases the size of the bullet and you must run them through a sizer of the proper diameter for your bore if you do the coating your self. If store bought check the true diameter of the bullet and go from there. You should be able to run a properly coated bullet at full speed with no problems.

Absolutely, I've cast powder coated and heat treated thousands and thousands of bullets. You can shoot them as hard as you want in a .357

 

[DavidleeCole]

I personally love H110 with 158 Nos hunting hollow points. I mine they hit a bit high at 25 yards but still hit the 10" plate at a 100 with a dead hold on the bull.

And they do a great job when they hit.

 

[Alibiiv]

Just scored this beauty from my Mom and her Partner. S&W 686, 6", in very good shape. Googled a bit, and it seems the serial prefix and "no dash" means she's from the mid-80s. The trigger is butter smooth in DA, and a perfect 3.75 lb SA pull.

View attachment 225446

First 357 I've owned, and other than my Single Six, and a nickel plated 32 S&W "belly gun" from the turn of the last century that my dad gave me, this is the tiniest revolver I own...She's such a cute little thing.

Problem is...I can't shoot it, as there's not a scrap of ammo or reloading components available right now. I have primers, H110, and a few dozen 357 mag brass I've scrounged up over the years cause I won't throw anything away, but I can't find any appropriate "magnum" projectiles.

I always like to give a gun a "purpose", even if it will likely never actually see that duty in my hands. Since my other revolvers start at 44 mag and go up from there, I've decided that her "purpose" will be as a "light weight" backup gun for lions/tiger/bears (OH MY!). In other words, more horsepower than my G23 can muster, but smaller and handier than my other hand canons.

So couple questions...

1) Any 357 gurus have a favorite bullet? 140 XTP would be the lightest thing I'd look at (deer, 2 legs, etc), and probably want to run 158 class, as it's the baby version of the 240 gr 44 (nearly identical SD and BC), which I like a lot. Probably don't wanna go much above this weight, as the efficiency really drops, and if I really thought I needed that much penetration, I'd carry something that starts with a 4...

I'm not interested in "plinker" or 38 spc, but I'm down with most anything that "works" at full tilt 357 mag (as in compressed H110 and fireballs). Gas checked hard cast, conventional jacketed, or even all copper if I'm convinced it works.

2) Anyone have any scraps they'd sell me (brass/bullets) so I can at least get started while I wait for the panic buying to pass? Really pains me to not be able to shoot the thing.

Might want to try Rim Rock bullets, the owner has always been very helpful and has always helped me out. They make the hard cast bullets for Buffalo Bore bullets. I just got 200 of their hard cast, gas checked Keith, hollow point bullets (semi-wadcutter) for my .357 magnum. Back "in the day" this bullet was the go to bullet for self-defense, I believe the FBI used this as a duty round also. I haven't tried them out as of yet, but......they are truly hard cast, lubed with a gas check.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

Very nice acquisition! I love 357s and pretty much all revolvers including the venerable Single Six.

+1 on the Starline brass... excellent quality and value. For quality loads I like the XTP and for more cost effective shooting I go with the Rainier Lead Safe hollow points. The H110 is good stuff and try Vihtavuori N110 for excellent performance.

 

[blueprairiedog]

158 xtp I save them for very last and shoot copper plated swc most of the time because of price and availability I like titegroup and unique for plated h4227 for a little hotter load

 

[blueprairiedog]

158 xtp I save them for very last and shoot copper plated swc most of the time because of price and availability I like titegroup and unique for plated h4227 for a little hotter load View attachment 225694

686-3 no flutes

 

[Pinoniper]

H110, by definition, delivers fast, high-energy loads. In fact, as you may know, it is not wise to load it down much at all. This to me dictates jacketed or gas-check bullet so as to avoid leading of the barrel. I love the XTP, by the way. 140 or 158, whichever you BC can find.

 

[blueprairiedog]

H110, by definition, delivers fast, high-energy loads. In fact, as you may know, it is not wise to load it down much at all. This to me dictates jacketed or gas-check bullet so as to avoid leading of the barrel. I love the XTP, by the way. 140 or 158, whichever you BC can find.

We down load to 4.8 titegroup for bullseye match all the time and the 686 does quite well but don't try the copper jacket stuff that low

 

[358 Guy]

Think I'm gonna try these bad boys...

357, LBT, 160gr, LFN-GC - Montana Bullet Works

Pistol bullets are sold in quantities of 100 & 500/box

www.montanabulletworks.com

They are a bit spendy compared to XTP, Nosler, Sierra, Etc, but it appears that I can get them in hand in a reasonable time. If they shoot good, they're a viable "First Choice" anyway. They oughta be pretty ferocious with the big meplat, and with BHN 22 and a gas check, I think they should stand up to full tilt loads. Hoping I can get them up around 1400 fps, though I don't really know what to expect from a 6" Smith. Loading data either seems to be in 10" test barrels with no cylinder gap (utterly stupid and near useless IMO), or 4" guns.

They also have the longest nose to crimp offered by this manufacturer, so that should leave a smidgen extra space for powder over other options. I measured a piece of fired brass, then cartridge base to cylinder face, and it looks like I have ~0.4" to work with outside the case, so that leaves me ~0.075 "safety". Can't imagine 357 has enough sauce to worry too much about crimp jumping, particularly in a 6" full lug barrel.

Don't have anything to slug the throat/barrel right now, so I'm gonna assume 0.358" is close enough. Not like this is a revolver from the first world war or something.

Probably won't order till I get a line on some more brass (I only found 35 pieces in my stash, @snox801 PM inbound). If anyone has any other suggestions for quality hard cast, gas-checked bullets, let me know.

Have you looked into Cast Performance Bullets? These gas checked bullets are cast extremely hard, and feature a wide meplat. While I've never tried them in .358, I shoot them exclusively in my 41 Mag's, and 45 LC guns and. accuracy is superb, plus they do a great job on black bears/deer.

 

[Bucklowery]

Nice gun! Mine loves the federal 158 jhp. This was the first pistol I ever bought and is still my favorite

Thanks

Buck

 

[sedancowboy]

Rim Rock Bullets - Cast Lead Bullets for Reloading.
http://rimrockbullets.com/xcart/?target=main

 

[Pinoniper]

There are makers of hard cast bullets with alloys that will stand up to the velocities produced by the slow-burners like H110. Oregon Trail comes to mind.

 

[Iron Worker]

Go with any bullet you can find . 110 XTP are great with a heavy charge of H110 or W-W296 ( same stuff)

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Missouri Bullet Company

Missouri Bullet Company offers premium lead bullets at affordable prices. We make hardness optimized bullets for the velocity of the loads you shoot.

www.missouribullet.com

I'd give these guys a serious look... I bought a thousand from them a couple years back but have mostly been casting my own and pushing them with 4227. Their pills shoot well but I have been shooting up scrap lead primarily. Right now I've just been using a couple of Lee molds but I like the Lyman 170 gr mold and will eventually get one.
I also run a 686... It's a decent pistol and carries well for that shorter shot or taking the wiggle out when you come up on your kill...