.357 Mag, Speer & Missouri Bullet Company

Are MBC bullets great?

  • Yes

    Votes: 28 71.8%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I haven't used them

    Votes: 11 28.2%

  • Total voters
    39
  • Poll closed .
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sequins

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2014
Messages
1,478
Hello friends,

I recently got into reloading and it was in large part thanks to this forum that I finally cranked the lever the first time. I've loaded quite a bit of .44 magnum, .357 magnum, and .45acp since then with very good results.

In fact, earlier today I had the joy of firing my 6" GP100 equipped with a Jack Weigand No-Drill picatinny rail to which a Vortex Viper optic is mounted. The Ruger performed excellently, as did Mr. Weigand's mount and the Vortex red dot. It's a heckuva revolver and I couldn't be more pleased with the way the optic turned out performing and the quality of the mount.

I was shooting 158gn Speer JSP Plinkers, number 4217 in the catalogue, loaded to 1.59" COAL in mixed headstamp brass over 14.5gn of Alliant 2400 with CCI 500 small pistol primers (I loaded them long because my brass was a little long). The rounds were very accurate and gave no signs of pressure despite an impressive report and muzzle blast, for 357 anyway. I've only just started using 2400 and it's a hoot in 357 & 44. The GP100 has a hogue rubber monogrip that utterly tames any recoil the weight of the GP100 doesn't absorb even at this loading which is just shy of the printed 14.8gn maximum in my Speer #14 manual. I really enjoyed the load and will hope to shoot it again soon, probably at the full 14.8gn maximum once I get some more of those rounds to load.

The batch I describe above was my first 357 magnum "max load", and at the urging of this forum I chose to pick a premier manufacturer like Speer because they produce both bullets and manuals and it's not hard to discern the appropriate load for a Speer round. Wild to mild I can see exactly what the manufacturer recommends for a desired FPS- The Speer book even tested real guns instead of a universal receiver. I naturally gravitated to such a factory round/recipe combination for my first really hot 357 loads in the interest of safely gaining loading experience.

In the interest of saving money however I've just recently bought some MBC 158gn rounds, and that bullet doesn't have any specific data. I've looked at my Lyman book and found some similar looking bullets, but they're similar not same. Across all my books I've certainly established a range of possible loads with a general upper and lower limit so I figured I could start in the middle and work my way up like usual, but just now as I prepared to start loading a workup spread I got to thinking and I figured if there is a THR discount code I doubt I'm the only one loading these bullets and I might as well ask here as I get going...

Is anyone loading MBC coated lead, specifically the 158gn MBC .357 Action! - Hi-Tek bullets? I'd love some load data! I added a poll for kicks, too.
 
I generally use lead bullet data for the coated bullets.

When I have pushed a bullet hard in a magnum caliber, I've had the best luck with jacketed bullets, but it all depends on the gun and, to some extent, the powder as well. I've found good mid-range loads with coated bullets in my 357. I was using Bayou Hitek coated 158gn SWC bullets.
 
Ive not used the .357 mbcs, ive shot quite a few .308 dia, and some .458s. I found the bullets to be well made and uniform in all aspects.
The .308s were run thru my 300aac, and i never went over about 1000fps, but had zero issues with them.
The .458s were used in my .458 Socom, and while they were accurate, they leaded up my barrel pretty well. Probably do to poor barrel/bullet fit. I gave the remainder to another member here and he reported good results from his .45-70.
 
I have used them with good success, as I have other brands. I shoot 14.5 Grs of 2400 under a coated 158 Gr SWC of another make, shoots great.

If I were to shoot that bullet at low velocity I would choose WST, Competition, Clays.........
 
The GP100 has a hogue rubber monogrip that utterly tames any recoil the weight of the GP100 doesn't absorb even at this loading which is just shy of the printed 14.8gn maximum in my Speer #14 manual.
...

In fact, earlier today I had the joy of firing my 6" GP100 equipped with a Jack Weigand No-Drill picatinny rail to which a Vortex Viper optic is mounted. The Ruger performed excellently, as did Mr. Weigand's mount and the Vortex red dot. It's a heckuva revolver and I couldn't be more pleased with the way the optic turned out performing and the quality of the mount.

