Trying some different types of bullets for .357

[clovishound]

Clovispup and I shoot on average 200 rounds of .38/.357 a week from my model 10 Smith, and Henry BB steel .357. We run .357 magnum through the rifle almost exclusively. I would like to standardize on a bullet for both. I like 158 grain. I like TCs and RNFP in the Henry. Being a revolver, the Smith doesn't really seem to care about profile.

I started off with Xtreme plated. I was using the TCs, which worked well enough for the Smith, although I was not as happy with the accuracy as I got with cast. I got tired of cleaning lead deposits off the frame of the Smith, so I had switched to plated prior to getting the Henry. I get better accuracy from the .357s in the Henry, likely due to higher velocities, but I have to be careful not to exceed the 1200 fps limit on the standard plated. I get excellent accuracy from Xtreme's HPs loaded over IMR 4227. Between the more expensive HPs, and the more expensive powder loading, this load runs me more than I would like to pay for target ammo. Not unwilling to pay the extra, just would like to find something nearly as accurate, but less expensive.

I have recently tried two brands of coated. I got a batch of 158 grain SWCs from Acme. They performed well over HP38, but I had too many crushed tips from the bullet going through the sizer backwards. The SWCs feed, but the RNFP are smoother, and Acme doesn't offer them. I just got a batch of RNFP coated from SNS. They feed well, were fairly accurate, but noticed a fair amount of lead particles on the patches when cleaning. These were middle load .357 magnum with HP38. Got just a small amount of leading in the Smith. Nothing on the frame. After I ordered them, I read a couple people reporting leading with loads over 1000 fps.

I like the cost and accuracy of the coated. I am hoping I can find a company that offers TCs, or RNFPs and don't seem to have leading problems up to at least 1300 or 1400 fps. I suppose I could just give up and order separate bullet types for the different weapons. Would prefer not to.

What has your experience been with coated and rifles?

[clovishound]

Anyone?

Bueller?

[White Squirrel]

Not much, at this point.

The first coated bullets I reloaded were 9mm, so didn't shoot those out of a rifle, only handguns.

I did like them, so I got a box of 158 grain to reload for .38/.357, but I had a large supply of 158 grain LRN and SWC and I haven't loaded any of the coated bullets yet.

[CT_Shooter]

What has your experience been with coated and rifles?

I've never used them, either; but, I'm watching this thread closely. I'm interested in good, inexpensive bullets, too.

Since I've been handloading, I've worked my way through 1000 ZERO 158gr JHPs and have another 2000 158 JSPs on order, though they have some serious production problems (I ordered them last July and have been waiting ever since). In the meantime, I bought 2000 ZERO 125gr JSPs, which is pretty much all I'm shooting now. I really like ZERO bullets and wish they'd ship my backorder. As soon as I get it, I'll place another order for the same quantity. The 158s cost about 11 cents each and the 125s are a dime each, but you have to buy a minimum of 1000 (shipping is free). I also have a box of Hornady 158gr LSWCs (12 cents each) that I've just started using for very low velocity loads, and I have 200 Hornady XTP 158gr JHPs left (23 cents each - ouch!) that I'm saving (for who knows what) because they were so expensive. I went through 100 of those before I bought the ZEROs.

These are the only bullets that I've tried so far; no hard cast lead, but I'm open to using them, too. I just haven't, yet.

[JEBar]

we plan to load Oregon Trail .38 Caliber 158 Grain RN FP bullets for our Henry 357 ... they shoot well in our Ruger GP100's

[CT_Shooter]

we plan to load Oregon Trail .38 Caliber 158 Grain RN FP bullets for our Henry 357 ... they shoot well in our Ruger GP100's

Thanks for sharing this, JEBar. How would the extended Henry's rifle barrel affect the velocity of your current GP100 load? Would you modify it at all? I've got lots more to learn and this is helpful. Thanks.

