What powder for 357 rifle

I’m a fan of Unique for both .38 and .357, there is scads of load data for this powder in those cartridges in just about any bullet weight and style imaginable.

Check load manuals for the bullet style and weight you want to shoot. I will say finish your loads with a decent roll crimp to prevent setback under spring pressure in the tubular magazine.

HP-38 also loads well. Again, check the manuals for the bullets you want to load and you’ll be ok.

You’ll have no trouble firing HP-38 and Unique loads with standard primers.

Stay safe.

I use Power Pistol with 125 gr JHP and BE-86 with coated 140 gr cast. Both shoot very well out of my 16" rifle.

Most reloaders don't consider a .357 case as a 'large case'. Lots of Titegroup ...and I mean LOTS..has been shot by cowboy shooters in .45 caliber cases, it will work great in your .357's and .38's. you don't need Magnum powered loads in your carbine all the time, depending on the use and need., Std. primers will be fine with almost all powders.

What powder you use depends upon what purpose your load will be put to. If you want to just bust bunnies or make holes in paper then a medium burn powder like Unique, AA5, W231 etc with 125gr jacketed, copper plated, or 158gr lead works fine in both .38 spl and .357 mag. A 158gr Cast LSWC on top of 4.7 grs of W231 that leaves a 4" S&W 67 at 879 fps does 1,101 fps from my IMI Timberwolf .357 mag with 16.5" barrel.
If you want to use the rifle for a dear gun then a slow powder will be the best choice sine it will send the bullet out the muzzle with the fastest velocity. I have used H110, W296, 2400, AA9 for best velocities from the .357 mag. All of these will produce similar velocities with 158 gr bullets. The 1,240 fps velocity from a 4" handgun gets about a 300 fps gain out of my .357 rifle.

Hp 38 , Unique ,2400 and may others.

Why people use a super fast powders like TG in a large magnum case is beyond me, (yes lots of people do as it's "cheap')
But that debate has been beat over and over.

When asking about powders you're really not going to find the "best" powder by asking because most reloaded will tell you what they like, not what you need.

The best powder depends on what you want to do. IMO if you don't need a heavy .357 Magnum for the job shoots .38 Special instead. While H110/W296 is probably best for full power ammo and will benefit from the longer barrel there are others that download well. AA#9 and 2400 are 2 of them and there are others which are faster. Pick your powder depending on the need and the job.

For powder puff loads in my .357 carbines, I like Unique. Because of it's versatility, it also works well for use in most every other handgun caliber I load for. Since it is not position sensitive, regardless of case fill, Titegroup should work in your carbine. Like most other handloads, how well it performs in your firearm, only way to find out, is to try it.

Although I don't have experience with HS-6, it's burn rate puts it in the league of Unique, which is always a good thing...

My rule of thumb has always been Unique for standard loads, 2400 or IMR4227 for higher velocity... and, of course H110/W296 for maximum velocity. For the 20" barrel on my .41 1894, probably 80% of the loads fired in it are IMR4227, the rest Unique, neither of which require magnum primers. In my specific case, I don't load H110 very often, I just don't need too. In a carbine barrel, I don't know that I would want to go much faster than Unique, but that is just my personal preference, not based on experience.

I'd use the same powders I use in my revolvers. Trail Boss for plinkers, Unique for mid-power, and 2400 for magnum loads.

H110 and Lil'Gun for the hot loads. They work with SPM primers
Longshot for something less. Works fine with SP primers.
Less than that, BE-86.
Titegroup if you're trying to be frugal.

I've had some impressive results with Lil'Gun and my 1894C.

I would just start with the load data. Fortunately, Hodgdon has rifle load data specifically for 357 Magnum. http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

For just plinker loads, any powder listed with data will be ok. We don't know intended bullet weight so always reference the published data. Titegroup will work (for the bullet weights listed), but if I were loading, I'd want medium to performance pistol powders, like Unique, Universal, up to Power Pistol, HS6 etc.

Standard pistol primers are good for fast, medium, and performance handgun powders. The only 357 mag application where SPM's are required is with slow, hard to light powders, like H110, LilGun.

If you choose to use what you have and go the Titegroup route, just be careful to inspect all the charged cases before seating. It would be possible to double charge with small charges of fast burning powder in 357mag.

ArchAngelCD said:

AA#9

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So far my experience with H110 is that it likes near max charge for good velocity, but more importantly, good accuracy.

AA#9 can rev magnum cartridges up pretty fast too, almost to the same levels of H110. Does it present better accuracy when downloaded in comparison to H110?

My use of it in 10mm auto indicates it may be a better choice than H110 if not loading to max charges.

That being said, Accurate powders are a pleasure to work with, and I'd be interested to know what you could do with Accurate #7.

I use AA#5 for 38 Special +p

cougar1717 said:

I would just start with the load data. Fortunately, Hodgdon has rifle load data specifically for 357 Magnum

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The data posted by Hodgdon for the .357 Magnum for rifles and handguns is identical but for the reported velocities generated from the longer barrel. There is no real benefit from using the rifle data.

