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.38/357 powder

2K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  100968 
#1 ·
what do you like to use? I dont shoot many cast bullets, but have in the past and will in the future. Right now I am sitting on just under 1100 140g xtp's.

I currently use 6g hs6 under 140 xtp's for the .38 cases. Very mild out of a 4" 586 and it is my girlfriends favorite.

For .357 I am at 9.2g of the same hs6 under the same 140 xtps. I don't have my book in front of me for velocity numbers but will post em up when I get home.

I know I can look in a book for other powders but I am curious to hear what you all like to shoot.
 
#2 ·
38 special and 357 are 2 completely different animals. Yes what you use in the 38 special can be used in the 357 and will be relatively mild and manageable, however the 357 can be taken faster with slow powders like H110, Win 296, AA #9, 2400 and other slower pistol powders. I do shoot some mild loads in 357 (using less $ bullets) but the point in using XTP's is to get a full power 357 load to me.
 
#4 ·
I like my .357 magnum loads close to factory speeds and felt recoil. I use Hodgdon H110, and chrono test loads before settling on a specific load. I also chrono similar bullet weight factory ammo to be sure I am practicing with factory like speeds and felt recoil.

Ruger LCR .357. Sold my S&W 586, because it was boring.

I enjoy serious recoil, so I don't bother with reloading .38 SP.
 
#6 ·
I surely do not hotrod pistol loads. I look for something I enjoy shooting and will shoot consistently. I have .5 lbs of aa#5 and n310 that I will give a try. Hs6 just seems to fill my cases better and I have lots of it.

I got the xtps for a pretty good price from a guy that was getting rid of everything. I can shoot them for about the same price as I could cast and they seem to fly pretty true.

I was just curious as there are many loads and everybody seems to like something different.
 
#9 ·
Broadened my horizons today. Bought some w296 and cci 550's and will start ramping up my .357 loads to see what I can come up with. As to the light .357's, I actually need a load for my new (used 1952 chiefs special) j-frame out of a .38 special case.

Have been working with hp-38 and the 140 xtp's. i am getting pretty large es numbers, 90+ fps over 15 rounds. 740 avg, 780 high, 690 low running 4.3g hp-38. Not sure if that is normal out of the short barrel or if it just doesn't like the load. have some 158 lwc's on the way to see if a heavier bullet seated deeper helps achieve better consistency. These are running win small pistol primers and seated to book oal.

I have been chasing single digit es in my rifle so I am not sure if I am just expecting too much from the pistols or if there is actually something going haywire. I will try to update this thread as I go for anybody that is curious.
 
#10 ·
Ok so a small update. I have decided on a load for the snubbie of 4g hp-38 under a 158 falcon wadcutter. 800ish fps, they shoot pretty well but my pistol skills leave a bit to be desired. I will load the rest of the falcon bullets (about 400) with this load and see how it does long term.

For full power I loaded 5 each in star line .357 mag brass, cci mag pistol primers, 140 xtp. Started at 17g w296 and went up to 18.5 in .5 g increments. Then loaded 3 each at 18.7, 18.8 and 19. I was advised to crimp these tight, so I added about 1/8 turn to the die when crimping. There is some real horsepower in these, 29 rounds from a 4" sw 586 and I was glad they were gone. My chrono died before I could get these through so I am going to load up 100 at 18.5 g, chrono them, and keep em in a box for when I need full power.

Next step is to find a .357 load that is more fun to shoot. My smith said it is better to shoot light .357's than hot .38's so the cylinder stays cleaner and that is what I will do. I have been using 9ish grains of hs-6 but I don't have much left. I would rather shoot jacketed bullets, but really for no other reason than I don't want to deal with bare lead more than I have to.
 
#11 ·
I agree completely with uprm.

If I want a 357 magnum load, I want all I can get out of it.

If I want to plink, I'll plink with 38's.

I have a bunch of 125 gr xtp's and I can push them really hard out of my wheelgun, and from my 16" NEF Pardner, my deer hunting brush loads with it are in excess of 1850 fps. Granted that is with a 16 inch barrel, but still. I can get over 1500 fps with the same loads in my 6 inch model 66.

Using about 9.5 gr of Longshot, it's a little on the dirty side, but you gotta admit, 1850 fps in my brush gun is smoking. And the thing with the NEF Pardner barrel, even the 357 chamber is long, meaning I could easily put more powder than max and seat the bullet longer and give it a light crimp and I could get in the low to mid 1900's if I wanted to work it up. The 1850 fps was using less than max published data.
 
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