I'm curious to know more about your revo. Have you had any action work done on it, what is the DA trigger like and what is the pull weight? Any issues with light strikes with CCI primers and do you using Hogue big butts? Can you describe the Weigand mount and how you have the optic mounted to it, I'm assuming that you are using a picatinny mount on the optic if so why, what is the advantage? Are you using moons or speedloaders?
 
...



I'm curious to know more about your revo. Have you had any action work done on it, what is the DA trigger like and what is the pull weight? Any issues with light strikes with CCI primers and do you using Hogue big butts? Can you describe the Weigand mount and how you have the optic mounted to it, I'm assuming that you are using a picatinny mount on the optic if so why, what is the advantage? Are you using moons or speedloaders?

I use the Weigand mini rail on my Match Champion. On occasion a Vortex Venom will replace the rear sight. Easy on, easy off. Follow the install directions. Solid, well made.
 
Can you describe the Weigand mount and how you have the optic mounted to it, I'm assuming that you are using a picatinny mount on the optic if so why,

Alchin makes a nice mini red dot mount that the dot mounts straight to. Raptor Engineering also makes one, but work is blocking that site so I can't get a link right now. I have that one for my Redhawk (Same as GP-100), but haven't mounted it yet.

Weag-a-tinny uses a rail.
 
...



I'm curious to know more about your revo. Have you had any action work done on it, what is the DA trigger like and what is the pull weight? Any issues with light strikes with CCI primers and do you using Hogue big butts? Can you describe the Weigand mount and how you have the optic mounted to it, I'm assuming that you are using a picatinny mount on the optic if so why, what is the advantage? Are you using moons or speedloaders?

Basically I removed the front and rear sight and screwed a full length picatinny rail into the top of my revolver using the existing holes from the sights. This is a no-drill conversion so I could unscrew it and put the standard sights back on no problem. I attached the vortex to that rail, standard picatinny rail mount procedure. I find the red dot greatly improved casual accuracy and under pressure it really shines at reducing split times. I can unleash pretty hefty magnum loads rapid fire and barely scrape into the 9 ring thanks to the red dot.

As for the revolver itself, I've not done action work besides endless dry-fire and around 1,500-2,000 rounds of actual shooting (mostly factory, but more recently several hundreds of my reloads). I'm not a trigger snob so take this with a grain of salt, but it's very smooth and slick, much smoother than my Match Champion which has less firing time. I need to buy a trigger pull gauge but I do not find the weight excessive and especially with this red dot I can empty an entire cylinder quite rapidly with good accuracy like I mentioned. I've never had a failure to ignite and my expectation is that with the factory springs I'll likely never have such an issue. I use HKS brand speed loaders, they rattle but function great.

I really should get a trigger pull gauge so I can quantify it, and probably feeler gauges to measure B/C gap so I can give you guys the vitals on my "testing equipment".

I'll post a picture a little later this morning so you can have a look, or maybe just a whole new thread since the revolver is now pretty darn interesting with this mounting and I still need more load data!

Right now I'm thinking I'll start at 13 or13.5gn of 2400 and work up towards 14.5gn. The hi-trek coating should hold up at that velocity so I'll just monitor for leading and pressure.
 
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Alchin makes a nice mini red dot mount that the dot mounts straight to. Raptor Engineering also makes one, but work is blocking that site so I can't get a link right now. I have that one for my Redhawk (Same as GP-100), but haven't mounted it yet.

Yes I have an Alchin mini on my 929 and a C-More RTS2 directly mounted the reason being that it puts the sight the lowest on the frame. A lot of guys that compete use the same thing. I went through the mental anguish regarding removal of the dot to use irons. It involves removing the 2 cap screws that hold the dot to the mount then remove the 2 or 3 screws that hold the mount to the frame then replace the irons. I haven't done this though in 2 years of high volume shooting and so I decided on another 929 dedicated for irons. In my mind, either way using a rail or direct mount like the Alchin you would still have to sight in the gun after converting from iron to dot and vis versa. The irons are still lower than the dot in this configuration so I have to do a lot of dry fire with both guns to get decent and "quick" target acquisition. Having said that some, not sure which, of the Vortex dots require removal to replace the battery which is almost the same thing as removing the sight then the mount to replace with irons.