[JEBar]

we plan to load Oregon Trail .38 Caliber 158 Grain RN FP bullets for our Henry 357 ... they shoot well in our Ruger GP100's

Thanks for sharing this, JEBar. How would the extended Henry's rifle barrel affect the velocity of your current GP100 load? Would you modify it at all? I've got lots more to learn and this is helpful. Thanks.

can't answer those questions yet .... as noted, we know how they perform in our pistols so that is where we will start .... we will be buying our first Henry 357 in August as a birthday gift for our grandson .... he will turn 8 and will be eligible to attend NC's hunter safety course .... it will be our test rifle for which we will develop a hand load .... with our Henry 44 we were able to use the same reloads that we've been using in our Ruger Redhawk for decades .... we hope that will be true for the 357 .... once my wife shoots our grandson's 357, if she likes it, we plan to get her one that can be used on a family hunt

[sharpessword]

158 grain, .357 Coated Lead Round Nose bullets, from the Missouri Bullet Company work pretty well for me in my Henry Big Boy.
These coated bullets are in their Cowboy collection and are designed for lever action rifles. 800-x powder, shooting just shy of 1000 fps, and
these 158 grain Coated Lead Round Nose bullets will generally group at about an inch at 50 yards, with peep sights. I am still tinkering
with this load, but it is the best I have tried, to date. 800-x has grouped better for me than 2400, Unique, and Bullseye. But, it is still
early days and finding an accurate cast bullet load is always satisfying.

[JEBar]

I do have a bit of an update .... we finally got our hands on a Henry 357 at our local dealer .... he'd taken it in on trade .... bottom line, its too heavy for my wife to use .... will still get one for our grandson but will have to go a different direction for her

[PT7]

Which model .357 Henry did you handle, JEBar? I know the ones with the octagonal barrels are heavier, of course.

The Classic model (H006M) I have has a 20-inch octagonal barrel and weighs almost 8.7 lbs. If that's what you looked at, I can sure understand it being too heavy for your wife. I know the .357 Carbine (H006MR) weighs 7 lbs. as does the .357 Steel Big Boy. The Carbine has the 16" octagonal barrel, and the Steel has the 20" round barrel. Weights make sense with the different barrel lengths and configs. I also had the Steel Big Boy, and it is definitely a pleasure to handle/shoot being lighter. Those 1.7 lbs. make a difference!

Keep on keeping on. There is a Henry out there for your wife!!

I do have a bit of an update .... we finally got our hands on a Henry 357 at our local dealer .... he'd taken it in on trade .... bottom line, its too heavy for my wife to use .... will still get one for our grandson but will have to go a different direction for her

[JEBar]

I think it was a Big Boy Steel Carbine H012MR .... per their website it is supposed to weigh 6.59 lbs without ammo or scope .... at her age, my wife no longer has the upper body strength to handle it .... looking back, I should have anticipated it .... guess my want to get her it for her took over

[tx gunrunner]

My SASS/CAS loads are real pussycat and they are only 750 FPS . Remember the are loaded for FPS not accuracy . 1lbs of Unique will load 2000 rds and they shoot good too . Pistols I shoot Gunfighter that is a gun in both hand and is how I shot the target below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rX7OAawpkk

This old guy in the video is the best in gunfighter in my class .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcUpH9qqRU

[Travlin]

Looks like this type of shooting has become a reflex with you. How long have you been doing it? Very good shooting and thanks for listing the loads. If I could afford it, I think that CAS would be the most fun for the $$. I have always been attracted to single action handguns and old style lever guns. I still have an 1897 Winchester shotgun for my house gun.

[tx gunrunner]

How long have you been doing it?

If you look at my avatar my SASS number is 7720 and SASS is now over 100,000 I believe . That is over 16 yrs . I was do this before long before I was a SASS member . Here is some of my SASS guns . My shotguns for years were Stevens SS hammerless and 1897 Winc ... Now it is the 1878 Colt hammer gun . I no longer can shoot SASS/CAS for the last few years because of my health , but don't ever feel sorry me I've done it all . Now I shoot pellet and BB guns and started with now slingshots too . I have a 10 meter range in my house .

[clovishound]

Update, I was thinking this morning. I know, thinking usually gets me in trouble. Anyway, I went out to the reloading bench and loaded an SNS in an empty case then pulled the bullet with a kinetic puller. I noticed two thin lines of exposed lead. One at the canelure, and one near the base. The one in the canelure was cured by readjusting the crimp just a little lighter. I identified the line near the base as the mouth cutting into coating when starting to seat the bullet. I adjusted the expander die to a little more aggressive flare.

Both lines are gone. Had the base issue with .357 magnum setup. Readjusted for that as well. Unfortunately, I just loaded a bunch of the .38 specials at the old adjustments. Still, the .38 was only a minor issue, I was more worried about the .357 magnum. I will load up a small batch and run them when I get a chance and see if the leading goes away.

I had everything set up for plated, didn't have any issues with the first iteration of coated. Perhaps the coating on these is a little thinner, or more fragile for some reason.

Hopefully, I'm on to something.

[clovishound]

Well, ran about 40 of the SNS through today. Accuracy was good. Still had some leading. Not real bad. A couple runs through with a brush, and several patches later I quit getting any flakes on the patches. In a shorter barrel that I could easily look through the breach, I might consider living with it. In a long barrel that I cannot get a good look at the breach end of the lands, I think I will stick with something that doesn't lead. I did find some Universal, so that may give me better accuracy with the plated without jacking up the cost too much. I have some heavy plate 158 grain HPs on order. I will try them with the Universal when they come in. Maybe this will be nearly as good a combo as the HPs with IMR 4227.

[Sunkist357]

I have loaded about 1000-1500 180gr .40, 1500 9mm 124gr and 500-700 158 swc Acme Red bullets with good results. The barrels on all the guns used were easy clean-up and accuracy has been as good as I'm able to shoot. When I have a good day they are generally one hole jagged hole groups wih the occasional flyers. That's me, not the bullets. With 1000's of Missouri Bullets before that, accuracy was the same but the barrels were a mess due to the lube as much as anything else. A 16-18 Brinnel bullet dosesn't get into leading country much until you go past 1500 fps in my mind. I shoot the 158 SWC between 1000 and 1200 fps with medium burning powders. My take on it is that if the coating isn't compromised by too much crimp or scrapping during seating, thay are as clean as plated or jacketed. For any leading, especially with cast 405gr and 520 gr 45-70 rounds, I soak a patch with Ballistol, set the gun aside for awhile, after a general cleaning, and the Ballistol lifts the lead out of what otherwise looked like a clean barrel.

My first outing with a new Steel .357 20", I put over 100 Acme SWC moving at about 1100 fps thru it. (loaded with #7) I ran a Bore Snake with Ballistol on it thru the gun between the Acme and some hotter 140gr XTP partially to clean it and partially to cool everything down. By then I was getting used to the sights and trigger and was keeping everything in 3"-4" at 25 yds. I was erratic with anything slowwer than 1100fps. I'm loading the SWC up to nearly 1200fps and the 140gr XTP at just over 1400fps (These are Lyman 10 " test barrel numbers with Accurate Arms loads.) The numbers will be lower out of my GP 100's but they will be plenty stout out of revolvers. I'll let you know how these new loads do but it may not be for a couple weeks. Stay safe and shoot straight.

[ditto1958]

I don't have a .357 rifle yet. I've been shooting SWS 158 grain RNFP bullets in my Blackhawk, and I like them. I've been getting them for $39.99 for a box of 500.

A friend at the range loads 158 grain coated bullets for his Henry .357. I'll have to ask him next time I see him what brand he buys.

[CT_Shooter]

I've started using ZERO 130 gr. FMJs in .357. I like the charge I've settled on, though I would love to know what speed it has out of my Henry rifle and Uberti revolver. I don't own a chronograph, yet. I had to extrapolate a charge using pistol data for 125 and 140 grain jacketed bullets, since I couldn't find anything, anywhere for 130 grain jacketed bullets in .357. I came up with a range for Win231/HP38 that starts at 7 with a max of 8, using a magnum primer. I'm going to hold it at 7.2 grains for a while, since I only shoot paper at 25 and 75 feet and I like them in both guns.

I've just reloaded another 100 rounds that I plan to shoot tomorrow. I use a 7cc Lee dipper to measure out the powder and I only weigh a few charges along the way just to be safe, though they never vary. The dipper is absolutely consistent and with my single stage press, I find it very easy to use. It may take me an hour or so to do 100, but it's a pleasant, distraction free way to spend some time.

[Sunkist357]

There shouldn't be any real difference between the 130 and a 125gr jacketed speeds. It is close to 1400fps out of a revolver and close to 1600fps from your rifle. Lee 2nd Edition has 130 Jacketed data.