Outstanding .357 & 38 special loads 👌

[9mmMaster]

So I thought we could share Good .357 and 38 special loads.
I am thinking of hand loads but if you have a favorite factory load that's cool to.

Try to enclude the use of the load & the gun that likes it.

PS always confirm with published factory data!!!

[9mmMaster]

Just found a super accurate load for GP 100 match champion 4"

Hornady XTP 125 Gr
Speer .357 brass
CCI 500
15.7 gr of 2400
Loaded to factory COL for 125 gr XTP

Shot .75inch 4 shot group @ 25 yards
GOD is good.

See Alliant recipe  on website max load is 17.5 gr of 2400
Tried that and didn't get it to shoot as well and 15.7 gr has plenty of power.

[Carl]

For 38 Special I use

 158 gr lead SWC cast  3.2 grains of HP38 or WW231 non magnum small pistol primer (RP )  Range and general mid range pistol or carbine
   Same load for 148 wadcutter or hollow base wadcutter.

 125 grain Rem. Jacketed hollow point or soft point 5.2 grains HP38 or WW231 with RP small pistol (non magnum )primer My carry ammo for
snubby revolver to 6 inch revolver and Leaver carbines.

For 357 Mag I use

125 Gr RP JSP/JHP with small Magnum primer 16.5 gr of 2400  Great in 4 inch rev. to 15 in Leaver gun carry ammo and hunting

125 gr RP  JSP/JHP RP small pistol (non magnum) 7.2 Gr HP38 or WW231  good for short BBL magnum pistol and leaver carbines

158 Gr RP JSP/JHP  RP Small Pistol Magnum primer 13.5 gr 2400  best in carbine and 6 inch plus revolver

158 Gr RP JSP/JHP  RP Small Pistol NON-Magnum primer 6.2 Gr HP38 or WW231  good mid range carry and hunting load


HP38 and WW231 are the SAME POWDER and are consistent ,FAST powders and I find velocity spread more consistent than 2400 ,
and much more economical as I have loaded many thousands of the loads on progressive loaders .

Make sure of your load as I am not loading for you and YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. The loads above have been used for over 25 years
by hundreds of shooters on range and as carry and hunting ammo.
 

[archer]

I've been collecting the equipment to reload, thanks for the recipes.. now i just need to figure out how to do it.

[Carl]

I've been collecting the equipment to reload, thanks for the recipes.. now i just need to figure out how to do it.

I started with a LEE LOADER that used a hammer and tools. A small,single stage press is a good start like RCBS  is my choice.
I progressed to Dillon 550B and the Dillon 1050 to FIVE AMMOLOAD electric drive machines at 3 to 5 thousand rounds per hour AND 4 Dillon 1050's
with 2 Dillon 1000's for .223 and 44 special.I used home cement mixers (THREE) for brass cleaning with air blast type polish media and a bit of mineral spirits for better bite and less dust.

  BUT you do one step at a time and the process is the same RESIZE/DEPRIME , PRIME, POWDER and Bell cart.,BULLET SEAT/taper or roll crimp,
INSPECT.

Read some of STEVES PAGES to get started...  http://stevespages.com/page8.htm

[CPT Morgan]

I started with a LEE LOADER that used a hammer and tools. A small,single stage press is a good start like RCBS  is my choice.
I progressed to Dillon 550B and the Dillon 1050 to FIVE AMMOLOAD electric drive machines at 3 to 5 thousand rounds per hour AND 4 Dillon 1050's
with 2 Dillon 1000's for .223 and 44 special.I used home cement mixers (THREE) for brass cleaning with air blast type polish media and a bit of mineral spirits for better bite and less dust.

Based on a REAL pro's examples ^^^^ I made a good choice to go with the Dillon 550B then?  I bought it years ago and am just about ready to finally use it, as my reloading room is nearly finished.  Will be finished by mid summer. 

I mainly bought the Dillon because I wanted something to efficiently load everything from pistol, to .223, to hunting loads.  But my brother has a single stage press (the RCBS Rock Chucker) and says I should have got something like that to more accurately load the hunting rounds.

