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Anyone reloading .357? & for what purpose?

saltydude

saltydude

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Just wondering if anyone out there is reloading .357 mag. I have a good amount of once fired, high quality brass & nickel.
I thought about loading them up but I just can't think of a use for them other than bowling pins or home defence.
The reason I havn't over all these years I guess is because I don't care for the muzzle climb when it comes to bowling pins so I reach for the .45. When it comes to home defence I have factory ammo I'd preferto use.
What are you guys doing?
 
Im starting to load .357 for my Python, cause heck, its just more fun than shooting .38's. The brass is hard to come by and factory ammo is very expensive, I wish I had saved my brass through out the years.
 
I cast and load primarily to punch holes in paper..... I find it a fun (and cheap) round to shoot......[smile]
 
Load it up as practice ammo. .357 is one of those calibers that is cheaper to reload by an order of magnitude over shooting even the cheapest factory ammo.
 
But what makes it any cheaper than .38? I got a bucket of .38 brass. I can load that up for practice. Make em hot if I want. I wont have to adjust all my dies & the shorter length allows for easyer cylinder loading/extraction.
I'm just trying to find a good use. I like Knuckle draggers idea of reloading it for a lever action rife. Makes me want one!
 
saltydude said:
But what makes it any cheaper than .38? I got a bucket of .38 brass. I can load that up for practice. Make em hot if I want. I wont have to adjust all my dies & the shorter length allows for easyer cylinder loading/extraction.
Click to expand...

It's only infinitesimally more expensive to load than equal velocity .38 (maybe .2gr extra powder per load). I can think of two reasons why it's better:

The cylinder is easier to clean if you shoot .357 instead of .38, and the accuracy should be better because there's no free bore jump with the .357. I say 'should' because I can't tell the difference, YRMV.

I load it mostly for my slide-action rifle. For revolvers, I probably load 10 .38's for every one .357.

Also, as hot as you can load .38, you're not going to beat a .357, and sometimes you just gotta air it out.
 
Saltydude, if you decide not to use it I'll take that brass off your hands, or trade it for .45 or .223 brass if you need it. I love shooting my .357 (pins and plinking) but I'm painfully low on brass, and as was mentioned above, it's G*d awful expensive to buy factory .357.

wiskie762 said:
She wants to go with me.
Click to expand...

"Peeeeeew" and over his head it goes...
 
I reload as much as possible..I just started up again after a long time off... I'm looking for .357, 9mm, .223 and .38

Please let me know if anyone has any
 
Thanks for the imput

Thanks for the imput guys.[grin] You got me thinking of some uses for this.
When I say I got a bunch, I'm only talking like 5-600Pcs. Just enough to do a good run.
I could load it hot, put the comp back on the S&W-627, mount a spare C-more I have & try it on pins open class. Also it would be nice to have a small supply of good ol fashioned barn burners on hand for carry/home defence.
Or load it lighter & use it for PPC (witch I almost never shoot anymore).
Another reason why I hav'nt used it is cause 1/2 of it's nickle. I like to put a good crimp on strait wall cases like .357 & I've found the nickle doesn't like to be belled & crimped over & over like softer brass.
So thats the plan I guess: Load most of em up hot. Use them when my .45 pin loads run out or carry/ protection. The nickle is nice for long term storage & handling.
I used to use W231 for this & its a better slower propellant for this application but I only have titegroup (witch isn't so bad cause it's less position sensitive). So I'm thinking 5 grains with a 158GR copper plated round nose. I'll check the loading data.
 
I use Speer's 158 LSWCHP on top of 14 gr 1400. It feels like you're shooting a 357, they're plenty accurate, and the dry lube works well. Cleanup is easy with minimal leading. The pressure level is still well under the max; cases almost fall out of the cylinder after firing.

This load doubles as a target load and a self defense load.
 
From a pure cost basis, the .38 Special is the economy winner. For light target loads, ie a HBWC with a miniscule charge of powder, it's hard to beat, for sure. A similar load in the .357 brass isn't much different. If you are prone to fouling your cylinder chambers, perhaps you'd see a benefit by starting with the longer .357 loads and switching to shorter .38s as things foul up, but that's not an overly pronounced problem that I can tell.

Generally, I'll load .357 Magnum brass with plinking fodder and load them lighter than full-strength. Usually done because I have the .357 brass readily available when reloading. If I cast or acquire anything in .358" (BBWC, SWC, RNFP or other style), it can be used just as easily in .357 brass as in .38 Special brass. Powder charges will be fractionally higher than the .38, but you can push them harder and still keep it tame.

One extra benefit is the capability of using a 180/200 grain bullet. Even these heavyweights don't have to be loaded to maximum, but you have published data for them in .357; out of luck for .38 Special loadings.
 
NavelOfficer said:
From a pure cost basis, the .38 Special is the economy winner. For light target loads, ie a HBWC with a miniscule charge of powder, it's hard to beat, for sure. A similar load in the .357 brass isn't much different. If you are prone to fouling your cylinder chambers, perhaps you'd see a benefit by starting with the longer .357 loads and switching to shorter .38s as things foul up, but that's not an overly pronounced problem that I can tell.

Generally, I'll load .357 Magnum brass with plinking fodder and load them lighter than full-strength. Usually done because I have the .357 brass readily available when reloading. If I cast or acquire anything in .358" (BBWC, SWC, RNFP or other style), it can be used just as easily in .357 brass as in .38 Special brass. Powder charges will be fractionally higher than the .38, but you can push them harder and still keep it tame.

One extra benefit is the capability of using a 180/200 grain bullet. Even these heavyweights don't have to be loaded to maximum, but you have published data for them in .357; out of luck for .38 Special loadings.
Click to expand...

Great post. Welcome to the forum.
 
I probably should have started the thred by saying I'm primarily a action shooter. Shooting paper makes up about 2% of my shooting. For me it's really just for testing & sighting in, so accuracy is not the first priorety.
I understand that fouling from useing .38's can be a real pain in the A, but in action shooting, speed is everything & I can't be fiddling around with moon clips & cigarette length cartridges.
Thanks again for the input.
 
It's not cheaper than the .38. You can use the same bullets powders and primers as the .38 and make up some mild loads. In theory loads in .357 brass should be more accurate in a .357 than loads in .38 brass because the bullet doesn't have to jump so far to reach the rifling. I'm not good enough to tell the difference. The only advantage I can see is that you don't get that build up of crud in the front of the chambers if you load in .357 brass.
 
If .357 mag is what you carry for PD, then you should be practicing with it. A quality 125gr HP over 14gr of 2400 is a stout load that will stop any bad guy in a hurry. 158gr JSP over 14.5 gr of 2400 is a great deep woods protection load, and will hunt deer out to 100-125 yards with no problem. This is a pretty hot load for a revolver, so make it something built strong (like a Ruger Blackhawk), and with longer barrel lengths for top velocity. This would also (obviously) be a great load for a lever gun for similar uses. This load from a 20" barrel would be driven to a whopping (by pistol caliber standards) 1650fps.
 
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I Load .357's with different load data for different guns.
I have a special load just for my Python and some other loads tailored for other guns.
I shoot .357 from both rifles and revolvers, and I have a Browning B-92 that only shoots .357's because it won't cycle reliably with the shorter .38's.
 
and the accuracy should be better because there's no free bore jump with the .357.
Click to expand...
This

I use a .357 (S&W 66)for bullseye and a .357 in a gun chambered for .357 is more accurate.
 
I load 357 for plinking, mostly. It's cut the cost of bullets down massively. As much as you can plink with the 357. I'm probably loading more 357 because I have a lot more 357 brass than 38 brass, oddly enough. A friend of mine has a 38 spl revolver he carries, and I reload stuff for him one in a while, mainly wadcutters.

I'm using Bullseye to reload, so it tends to leave a fair amount of residue behind, but I'm no stranger to cleaning guns.
 
First i I reload .357 to save money It cost me about $7 dollars for 50 reloads compared to $35 or so for factory loads. Reloads are allot more accurate once you tailor a round to your gun I have worked out two different loads for my Vaquero and my Smith 686. Third if you work up your loads and know what to watch for in the signs of over pressure you can load some real nasty 357's.
 
I haven't run the press in over a year. But, I discovered some 125 grain JHP's I didn't know I had, and I was out of .357's. So, I bought some 2400 and found the best load was 16.5 grains with a magnum primer. Nice little load out of my M&P 340.
 

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