H110 for .357 with 125 jhp, 158 swc, and 180 rnfp

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Husker_Fan

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I am starting to reload for .357 mag and have these three bullet types (Win 125 SJHP, Missouri Bullet 158 SWC and 180 RNFP).

I see H110/W296 is pretty popular with this cartidge, but is it a good choice for this wide range of bullet weights? I have some H110, but want to know if it is best with the lighter or heavier bullets and if I should look for another powder for the others.

Thanks
 
H110 and W296 are great magnum powders but they lack versatility as they are density sensitive in that they need to be loaded to a level that will develop enough pressure for the powder to properly burn. Use to light a load, fail to use heavy crimp and magnum primer and it can and will produce squibs, which means that the powder doesn't burn and the bullet is usually pushed into the barrel by the primer. If another round is fired after a bore obstruction from the squib it will result in a ruptured, blown up or bulged barrel.

Its lack of flexibility will show if you find you are getting leading from your cast bullets at full magnum velocities since there's little to no allowance in charge reduction. Most manuals say do not reduce below 3% of maximum or do not go below minimum listed load.

As a relatively slow powder you also use a lot of it per load so its not an economical powder and the fire ball is greater than a faster powder. H110 will flame cut your revolver quicker as more hot gasses are produced.

Personally I think of H110 as a specialty powder for magnum loads in my .357 and .41 mags using jacketed bullets. I don't use it with 125gr bullets as there are better powders for that light a bullet but with 140gr and heavier it does work very well and produces accurate ammo.

I prefer Unique or W231 for moderate level loads using cast bullet, AA9 or 2400 for full magnum level with cast.

Below is Hodgdon's data for H110 in the .357 mag and note the narrow powder range. Also note they don't list any cast bullets in their data though you can find data in Lyman for use with their cast bullets though it probably best in bullets with gas checks.
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It would be a great powder for the 125 jacketed bullet at max pressure & velocity.

Maybe not so great for the MB 158 lead bullet depending on the hardness you bought. (Are they the 12 BNH or 18 BNH?)

You didn't say whether the 180 was lead or jacketed?

At any rate, H-110 is only suitable for fire breathing, pedal to the metal loads.

If you want less then full power & velocity lead bullet loads, you need a faster & more forgiving powder.

rc
 
H110 and its ugly sister, Olin 296 are at their best with heavy jacketed bullets and a firm crimp. It can be used with the lighter 110s and 125s...but wear plugs and muffs. About 50 rounds into the string, you'll have the concussion-induced headache from hell. Yep. Ask me how I know.
 
This is about what I was thinking and why I asked.

The 158's are the harder ones for .357 mag, and the 180's are lead from MBC (bhn 18). I'll probably just use the H110 for the 125's.

What would folks recomend for the heavier hard cast lead?
 
Well, H-110 will probably work if you got the hard bullets.

But I'm a true believer in Alliant 2400 for lead bullet magnum loads.
It's all I use in fact for all magnum loads.

You can load it up or down however you want too without getting in too much trouble.
At the lowest pressures it just doesn't burn real clean is all.
But nothing bad is going to happen.

rc
 
Thanks rcmodel. I will give 2400 a look.

There's no point in me trying to make H110 work as a novice reloader when I have 1000 lead bullets to go through. I may as well do it right and use the H110 for the 125's.

BTW I want to use the 180's for woods carry/deer hunting if I can work up a good load for that.
 
I load up the exact combo's you're talking about. Winchester 125's with a good load of H110. It's the best boomer that comes out of my 4" GP100. I also load up the Missouri cast 158's but use 2400, N110, or Blue Dot with those. I also get quite a bit of leading.

What are you shooting? I'm curious as to what leading you get with the 158's.
 
I'll be shooting a 6" GP-100.

I'd be curious as to the leading you get. I'm no cast bullet expert but I've tried a number of load combos and just can't get beyond it.
 
I like H110 for 357 mag, but I don't shoot a lot of it either. I would much rather use a medium burn rate powder like Universal clays for range use or practice. Load used in the attachment is H110 with a 125gr XTP.
 

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Way Cool Pic. Can you do hot loads with MBC? Brad said that the 18 hardness projectiles are good to about 1400 FPS. I just love the MBC projectiles for 44 mag and 38 Spl. Have not had any leading problems either.

Skip in Kingsville
 
I load Hard Cast bullets up hot with 2400 and from a 4" M686 I get no leading to speak of. W296/H110 load with lead bullets are something else altogether. I think it's because W296 is a "hotter" powder but I do get leading in a .357 Magnum load unless I use a gas checked lead bullet.

Hey, 2400 was developed when only lead bullets were available, it should work well with them. On the other hand H110 was developed for the 30 Carbine, hardly meant for lead bullets.
 
It must just be the devil in me , but I love it when at the range that I decide to let off a couple full house W296 rounds. Everyone else just stops shooting and give me the "What the h**l " look. LOL
Definately no good for combat shooting because the flash will blind you for a couple seconds. You never get to see the hole get in the paper.
 
Just wanted to check back in. I took the advice here and the H-110 is sitting on the self until I have a better application for it.

I did load up the 125 JHPs over a few loads of 2400, working up to Alliant's published "recipe" of 17.5 grains. Those made me giggle like a school girl. I have never seen a flash like that from my barrel cylinder gap before.

Also, the .357 "Striker" 180 LRNFP from Missouri Bullet shot well with 11 grains of 2400.
 
I love going to the range with my Ruger blackhawk 30 carbine--110gr SN with 14 gr of
H110---now there is a fun gun to hear & see ------------:eek::D:eek:
 
See Speer #14 Loading Data

Check out the CUP standard loading data for 180 grain bullets in the current Speer #14 Loading manual.
 
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It can be used with the lighter 110s and 125s...but wear plugs and muffs. About 50 rounds into the string, you'll have the concussion-induced headache from hell. Yep. Ask me how I know.

Me personally, I really like the Hornady 125's XTP's. 21.0 - 22.0 gr of H110.

Blam!!!!!!

It must just be the devil in me , but I love it when at the range that I decide to let off a couple full house W296 rounds. Everyone else just stops shooting and give me the "What the h**l " look. LOL

I get that with H110 and the 125's, too. And sometimes, depending on the person at the range, I'll let them pop off a round or two. They usually have a big useless smile on their face afterwards.

LGB
 
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