Case Full ... Reloading the 357 SIG Using 800X

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JimKirk

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Revisiting 800X again for reloading the 357 SIG ... been a while so here is a little sample of my afternoon in the reloading room ....

If it would only meter better ... It would be a really great powder for the 357 SIG.... I metered these loads light and trickled up to Hodgdon's maximum(yes I have already worked UP to it)... and as you can see it is just about a full case( and yes it is a compressed load ...which I have no problems with) ...
I am hoping these will be a good load for the wild hogs that inhabitants our local river bottoms .... these loads will be moving the 147 grain Hornady XTP about 1325 fps or so .... out my Glock 31 ... of course I will be limiting my shots to about 50 yards( thick river bottoms) ....I

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nice have you shot anything with the 9mm xtp yet. i am going to try to get a ruger pc carbine for my birthday, and was thinking of making a load to pop a deer or keep loaded in the house.
 
Not a live animal .... but I have shot some ham and shoulders from a meat market ... my test were far from scientific ... just hanging a piece of meat and shooting it ...

I look at the gel test that are scattered over the net .... show pretty good results ....for the XTP ... they are available local .... Shoot really good on paper...
 
Well at least you don't have to worry about any setback. That is a stout load.

I was looking at the Hodgdon load data and their maximum shows a pressure of 38,000psi. The Longshot maximum at 7.5gr shows a pressure of 38,700psi. When I checked Lyman 50th, with a TMJ bullet (not XTP) , their Longshot load of 7.8gr, shows a pressure of 38,600psi, close the the Hodgdon numbers. But the 800x load, 1gr less than the Hodgdon load, shows a pressure of 39,000psi. The bullets are different, but I wonder why there is such a difference between the Lyman and Hodgdon numbers.

If it would only meter better

Seems that you don't have to worry about metering. just dump the powder over the cases, then remove some of the powder until it is about at the bottom of the neck. That should be close enough.:evil:

At the other end of the scale, I will be testing a faster powder W244 with 357sig to see how bad it is, or maybe it surprises me and provides me with an accurate milder practice round. I will post the results once I made time to test the loads.
 
Yeah, that ought to do it. That compressed case should have enough grunt to push hogslayer pills.

I've always used Longshot for sig rounds. 800x meters like river rock in a Dillon measure. I just don't have the patience to trickle, and may try W231 in the future since it meters so well.

I don't know if you know this trick or not, but if you're worried about setback the act of using a 10mm carbide sizer prior to seating just about completely eliminates that possibility. On the first attempt I was able to consistently apply at least another 10-20lbs (70-80 total lbs) in a scale test, which is well passed any reasonable expectation of ammo handling. With some adjustment you get higher than 40 extra pounds.

I've loaded up thousands of 357sig rounds the wrong way before learning this myself. I used to apply super heavy crimps, but having realized setback, and thus surface-to-surface seating contact, is compromised by faulty metal form and not improper crimp, I've since carried the method into loading all bottleneck pistol rounds, like tokarev rounds for instance (using carbide 38super sizer).



Also, first post. Been lurking for years. I suppose I'm now an official member of the club -- please let me know when letter jackets go out :)
 
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I run the cases through a Redding GRx dies(40 S&W version) ... then through a regular RCBS .357 SIG die ... I use the spray lanolin mix in a gallon zip lock bag.

I then seat the bullets without flaring ....I do not use any kind of crimp.... These 147 grain XTP are easy to seat as they have a little boat tail like base .... set back is no problem with the powder compressed like this ...

I have not shot this load yet but have shot some at 8.8 grains 800X ...these are 9.0 grains ....and yes they are full loads . The 8.8 are pretty accurate ... hoping these will be...

As I said I hope to shoot a wild hogs and wanted a full load ....we have killed some 400+ pounds...

I do have Long shot on hand and is what I use mostly with my 124 grain XTP.... I like it also....but in this case 800X gives a little more velocity at lower pressure than Long Shot.
 
was looking at the Hodgdon load data and their maximum shows a pressure of 38,000psi. The Longshot maximum at 7.5gr shows a pressure of 38,700psi. When I checked Lyman 50th, with a TMJ bullet (not XTP) , their Longshot load of 7.8gr, shows a pressure of 38,600psi, close the the Hodgdon numbers. But the 800x load, 1gr less than the Hodgdon load, shows a pressure of 39,000psi. The bullets are different, but I wonder why there is such a difference between the Lyman and Hodgdon numbers.

I don't know how they come up with different figures .... Probably the test gun ....bore size, finish, length .... I have never run into to pressure signs with this Glock 31 .... using Hodgdon data ...

JimKirk, what kind of bullets are you using?, 357 Sig .355 or 9mm .355?

147 grain Hornady XTP ...the 124 grain XTP are my go to bullet for 357 SIG...I just wanted a heavier bullet for the hogs.
 
I have had decent results metering with the Uniflow with the large meter. +/_ 0.1. I like 800-X in 45 Colt.
 
I have had decent results metering with the Uniflow with the large meter. +/_ 0.1. I like 800-X in 45 Colt.

That is what I use ... a RCBS Uniflow.... and mine does decent dropping 800X ..... nothing like the fine ball powders like HS6..... it will stay with in plus/minus 2/10 .... but I want consistent ...so I dropped at 8.8 grains .....a lot were perfect at 9.0 ...but a few were lower .... I just weighted each to make sure as this is a max load .....

I used it as a shotgun powder and used a MEC 600 and it worked well in the 20 gauge ..... it is a lower pressure powder even in the 357 SIG .....lower than most of the powders listed on Hodgdon's web data... and it is listed as the fastest velocity wise....

I wish there was a better metering powder ... with 800X character ....

My Uniflow probably handles 800X as well as most other powder throwers .... Probably....
 
To get my Uniflow to work with 800X I did a complete debur job on the entire metering system, from the bottom of the hopper to the drop. Any edge that contacted the powder was rounded, finishing with a hard Arkansas stone, followed by a degreasing to remove the oil. And I found it helps to clean the measure before using 800X.
 
Galil5.56 ....

I have seen that data before ... I have never tried any of the Vectan or Shooters World ...

Neither is available local ... but I may just add a bottle of them in my next order

That data is getting up there in pressure.... lower pressure is one the reasons I like the 800X ....the velocity is another.... the price is reasonable also .... I

I wouldn't shoot that many of these loads .... I just wanted to try the SIG on a pig .... We've killed a bunch with .22 mags ..... no reason the 357 SIG would not be workable at limited ranges(my shooting being the limiting )...

Thanks again for reminding me of those powders ....

Oh! Ramshot Enforcer is another powder that would be right with the 800X .... I have never seen it on a shelf either .... It is a double base ball powder...
 
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