[Carl]

CPT Morgan You made a good choice as the 55B is manually advanced and your biggest problem can come from DOUBLE CHARGING the case ,so ALWAYS ADVANCE THE SHELLHOLDER or remove and dump the charged shell before you get into trouble..

USE YOUR HEAD and that Dillon 550 will be a family heirloom as they are a lifetime machine 
(get some extra decap pins,though finishing nails work in a pinch)

[9mmMaster]

.357 load 158 gr Copper plated Xtreme
6.1 gr 700x
Federal SP


My older 6" GP 100 loved this load. But my new GP 100 match Champion not so much

[9mmMaster]

Soft shooting .38 special load.

148 gr Cast Lead or Copper Plated
2.5 gr 700X
Win SP primer
Load to COL for bullet shape.

Published in Lyman Data

Great load for me shooters or practice with a Snubbie very low recoil.

[Smurf Hunter]

I've been collecting the equipment to reload, thanks for the recipes.. now i just need to figure out how to do it.

Pistol reloading, esp. revolver cartridges are some of the easiest.

Maybe we should have a local meet up and do a hands-on clinic some time.  I can also demo bullet casting basics if there's interest.

[CPT Morgan]

CPT Morgan You made a good choice as the 55B is manually advanced and your biggest problem can come from DOUBLE CHARGING the case ,so ALWAYS ADVANCE THE SHELLHOLDER or remove and dump the charged shell before you get into trouble..

USE YOUR HEAD and that Dillon 550 will be a family heirloom as they are a lifetime machine 
(get some extra decap pins,though finishing nails work in a pinch)

Thanks Carl

[Smurf Hunter]

.357 load 158 gr Copper plated Xtreme
6.1 gr 700x
Federal SP


My older 6" GP 100 loved this load. But my new GP 100 match Champion not so much

Can you elaborate?

Is it the charge and/or the bullet?

I also have a 6" GP100.  I had good success with 158gr jacketed soft tips with a similar charge.

[archer]

Pistol reloading, esp. revolver cartridges are some of the easiest.

Maybe we should have a local meet up and do a hands-on clinic some time.  I can also demo bullet casting basics if there's interest.

that would be cool. a friend gave me a rcbs rs-3 press

[16onRockandRoll]

For accuracy, I love HBWC. I load them for my Bill Davis S&W model 10 and my 66-1. If I recall, it's 2.7gr of Bullseye. Great accuracy load and really cheap. The only real drawback is they are hard to speedload/speedstrip for combat practice.

[9mmMaster]

Nice I used to cast my own lead
However I don't like the constant lead exposure
During loading firing and especially cleaning
So I switched to copper plated

Does anyone know of a hollow based wad cutter or semi wad cutter in copper plated that would be great.

[Carl]

Nice I used to cast my own lead
However I don't like the constant lead exposure
During loading firing and especially cleaning
So I switched to copper plated

Does anyone know of a hollow based wad cutter or semi wad cutter in copper plated that would be great.

But what you probably don't know is the lead that can effect you is from the priming compound,LEAD STYPHNATE from the primer ,
when fired is in a dust cloud and you breath it in...the sweet taste in your mouth. The coated/plated/jacketed bullets are mostly
for better velocity and barrel leading,but unless you INGEST CHUNKS OF LEAD by eating or breathing, or AD caused direct ingestion
you are more effected by your cell phone radiation.

I am not saying don't worry about it,respect it , but the problem with lead is mostly NOT THE PROJECTILE (except for the AD/direct insertion method)

[9mmMaster]

Just an FYI

Xtreme makes copper plated 148 grain wad cutters

So if your looking for a way to load those legendary .38 target loads or a good small game load without all the lead there you go.

They also make 158gr semi wad cutters copper plated

Been using Xtreme for years just found out so thought ide pass it on

[NWPilgrim]

Berry's also make a hollow base wad cutter:  https://www.berrysmfg.com/item/bp-38-357-148gr-hbwc

There is a big difference between loading handgun and plinking .223 ammo, and target rifle ammo.  For the target rifle ammo I end up using my turret press as a single stage due to all the case prep/inspection steps I do.  Most handgun ammo does not require much case prepping and the pressures are low enough you can just shoot them until the case mouth splits.  As was noted above, with any turret or progressive press, you have to be super diligent on the double charge or no charge (not an issue really for semi-autos but in a revolver you can end up with a blocked barrel and shoot again before realizing it.)

Carl, that it is awesome set up. I can't imagine how much it costs to process  that much ammo!  One of your batches probably is several  years of my shooting and reloading.   Very cool!  I loaded for 20 years on a single stage and then upgraded to a turret and that was pretty spiffy for me. A single Dillon 1050 would be amazing, let alone your electric drive machines.

[Carl]

NWPILGRIM while the equipment was impressive ,my hobby was spoiled when it became a job as I had to produce 25 thousand rounds of ammo per day to pay for materials and payroll. Though I could often do 150 thousand rounds a week ...I was the labor in all positions,except final inspection and packaging to insure consistency. And all I have to show for it now is just A lot (edited for security) of loaded ammo ,stored in my BOL.

[archer]

125 grain Rem. Jacketed hollow point or soft point 5.2 grains HP38 or WW231 with RP small pistol (non magnum )primer My carry ammo for
snubby revolver to 6 inch revolver and Leaver carbines.

5.2 grains?

[Carl]

5.2 grains?

YES. and it is no where near maximum...HP38 and WW231 are the same powder and made by Olin...

http://stevespages.com/357p_7_125.html

5.2  Grains is a great,consistent and potentially accurate load , I use for daily carry and ,in my leaver guns as small to medium game loads...I have loaded many hundreds of thousands of this load for local LEO and as range loads while I worked for many years at our local range.

5.8 Grains  with 125 JHP is about Max for 38 special +P+  but my 5.2 is about as much as I would suggest...

Why do you ask,maybe I can offer assistance?

[archer]

YES. and it is no where near maximum...HP38 and WW231 are the same powder and made by Olin...

http://stevespages.com/357p_7_125.html

5.2  Grains is a great,consistent and potentially accurate load , I use for daily carry and ,in my leaver guns as small to medium game loads...I have loaded many hundreds of thousands of this load for local LEO and as range loads while I worked for many years at our local range.

5.8 Grains  with 125 JHP is about Max for 38 special +P+  but my 5.2 is about as much as I would suggest...

Why do you ask,maybe I can offer assistance?

I have a  bottle of HP-38 and it says for 38 to use 3.7 grs. I am right now being overly cautious as I get the process down smooth. I'll ask you questions on reloading 30-30 later once i get the time to do some more.

[archer]

thx for the link...

[Carl]

thx for the link...

Steves pages is a great 'go to' and when you see .357 on that page...don't panic...it is the bullet diameter and not cartridge caliber

[archer]

ahhh. i know now what i was thinking. I thought that was for .38 not .357. duh. need more coffee. good thing i am not reloading today.

[Carl]

I have a  bottle of HP-38 and it says for 38 to use 3.7 grs. I am right now being overly cautious as I get the process down smooth. I'll ask you questions on reloading 30-30 later once i get the time to do some more.

3.7 is a good ,low velocity load and still adequate for self defence and medium game in a carbine...I used 3.2 grains with a 158 SWC cast for security guard training rounds and it was low recoil but effective enough for self defence ,if the need arose...the ladies class liked it also as it was not so loud and intimidating. My 5.2 gr load is what I settled on as great in all my firearms ,though a biy of a 'bark' when used in snub revolvers...well within pressures though.

[Carl]

ahhh. i know now what i was thinking. I thought that was for .38 not .357. duh. need more coffee. good thing i am not reloading today.

NO,it is for 38 caliber ,but the projectile is .357 diameter ...the .357 cartridge load data is on the other page

Here is data for 357 magnum .(5.0 to 8.5 grains HP38)..don't load this in your .38

http://stevespages.com/357p_4_125.html