I have a rimfire auto loader with a Burris FF3 mounted on the picatinny rail and it really places the sight up high above the frame. I'm not sure it matters much as I don't shoot rimfire from a holster and my average distance is 30 yards or so. I'm trying to decide if I want to go with something other than the rail mount but that would require a putting more money into the gun not sure if the benefits would be worth it. I'm also thinking that the direct mount is a tad bit more secure and less likely to move compared to the picatinny mount.

I'm not a trigger snob so take this with a grain of salt, but it's very smooth and slick, much smoother than my Match Champion which has less firing time. I need to buy a trigger pull gauge but I do not find the weight excessive and especially with this red dot I can empty an entire cylinder quite rapidly with good accuracy like I mentioned. I've never had a failure to ignite and my expectation is that with the factory springs I'll likely never have such an issue.

I might be a trigger snob I really haven't thought about it in that way. I have my competition revos down to about 6.5 pounds DA which some consider heavy and I literally cannot use anything but Federal primers and forget factory ammo. I don't know about Ruger NIB but S&W even the performance center models come with a 14+ pound DA trigger standard. For the fun of it a few weeks ago I tried one stock 627 at a 5 target steel array. Got 2 strings ok but then started to lose it after that. 100 rounds of that and your finger turns blue LOL! I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that at least with S&W L and N frames you have to consider them kit guns to start with and high maintainence girlfriends to keep going. I have to confess that I have never tried a GP100 or even dry fired one so I have no idea what the trigger is like. That is why I'm asking. I have heard that they are difficult to enhance and lighten but not sure if that is rumor. But if being able to use other than Federal primers would be a huge plus if the trigger could be made smooth and light. I'm shooting in a level II steel challenge match in Sept and looking forward to seeing what the Ruger sponsored revo shooters are using and see if I can find out what have they done to the triggers.

I use Hogue monogrips on my competition revos and love them but even with standard (but slightly hot) handloads they don't (for me) cushion the blow that much. So I suspect but not sure if the geometry and construction of the frame has more to do with it than the grips. My J frames with their little stock grips are much improved comfort wise with slightly larger grips but that is a different animal.

I'll post a picture a little later this morning so you can have a look, or maybe just a whole new thread since the revolver is now pretty darn interesting with this mounting and I still need more load data!
Good like to see her!
 
I am using the MBC 357 158gr Action HiTek coated bullets in my Ruger GP-100 4.2" barrel. I am loading 6.2gr CFE Pistol with CCI SPM Primers with a COL of 1.610". I am using this load for paper punching. Accuracy has been very good. This is an inexpensive and soft shooting load. The Hodgdon web site shows a range of 5.3 - 6.6 gr for a similar bullet. I want to try this bullet behind H110 to see if it can handle the velocity of a near full power load.
 
I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. The target shown was shot at roughly 13 yds (my target was between the 12 and 15 markers on the walls). The vertical string shown is from another shooter giving it a try and she complained it was hard to find the dot thus the stringing. The cluster by the X is 18 rounds from yours truly shot slow. I did not take a picture of my rapid fire group but it was roughly treble the size.

I let the other shooter try some light loads I'd made using the MBC bullets to try them out and I can confirm that 4.1gns of HP38 under a MBC 158gn 357 Action! is a very, very soft shooting round out of the Gp100. After my accomplice got warmed up and stopped losing the dot she really enjoyed shooting those rounds. I naturally gravitated towards the 2400 loads I mentioned but it was good to confirm the GP100 liked the bullets.

1532448068069_image.png 1532448059507_image.png 1532448050319_image.png image.png
 
I have shot the 158 SWC Action but not coated. I just guesstimated that I only have about 140 left so it's time to re-order from where else? MBC of course. :thumbup:
I have also loaded coated RN .30 carbine, 240 gr SWC in .44 and .32 Cowboy bullets from MBC. I have been pleased with all of them.
 
