Talk me into H110/Win296 for 357mag

I have shot thousands of .357 Magnum 125 HP's in front of max loads of H-110 over the years, it is my favorite!

You'll get no help from me, but I'm a 2400 fan...

My .357 mags have 4" and shorter barrels. My favorite powders are Accurate #7,#9 and 2400.

Accurate #9 or Power Pistol for me. I read too many horror stories about WW 296.

I use W296 in .410 shot shells, 300 BLK and 357 Magnum. Have been since the 1980s (357 Magnum).

It works fine for me. Just stick to the published load ranges.

I would love to but I cant. I think that 2400 is a better all around powder than H110/296.

H110, CCI SPM primers, and Speer 158 JHP does the job for me.

I've had great luck with 296 but have no need for it as long as I can find 2400.
I'm not going to talk anyone into using anything. This is your journey

I pretty much stopped using H110 in .357Mag because there's so little load range. It shoots great, but every round is basically a full power round, with just 1 grain between start and max. I still use it in .44Mag where there's twice as much range to work with.

Almost all my .357Mag loads now are 2400, though I sometimes use a small does of a faster powder for cat-sneeze plinkers.

I like H110 for 357 mag.
I like the smell.
I tried LIL'GUN for a few years, but it does not smell as good, and blows too much power out the muzzle.
I use magnum primers.
I use a heavy crimp. [This is a MUST for reduced loads with H110].

AA#9 [Ramshot Enforcer] and 2400 are ok, but the favorite is H110/W296.

beatledog7 said:

It (W296) shoots great, but every round is basically a full power round, with just 1 grain between start and max. .

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Agreed.

When I want reduced power loads in 357 Magnum, I use another powder like Unique.

My 3 favorite powders for loading all handgun ammo are W231, W540 and W296. (HP-38, HS-6 & H110)

If you want top performance from your .357 Magnum ammo with accuracy too there is nothing like W296/H110. It is the magnum powder when you want velocity. I hear the new Power Pro 300-MP delivers even more velocity but I haven't tried it yet so I'll stick with W296. Running 16.7gr to 17.0gr W296 under a 158 JHP bullet is a monster!

I have shot thousands of .357 Magnum 125 HP's in front of max loads of H-110 over the years, it is my favorite!

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Same here. H-110's w/ 125 HP's is a great load.

My favorite is AA #9, 13.5gr behind a 158gr jacketed boolit.

If you use published book loads you will be fine with properly loaded ammunition. It is not advisable to go below published book loads with 296/h110. I routinely load 125 grain bullets with 19.4 grains of h110 and have no problems. I have used small pistol, small pistol magnum, and small rifle primers to load these rounds. I haven't blown up my pistols yet. I have used lighter loads as well as maxed out 22.0 grain loads. I just prefer to save a bit of powder and accuracy is quite good with the load I am using. Personally, I would try to find another powder such as HS6 or similar that will give you near the velocity at about half the powder charge. Powder may be hard to find for quite some time and you may choose to conserve what you can while making some noise.

First off let me say that I have been loading both the 44 mag and .357 mag with H110 / 296 for several decades, and I have never once had a problem with pressures or anything else for that matter. It's a very stable powder when it is not reduced more than 3% below minimum, not 3% below maximum as you stated. The charging range for it is easily 4-6 times what 3% of the maximum would calculate to, so you must have misunderstood the warnings, cause that doesn't calculate accordingly. With charges that broadly range 2.5 grs. to over 3 grains, it is definitely an easy powder to work with, and very forgiving, if not completely undetectable of .1 - .2 gr. deviations in charges.

My experience with it is if you make sure to use magnum primers, don't reduce the published starting charge at all, and use a firm roll crimp, it will provide you with consistent full house magnum loads that will tickle you pink.

GS

I use it with 158 gr XTPs in my 6" GP100. Works great and packs a wallop.

I love H110. You do not want to know how many pounds oh H110 I have gone through in 22 years of reloading for the .357 and .44 Magnums.

Hodgdon does a good job of making up a part number [H110], packaging it, distributing it, maintaining their old published data, and answering my emails.

The only thing I could fault them on is not having a caveat for advanced reloaders and how they successfully down load H110 to 50% loads.

But then maybe advanced reloaders don't need anyone to tell them anything.

JRWhit, I guess I'm the only one here that uses 4227, IMR or H. I've used 1 lb of H110, after that I started using IMR4227 and have not regretted it. I get about 50fps less with 4227 but accuracy is much better in 41mag, 44mag, and 45colt and as good in 357mag. Recoil is not as snappy and I don't have to buy magnum primers.

H110/W296 is a great powder for legitimate magnum loads in any caliber. Any published load you find should be safe. That said, it works best at the upper end of it's range. In books like Hornady where they start quite low, I recommend you start in the middle as performance on their low end loads is poor. Hodgdon's website data is pretty good in .357.

LOLBELL said:

JRWhit, I guess I'm the only one here that uses 4227, IMR or H. I've used 1 lb of H110, after that I started using IMR4227 and have not regretted it. I get about 50fps less with 4227 but accuracy is much better in 41mag, 44mag, and 45colt and as good in 357mag. Recoil is not as snappy and I don't have to buy magnum primers.

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I prefer IMR4227 to H110/W296 in the .460mag and in .44mag for the carbines. I still prefer H110/w296 in .357 tho and the .44 revolvers.