.357 Load Question

Hi Keith, I think I would be hesitant to list a load on here since it may not be safe in your particular gun. What kind of powder are you going to load? Most of the manuals give a variety of loads for any given powder and the .357 isn't really too fussy with what powder or stuff as long as you stay in the safe zone. I shoot a lot of 158 grain lead SWC types using powders like 700-X and 2400 without much change in accuracy, and most of my loads were worked up out of a Lyman reloading manual, but any good manual has plenty of info for any good powder. Have you visited the sixguns site and looked at the loads that JT uses? He lists some 38 special loads that are quite good. Some of the others on here may give you some loads so just exercise caution whatever you do. Chris

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt38spcl.htm
Elmers Article:  http://www.elmerkeithshoot.org/AmericanRifleman/Keith357.pdf

Keith, here's an article by Skeeter, some of his loads, FYI..... Chris
http://www.darkcanyon.net/MyFriend_The357.htm
 
 

Appreciate the article citation, Chris. I've been reloading a long time, am pretty careful,  and have quite a selection of manuals. However,  "light-medium" .357 loads with jacketed bullets don't seem to get much play in the manuals I have. The Hornady manual, for example,  lists nothing slower than 1200 fps with the XTP 158 gr.  At least my several-years-old Hornady manual doesn't.
I'll check out the aticle and the sixguns site.
 
Thanks again.

Keith: Did some more digging and you should check out the IMR Data center load data for both 357 mag and 38 spec. plus p.... As I said earlier I used 700-X and it gives a load for 357 in the 1100 fps range with 158 gr. XTP but it is a kind of high pressure load so I would consider it max..... You may consider Trail Boss also as it is a powder for lower velocity loads with a good case fill rate. The 38 spec. + P load is about 800-900 fps. Chris
http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
 

Thanks, Chris, will do. I've got a nice full magnum load as a regular diet for my custom M686,  and for use when wanted in my M66 and M19,  but I wanna be kind to those 30 and 40 year old K frames...

i reccomend, from experiance with this partcular bullet, 13 grains 2400, for a beginning load in the K frame. Go as high as 14 grains. This is mild in pressures, but will not batter your gun into next week, if you fire a steady diet of them. If you are firing just a box per year, jjgo as high as 15 grains 2400. A jacketed bullet  can take a heavier charge than a lead bullet, as  the base on a jacketed bullet does not swage up to fill the grooves, and has less friction going down the bore. Does not make sense to someone that has pushed both through a bore, but testing has proved it over and over. This is with a Rem standard pistol primer.

Appreciate the guidance, gunsmith. I will definitely give this load a try.

How did the load work out for you? I know it is stout, but it is a MAGNUM. What the loads you are making are the real deal, not lawyerized phoneys. Some fools will tell you that 2400 powder is different today than it was in Elmers day. Yes, it burns SLOWER. That means Elmers loads are that much safer in the guns. No company is going to make the powder burn FASTER, and get sued by someone that loaded ammo to a certain spec, and the gun blew up, because of there manufacturing process. The loads for the following cartridges are the best.
38 special plus p load.    13.5 grains 2400  158 grain bullet regular primer
357 magnum                     15 grains 2400    158 grain bullet   regular primer
44 special Plus P load       17 grains 2400   250 grain Keith bullet   regular primer
44 magnum                          22 grains 2400   250 grain Keith bullet   regular primer
 
Elmer had other loads for the 32-20, 32 long, and others but these have been my favorite for many years. All have done everything I ever asked them to do. All my guns are in one peice when I loaded properly, and they all function well. Many thousands of rounds were fired, and short and long range, and I never missed because of the bullet or load. Just the nut behind the stocks is loose sometimes.
 

Remember our recent posts on 2400, scan down through here where I verify 2400 is the same as it always has been . Chris
http://www.sixgun-forums.com/ElmerKeith/node/71

Thanks, gunsmith. I like stout. I'm going to the range tomorrow and I will make a report afterwards. Tonight I loaded 13.5 gr. of 2400 in .357 cases,  and that 158 gr. XTP seemed to fill up the rest of the case. Looked to me like 15 gr. might be slightly compressed. But I loaded up before I saw your last post. Anyway, tomorrow I'll run some through an as-new 66-2 and chrono the load as well. 

Shot 50 rounds of the 13.5 gr. 2400 / 158 gr. XTP at the range. Done up in .357 mag cases. From my elbows at the bench, and with my eyes, slightly above 2" circular groups at 15 yards. Then I shifted to shooting at small rocks at 40 yards (the limit of the pistol bay layout). Didn't have that nasty sharp crack I've gotten out of my 19 gr. H110 / 140 gr. XTP load. Very pleasant shooting and I had to stop myself from shooting the other 50.  Now I don't know why I did. Anyway, chronographed at approximately 1100 fps out of a 4" S&W Model 66.  Think next time I'll bump to 14 gr.
 
Now, gunsmith, you say you've shot many 15 gr. 2400 loads with never a problem. I'll keep that as an upper limit in my experimentation with a K-frame load. For my purposes,  for general outdoor use in a fairly light packin' pistol, it's hard to imagine why I'd need more than, say 1150 or 1200 fps out of a 4". I'd even say 1100 fps,  but the way my mind works,  1100 was so pleasant here,  I kinda want to bump it up.

Glad you are working up some good loads Keith. It's hard to beat a proven powder like 2400. Chris

Thanks, Chris. It's always fun. I actually think I may stick with the 1100 fps .357 load above.
 

Well, here is my two cents worth. Used to shoot the 357 a lot, but when the 44 Mag came along I sold em all. The most accurate/best shooting load for anything was. Mr. Keith's 168 gr. semi wadcutter bullet and 13.5 grs of 2400 powder. This long bullet is more accurate than anything else I ever tried, so after I discovered it, I shot nothing else. Always agreed with Mr. Keith on the subject of. Get one good load for your gun and you know where it hits and where to aim. Don't change something that works.