What powder for 357 rifle

[Varminterror]

I run H110/W296 for proper magnum loads, with Bullseye and HP-38/W231 for my mousephart plinking loads.

 

[Walkalong]

I use Competition or WST for light .357, 2400 for "full power" .357, and have played with lots of powders over the years for mid-range loads and was never 100% happy until I tried BE-86. That is with plated and jacketed. Lead is much easier, it is so much easier to find good mid-range loads that are accurate with good ES & SD numbers.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I use Competition or WST for light .357, 2400 for "full power" .357, and have played with lots of powders over the years for mid-range loads and was never 100% happy until I tried BE-86. That is with plated and jacketed. Lead is much easier, it is so much easier to find good mid-range loads that are accurate with good ES & SD numbers.

Walkalong,
Sometime you get bored try 6.7 gr BE-86 loads in .357mag with your powder forward and powder back test if you would. I would like to know how it fairs out on your Chrono.
I seems just as accurate as the 7.2-7.3 gr load with less snap.
It seems to be another accuracy node but I am still blind without a Chrony or other such devise to see the actual numbers.

 

[Walkalong]

7.3 actually had a smaller spread than 7.5, but it is only six shots each. I'll load some at 6.7 and see what they do, but I'll do a bigger sample than six.

 

[Random 8]

I'm still in the learning curve with my. 357 rifle, but so far am VERY impressed with Hs-6 and 158 both jacketed and hard cast 158s. Very accurate for me. A nice bonus is this powder is outstanding for full power 9mm. I'm using spm primers in. 357. Hp38 was less impressive in my Henry single shot and 6" Taurus with 158 near maximum data.

I'm using hp-38 for low power. 38s in this rifle and a couple of revolvers. I don't see why titegroup wouldn't work also. It did well for me in both 357 and 38 revolvers until i inherited a large quantity of hp38. I'd think unique would be a strong candidate here also, but I've had such good luck with h6 that I haven't tried this experiment yet.

 

[kcofohio]

Many veteran reloaders with good information. I'm still a greenhorn in comparison. Just thought I would add my experience.

I like using 2400 in the handgun loads. I have loaded 2400 down to 12.0 gr. with a MBC SWC. Makes for a "soft magnum" load. With JHPs, IIRC, around the 14 gr. zone. Either XTPs or Zero's JHP.

For me, Titegroup has worked worked well with 158 gr. SWCs. I don't recall having any leading issues in 357. The same bullet in 38 Spl. has been a different story. HP-38 does about as well. Those are the only fast(er) powders I have used.

I tried 300-MP for the handgun. More recoil than I'd rather have, since all I have now is a Model 60. So 300-MP is reserved for rifle at this moment.

Though H110/W296 powder is plentiful around here. I've been hesitant to use because of the reduced load warning of said powders.

 

[Old Stumpy]

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 found that the Lee TL358-158-SWC hard-cast bullet loads and feeds very reliably in my new Marlin 1894C carbine. There is no indication of any marks on the leading edge of the first band whatsoever. But, it may depend on when your rifle was made. Perhaps a JM Marlin might not have the chamber edge chamfered much.

The Lee C359-158-SWC gas-check looks pretty similar in nose profile and I would expect it to also perform well in my carbine.

 

[Olon]

I like blue dot. A light charge will keep it under 1500 FPS for the plated bullets I use and it’s cheap that way too.

 

[RealGun]

I found that the Lee TL358-158-SWC hard-cast bullet loads and feeds very reliably in my new Marlin 1894C carbine. There is no indication of any marks on the leading edge of the first band whatsoever. But, it may depend on when your rifle was made. Perhaps a JM Marlin might not have the chamber edge chamfered much.

The Lee C359-158-SWC gas-check looks pretty similar in nose profile and I would expect it to also perform well in my carbine.

My .357 rifle is not a Marlin but my 45 is a JM. So far, the RNFP run okay in the 45 (no leading band).