460Shooter said:

AA#9 can rev magnum cartridges up pretty fast too, almost to the same levels of H110. Does it present better accuracy when downloaded in comparison to H110?

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It has in my experience. Unlike H110/W296 AA#9 is not erratic when lighter charges are used.

460Shooter said:

I use AA#5 for 38 Special +

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I agree, AA#5 is a good choice in the .38 Special +P and AA#2 works very well in standard pressure and target loads for the .38 Special too.

I have been shooting a lot of .38/.357 over the last couple years in revolvers and more recently a single shot Henry rifle. It's just a cheap and fun caliber to target shoot with. I've settled on HP-38 for soft loads, either Unique or HS-6 for heavy .38 or ".357 mid" loads, and H110 for full power. Still deciding between HS-6 and Unique for that role, may also give BE86 a try in that role. I do use magnum primers in the .357 for all loads simply because the data I'm using was developed with them and they aren't any more expensive than standard SP.

I shoot mostly .38 cases with the lighter loads using cast bullets from 125-158 grains, saving the .357 cases for heavier loads with jacketed or hard cast.

One problem with 357mag is that many of the faster burning powders (Trailboss excluded) don’t come anywhere near filling the 357mag case with max charges. Some powders are case position sensitive, such that the powder being at the front or rear of the case at the time the primer ignites can cause a huge difference in velocity (I have witnessed as much a s300fps difference). One powder I have tried that works well for mid-range velocity and is not position sensitive is BE86.

For full-tilt-boogey loads in my 16” rifle, though, I like 300MP.

I use Titegroup for 357 magnum rifle. I use regular small pistol primers.
I use 7.1 grains with Montana Gold 125 grain HP bullets. I shoot them out of an IMI Timberwolf rifle and I have shot them out of 20 inch carbine Winchester 94AE and 16 inch Trapper Winchester 94AE. I do not shoot the Winchesters anymore because they are not being made anymore and the replacement costs for these rifles are sky high now. I view these rifles as collectibles. The IMI Timberwolf is even more rare, and more expensive to replace, but alas, I have a spare of that one! So, I shoot the Timberwolf. My reason for using the lighter loads compared to the more powerful powder/loads in published data is that I see no need to unnecessarily stress the barrel and mechanism of the rifle. I shoot the rifle a lot, often, and do not want to shoot it out prematurely.

If I was using a rifle that is easily and relatively inexpensively replaced, I'd definitely shoot 357 loads that are closer to or equal to factory ammo.

I've also shot 38+P loads (5.5 grains of Titegroup with 38 Special cases and the MG 125 grain HP bullets, SPP primers) from the Timberwolf, and of course thousands of factory 38 specials. I can say that the Winchester 94AE's do not cycle and feed the 38's nearly as perfectly as they cycle and feed the 357's. Some of the Winchesters, like the re-issued (modern era) model 92s do not cycle and feed the 38's at all. One thing I like about the MG 125 HP bullets is that using the cannalure groove for crimping, these give a longer COAL than most bullets for 38/357 that I have seen out there, and that longer case length aids the cycle and feeding. In the Timberwolf, the 38's load and cycle fine, for the most part. The 357's cycle and feed without any trouble at all.

I use H110 for all .357 loads.

If I want .38 loads, I use .38 cases and data.

The Hodgdon on-line data mentions both HS-6 and HP-38 for use with a Hornaday 158 grain XTP for mid-range loads and also for lighter 158 grain LSWC cast bullet loads.
Universal is also listed for both bullets, so I would assume that they would all serve well.
As would Alliant Unique or 2400.

Steve C said:

What powder you use depends upon what purpose your load will be put to. If you want to just bust bunnies or make holes in paper then a medium burn powder like Unique, AA5, W231 etc with 125gr jacketed, copper plated, or 158gr lead works fine in both .38 spl and .357 mag. A 158gr Cast LSWC on top of 4.7 grs of W231 that leaves a 4" S&W 67 at 879 fps does 1,101 fps from my IMI Timberwolf .357 mag with 16.5" barrel.
If you want to use the rifle for a dear gun then a slow powder will be the best choice sine it will send the bullet out the muzzle with the fastest velocity. I have used H110, W296, 2400, AA9 for best velocities from the .357 mag. All of these will produce similar velocities with 158 gr bullets. The 1,240 fps velocity from a 4" handgun gets about a 300 fps gain out of my .357 rifle.

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Semiwadcutters don't run in my rifle, hanging up on the bullet's leading band. I think it is common to favor TCFP. I use 158 from Penn to limit velocity. The rifle likes 357 brass.

I use hodgdon universal for all my cast plinking loads.

I'm not concerned about 5grns of powder in a 357 case.

I found that my marlin feed 357's much better than 38spl, and I'm now loading subsonic rounds for my suppressor, AND I'm using up some old powder I have. currently using 4.8grn of win 231 for about 1000fps under a 125grn cast lead bullet. I've used a few other powders in the 4.5-5.5grn range and they have all worked. NOT to say ANY powder will work with 4.5 grns, use the data, but if it calls for 5 grains, it will work.