BTW, is that a bullet hole in your door? :p

index.php
 
I use 13.5 grains of 2400 under a.gas checked swc cast bullets. Quite accurate in a revolver and lever. I would try the coated stuff stepping up carefully. Lead requires less powder to get the same velocity as jacketed due to lower friction.

The next time you order from mbc get a box or wadcutters. They are usually stoopid accurate at revolver ranges. I have gone squirrel hunting with them. Pushed hard, they are even an effective self defense bullet.
 
I shoot a lot of coated lead bullets in .357. Mostly from SNS and Missouri. Even though I work up loads gradually, I have found that I can load the HyTek bullets with same loads as jacketed ammo. My pet load since I like heavier bullets for Hog Hunting is a 180gr Coated with either 12.2gr of 2400 or 13.5gr H110. Both give great accuracy and over 1250fps from my 8 3/8" Model 686. I have no trouble with leading. I also use a 185gr Non Coated Cast HP from GT Bullets with the same Powder load and it is the most accurate bullet I've found for my M686. Probably will be my deer load while the Solids will be used for Hogs. Most reloaders I talk to are concerned about leading at high velocity but I think its bullet fit in the barrel more so than velocity. My 8 3/8" shoots .358 Cast bullets great. I have pushed coated and Hard Cast non coated up to 1300 fps with no problems with leading. I also have a M686 with a 7" Barrel and it will not shoot cast bullets worth a hoot but is a tack driver with jacketed. That's the fun of loading. Find the best for every gun.
 
I loaded some of the 357 158gn Action!'s with 2400 at 13.0-14.0gn so I'll see how those do and report back. I'm optimistic I'll be able to load it up to 14.0gn based on the reports I've been hearing. Coated has done me really well so far!

PS: Yep, that little hole in the door is a peephole. My apartment is kinda cramped so I haven't got a lot of good photo backdrops I'm afraid.
 
When dealing with odd bullet/powder/primers combinations you've got a couple options.

1. Substitute data that's close- I really don't suggest this.

2. Take anecdotal advice from the internet- I also really don't suggest this.

3. Contact the various component manufacturers, they might be able to point you in the right direction. - This is never a bad idea, they'll generally either give you a good starting point, or decline to give advice. You can generally assume they won't give BAD advice.

4. Unless you're using a powder that doesn't like to be reduced (H110, WIN 296). Start low. No, even lower. Work up in small increments. - I've done this a few times. When I first started reloading pistol ammo the only powder I could find was Reddot. The only primers I had (since none could be found) were small rifle. So I could find some generic 38spcl 158gr LSWC data for Reddot, but not with a SR primer. I loaded up 50, I think a full grain under the normal starting pressure which was already a light load and was still worried it'd be over pressure. They were the definition of "mouse fart". With most fast pistol powders you only have to worry about sticking a bullet in the barrel if you go too low. It might take awhile but you can load up to exactly where you want this way.
 
The first and only revolver I jammed up was when I first started reloading for my .357 Ruger Security Six using 2400 and Speer 158gr LSWC's at magnum velocities at about the same load you are using. Leading was always a problem and I scrubbed it out dutifully but one day probably 6mo to a year later the action locked up on me. Took it to a local gunsmith and he pointed out that lead had accumulated on the face of the forcing cone to the point it closed the gap between it and the cylinder, jamming the action. He locked in a vise and used a flat fill and set of feeler gauges to set the cylinder gap and remove the excess lead from the face of the forcing cone.

I have been loading 158gr LRN hi-tek Missouri bullets Brinell 12 in .38 spl to shoot in my .38's and .357 mags for target practice and find they are great. The smoke is greatly reduced compared to lubed bullets leaving the gun easy to clean and no leading in the bore. If I was going to use them at the magnum velocities you are pushing with 14.5 gr of 2400 I suggest using 158gr LSWC coated bullets at Brinell 18 listed for Magnum Velocities.

You can order a sample bag of 100 bullets from Missouri to try out before purchasing it in the standard box of 500.
 
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