Loading .357

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0ne3

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I have a Ruger Blackhawk with a 6.5 barrel. I want to target shoot and plink with. I want to use Hornady XTP 158 jacked hollow points, Because these seem to be the easyest to get. what powder and primer would you guys recomend? Thanks in advance.
 
Whilst I'm very new to reloading, and have only made up about 250 cartridges of .357 so far I do have a few thoughts that may be helpful.

Polymer coated lead bullets can be bought in bulk, seem to work well, and are an inexpensive option. I'm sure there are a number of manufacturers, but I'm currently using a 158gr SWC from SNS Casting.

I'm not going to recommend any powders or primers because I feel unqualified to make such a recommendation. However, I did recently ask a lot of questions about starting to reload .357 and was given a lot of good advice on that thread. I'm sure it would be easy to find.
 
I recommend you find a good .38 +P load.

There is no need to go to full-power magnum loads for target shooting and plinking.

We are fortunate to have a dozen good pistol powders available for the .38/.357 round. I've used WW 231 for years.
 
I personally like W231/HP38 and 700X.I have had great luck with either of them.

Good Luck
Dan
 
Many powders will give you good loads in the .357 but which to use depends on what you want to do.

I like HS-6 for midrange loads and W231 for light loads.

For "real" magnum loads the powders are many. They include AA#9, 2400, W296/H110, Enforcer 4227 and probably a few others including VV powders that i know nothing about.

I use nothing but CCI-550 primers with W296/H110 and HS-6 but 2400 and AA#9 don't need them. I like W296 best for full power loads and 2400 or AA#9 for less than full power loads since they have a wider range of charge weights.

I hope this helps. Just ask if I missed anything.
 
If you like thunder and lighting, try Hornady 125g XTP over a max or near max load of 2400 using standard small pistol primers. It will wake the dead and light the heavens. Be sure to cautiously work up the load.
 
I load plated 158gn bullets with BE86 for a stout plinking load. They are certainly not magnum velocity, about 150fps slower, but still a good stout load at the max charge. BE86 has had the most consistent velocity and low standard deviations for me, and does not seem to be position sensitive in the large cases. If you want really soft loads, try Trailboss powder.
 
Shooting jacketed hollow points will get expensive in a hurry for target shooting and plinking. Suggest you work up a cast bullet load for that. Partial to .38 Special WC loads using Bullseye in .357 cases myself.
 
I will put in yet another suggestion for starting with a 38 or 38+P load. I even use 38 brass. My standard target and plinking load is 3.8 grains of HP38 under a 158 grain lead or coated lead RNFP bullet with a small pistol primer all in 38 brass. Accurate in everything I own (even the lever rifle), cheap to shoot and readily available components. As a new reloader I decided to start with 38s in a 357 mag because of cost and safety. 357 is rated for far higher pressures than 38, so you have a giant margin of error as you learn the process.
 
My favorite load to shoot is 38 special with 4 grains of 700x under a 125 grain Berry's plated flat point with a S&B small pistol primer. My full power 357 magnum load is a 140 grain XTP under 18 grains of H110/Win 296 with a federal small pistol magnum primer. These shoot to the same point of aim in my ruger SP101 at 25 yards and are under max load. 38 specials are delightful to shoot in a 357 magnum revolver.
 
38 special with 4 grains of 700x under a 125 grain Berry's plated flat point
I've done that one, and I agree, a nice plinker load. You can substitute the X-Treme 125 as well. American Select and Solo 1000 are other good powder choices with that bullet.
 
I'll vote 2400 for the 357 for any 158 grain bullet

But prefer 2400 with coated 158 grain SWC'S, standard primer

Or

Unique with 158 swaged LSWC'S

Both give good groups at 25 yards
 
I too have a Ruger Blackhawk with a 6.5" barrel. I am looking to duplicate a snappy recoil with good accuracy I get with Magtech SJSP-Flat factory loads by using 158 gr SWC-NLG Coated ACME Bullets. My first attempt was 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 4.8 gr of W231 with CCI 500 primers. I was not impressed with the accuracy of any of these loads. All seemed light in recoil compared to Magtech SJSP-Flat factory loads. I could go to 5.0 gr. which is recommended max for the bullet I am using but figured an additional .2 gr. would not make that much difference and I really do not care to load max. recommended loads. I also have American Select, Bullseye, Unique, Trailboss and Titegroup. I am thinking to try Bullseye or Unique next.
 
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If you are just wanting to plink/target shoot, I'd go with a 148 gr wadcutter. I have had good success in my 6" Colt with 2.7 grains of titegroup and a CCI small pistol primer or 3.2 grains of Unique with the same primer. Good light load that is dead accurate out to at least 25 yards. If you want to go heavier, but not quite full magnum, any of the plated 158 grain bullets should work OK and you can still use Unique, Power Pistol or Titegroup and keep the pressures low. most of the plated bullets are limited to 1200 - 1250 fps. If you use Titegroup, just triple check your powder throws so you do not get a nasty surprise as it is a very dense powder and a little goes a long way. If you want full magnum loads, then 2400 would be my suggestion with some hard cast or jacketed bullets, but as mentioned, jacketed will get expensive in a hurry. If you are dead set on the Hornday XTP's (which are excellent), check their manuals for load data for that particular bullet. I am not at home at the moment or I would check my Hornady manual.
 
You asked for a good powder suggestion to use with Hornady 158 XTPs. Unlike most others here, I'm not gonna try and convince you to use something else. Actually, if you are new to reloading, I suggest sticking to jacketed bullets and keeping things simple. It's much easier to have success seating, crimping and getting accuracy from jacketed and the XTPs are some of the easiest to get accuracy from, while not breaking the bank, cost wise. I'll suggest 7.5 gr of Unique for an accurate, easy shooting plinking load with 158 jacketed. Should give you around 1000fps from your 6.5" revolver.
 
If you are just wanting to plink/target shoot, I'd go with a 148 gr wadcutter.
That works, but I prefer the X-Treme 158 Gr SWC for a light plinker in .357 brass.

3.8 Grs of WST or Competition is light, clean, and accurate. Light taper crimp.
158 Gr X-Treme SWC .357 Mag Light Load.JPG

14.5 Grs 2400 and a 158 Gr coated SWC. (Brand of your choice. I liked the SNS ones better)
Medium Roll Crimp on ACME 158 Gr SWC .357 Mag Pic 1.JPG

Use these loads at your own risk. Start low and work up.
 
I've had excellent accuracy using IMR 4227, ignited with Winchester small pistol primers pushing 158 grain jacketed bullets. The load was soft shooting and decent velocity, but it served no real purpose for me.

I actually prefer 5 grains of 231 pushing a lead semi was cutter. It's consistent at 1000fps. No magum primer needed, it's a hot .38 load really. I often use it on random critters.

For the faster stuff I love H110, and use exclusively small Winchester magnum primers. A heavy crimp is required for consistent velocities.

For your purposes I recommend led bullets, they are much cheaper and arent a problem at slower speeds.

Not what you asked about, but I think .38s are better for planking and target shooting. They materials are cheaper and easier to come across for me.
 
I only have 2 loads for my revolvers, just to keep it simple. The Ruger GP-100 6" gets 5.0 gr of bullseye with a 158 cast swc, and my Smith 67 no dash gets 2.7 gr of bullseye with a cast 148 wc. Both are accurate and easy to shoot.
 
If I'm shooting 158 XTP's, it usually means I'm hunting or practicing to hunt, so my load is 16.5grn H110/W296 - this is over Hornady 10th Edition, but below max for Hodgdon. You be the judge for whose data you trust, and work up your own loads.

For plinking, I run 125grn Rainiers over 5.0grn HP-38, or 4.0grn Bullseye under 93grn Meister LRN's in .38spcl cases.
 
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