Favorite 357 magnum, 158gr plated recipe

T

TJB101

New member
I’ve been loading 125 and 158 grain plated rounds for several lever rifles I own.

Started with a 700x since I had a 8 lb jug and the rounds seemed quite anemic. Tried TG as well and just didn’t have enough pop.

Loaded 9.8gr Bluedot behind the 158’s and was a tad happier with the umpf I was getting. BD just isn’t one of my best metering powders.

Since they are plated wanted to keep them under ~1400.

What’s your favorite recipe for plated 158gr 357 rounds?

Yes, I do have jacketed rounds that I push with H110 and am very happy with the performance. But my desire, for punching paper, is to run plated for cost efficiency.

Appreciate any feedback.

Tim
 
L

LE-28

New member
I have found that plated bullets going over about 1200fps will copper foul my barrels.

Even if the plating is thick enough to handle up to 1500fps velocity the copper isn't hard enough to keep from fouling.

You may have better luck than I had, but I keep plated bullets under 1200 and they seem to work fine.
Jacketed bullet jackets are made out of a much harder alloy than the pure copper that is electroplated on to a bullet.


That's been my experience with them.
 
R

Road_Clam

New member
Berry's plated 158 RNFP's and 16.4 gr of H110 for my 6" bbl Ruger GP100. Shots 2.8" groups at 50' even with my "shakiest gun in the west" type hold !
 
C

Charlie98

New member
Unique would probably be your best bet, it's slow enough to take advantage of the longer carbine barrel, and it's easy enough to tailor the charge weight to achieve the exact velocity you want. I understand Unique is not the best metering powder on the planet, but unless you are redlining the load (not likely) or you just have a badly metering drop, the statistical variations wouldn't matter that much. Another good one might be AA#5, which I understand meters very well... I just don't have direct experience with it.
 
T

TJB101

New member
Charlie_98 said:
Unique would probably be your best bet, it's slow enough to take advantage of the longer carbine barrel, and it's easy enough to tailor the charge weight to achieve the exact velocity you want. I understand Unique is not the best metering powder on the planet, but unless you are redlining the load (not likely) or you just have a badly metering drop, the statistical variations wouldn't matter that much. Another good one might be AA#5, which I understand meters very well... I just don't have direct experience with it.
Click to expand...



Thanks ... I’ll review some loads for Unique and AA5 and appreciate the metering comments. Always midrange so as long as the range between mid to high is .3/.4 grains I’m ok.
 
G

GarrettJ

New member
TJB101 said:
Started with a 700x since I had a 8 lb jug and the rounds seemed quite anemic. Tried TG as well and just didn’t have enough pop.

But my desire, for punching paper, is to run plated for cost efficiency.
Click to expand...

How thick is this paper that you can’t punch through with TG or 700X?
:D

I typically use book loads of H110 or AA#9 with plated 158s. If that gives you issues, switch to a faster burning powder for less velocity, understanding that it will come with less “pop”.
 
N

Nick_C_S

New member
Mine is 7.0 grains of Unique. Runs 1103 f/s through a 4" 686 revolver. Bullet is an X-treme 158 SWC. But I've loaded the same charge with a RNFP too.

Good running round. Clearly more potent than 38+P; but is definitely "de-tuned" by 357 Mag standards. It's right in the middle ground.
 
C

Charlie98

New member
How thick is this paper that you can’t punch through with TG or 700X?
Click to expand...

He's shooting them out of a carbine barrel... I would think TG and 700x would be too fast to optimize the longer barrel.

AA#7
Click to expand...

Actually, that might be a better choice than AA#5, for a carbine barrel, anyway, and a 158grn or heavier bullet.
 
G

GarrettJ

New member
Charlie_98 said:
He's shooting them out of a carbine barrel... I would think TG and 700x would be too fast to optimize the longer barrel.
Click to expand...

If we're trying to stay below a certain velocity threshold, we aren't exactly trying to "optimize" for barrel length.
 
Last edited:
T

TJB101

New member
Charlie_98 said:
He's shooting them out of a carbine barrel... I would think TG and 700x would be too fast to optimize the longer barrel.
Click to expand...


Been reading about AA7 this evening ...I think I’m going to give that a whirl. