what 357 round to use?

[silverback]

I posted this in another thread but thought it might get better response by itself.

I am getting ready to jump into reloading again after a long long long time away. so I am in the learning curve. I am looking for the best 357 round for 2 and 4 legged creatures out of the security six and my m92 levergun 20 inch barrel.

I have shot thousands of 158 and 125 grain manufactured loads and can shoot egually as well.

I am leaning towards the 158 grain for both roles as I would rather just spend time casting and loading for one specific round. I am also concerned about excess flame cutting of the 125 full house round. (your comments appreciated)

hollow point or ?

i would like to cast my own.

i would also want to keep lead fouling down to as little a possible.

i defer to the expertise of members for input.

thanks in advance.

 

[DGW1949]

Just from my experience;
Had me a .357 Rossi '92 once. It much prefered a 158 bullet to the shorter/lighter bullets.
The only .357 that I now own is an OM BH....which also prefers bullets in the 152-160 weight range.
Both did best with a flat-based LSWC.
I'm not a big fan of "hard cast" lead bullets, any sort of hollow-point lead bullet, nor of the various "crayola" bullet lubes.
IMNSHO, HP's aint nessesary because a soft-cast SWC is likely to expand at .357 velocities anyhow.
On the other hand, a hard-cast HP is more likely to have it's nose fragment than it is to expand (think "the tip breaks off" here).
The trick to keeping lead-fouling down is correctly sizing the bullet to the weapon, and matching it's BH to the pressure/velocity you are striving for. That, and a proper lube.
Alox is your friend.
If both your revolver AND you rifle happens to need the same (optimum) size bullet, consider yourself lucky. And bear in mind that some leverguns can be finicky about AOL....revolvers, not so much. What I'm saying here is that your rifle may determine the AOL of the ammo you are assembling, which may in turn determine which exact bullet you'll need to cast (think "where's the crimp grove in relation to the tip" here).

Hope something here helped.

DGW

 

[John S]

I have a 77/357 and it doesn't like lead bullets much. Not at all on the .358" Dia. bullet, .357" to .355" OK. Like jacketed bullets . I have tried 90 gr. to 180 gr.. The all work just what you want to do??

 

[contender]

Due to your specs,, a good quality cast slug in the 158-180 range will be a good place to settle in for. Next, look at one that runs in the 1100-1200 fps out of your Security-Six. A good wide meplate SWC design is hard to beat.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

158gr Hornady XTP. Reasonable price, excellent performance. For hunting the 180gr XTP would be good out of the rifle. I haven't found anything better.

 

[6gun]

Lever guns are designed to use flat point bullets, Since your shooting them in a M92 rifle I would go with a 158gr. Flat point bullet, I'd stay away from hollow points they can get hung up feeding through the rifle.

 

[silverback]

The sjhp haven't given me a problem in the M92 as of yet. Still if I am looking for one bullet to use then a swc might be the way to go. I am sure it will perform well as an SD round as well. what about leading? any suggestions on keeping that down to a minimum?

what brand of molds? Lee?
gas check?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Practice with whatever performs close to your carry ammo but use only factory ammo for self defense carry. It could save you a lot of litigation in the courtroom.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I agree with most above. 158-162 cast and checked in the 1100-1300 FPS load range is very universal and adaptable.

 

[silverback]

I have some factory Remington sjhp and Hornady flex tip ammo for carry. i want to cast and load my own from now on. If i ever need the ammo i load then i would have no problem using it.

any recommendations on molds?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I have some factory Remington sjhp and Hornady flex tip ammo for carry. i want to cast and load my own from now on. If i ever need the ammo i load then i would have no problem using it.

any recommendations on molds?

I have been thinking about getting into casting bullets but so far nada except making lead ingots and fishing sinkers. I believe this thread has lots of info about casting. What I hear about Lee aluminum molds is they work ok but are temp sensitive and harder to use than steel molds.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=112310

Cast Boolits .com has got to be the place to go.

 

[pps]

A buy on a hollow pointed 358156 bullet is about to close in the active buy section of castboolits. I'll be getting a plain base and a gas checked base. This is the most versatile boolit for the 357 that I load.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Given the caveat to continue to use factory loads for SD carry loads, a 158-ish grain cast bullet. The limiting factor will be feeding in the rifle. Lever action rifles are picky about OAL and bullet shape. As much as I like SWCs , with rifle use a major factor , look into a RN/FP that has a substantial meplat .

As a starting point , load so as to match the momentum in the revolver of your carry load, then try that in rifle for accuraccy and useful vel level.

 

[GP100man]

BUY ONCE !!!

NOE Bullet Moulds !!
358429 plain based , they`ll drop fat so you`ll need a sizer of sorts.

 

[pps]

BUY ONCE !!!

NOE Bullet Moulds !!
358429 plain based , they`ll drop fat so you`ll need a sizer of sorts.

I don't have that particular NOE mold, but I do have the hollow pointed version of the Lyman 311041. Drops a nice boolit every time.

As far as the 358429...I have Saint Elmer's swc in a Lyman mold. Great round, but I've gravitated towards Ray Thompson's design, just to keep things simple for me.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

My 357s are a S&W M28-2 4", NMBH 6.5", and Rossi M92 20". I cast the Lyman 358477, Lyman 358429, and MP 360640 (a plain base 145 gr HP). Alloy is 94% lead, 3% tin, 3% antimony. I water drop them, size to .358, lube with Carnauba Red, and age at least 2 weeks. I have run these bullets from the M92 at 1750-2100 fps with no leading. I have run top end loads from both revolvers with no leading.

The 360640 feeds best of the three, owing to it having a tangent ogive nose. Next is the 358429, which I crimp over the forward drive band. The SWC shoulder of the 358477 requires care in working the lever and is prone to hanging up.

 

[DGW1949]

Hello Silverback.....

There's lots of good info in this thread. That said though, Jeff just brought out a good point conserning the levergun you own. Namely that my Rossi aint his Rossi, and neither of our's is yours. So with that in mind, I have a proposal for ya;

How's about I send you a handfull of 150-ish LSWC's and 160-ish LRNFP's (both were cast from a LEE mould).....that way, you can load-up some dummy rounds and see how they feed in your particular rifle. My thinking there is that even if you don't like the exact bullet(s) that I have on hand, at least you might get a feel for which direction you want to go in without being out any money.

If that sounds like it'll help, send me your name and address though the forum PM-thingy and I'll get them sent-out to ya the next time I go into town......no charge.

DGW

 

[silverback]

DGW1949 i sent you a pm.

i was just thinking about something like that. i have some pristine Rainer plated bullets ( i got in trade). i would be willing to trade anyone to try some of their bullets. I would like to give them a whirl. when my lee hand loader gets in i would like to try to load them and give them a try in both revolver and lever gun.

 

[Rodfac]

For all-around usefulness, a good 158 gr lead alloy bullet would be my first pick. I shoot thousands of them each year in my Smith's and Rugers. If you're going to push the velocity anywhere past 1100 fps, I'd suggest a Gas Check design to minimize leading problems. While it's possible to get a plain base cast bullet to shoot well and not lead at those elevated speeds, it's far easier with a gas check. If you don't cast yourself, Missouri Bullet Co. offers superb bullets at reasonable prices, and they're good in plain based models up to the aforementioned 1100 fps.

To cast your own, you'll need a cpl hundred dollars for a mold, sizer die (Lee's), gas checks, stove or melting pot, ladle, lube etc. It's a long term investment that's fun all by itself, but not without some specialized risks. Melted lead alloy is dangerous to work with, beyond normal reloading precautions. I've cast for 50+ years now, and have had my share of incidents....don't take it lightly...it demands concentration and good safety practices...

For good information on casting, consult Cast Boolits.com or the Cast Bullet Assn. sites. Great guys there, and as much knowledge as you can possibly absorb on the subject.

Best Regards, Rod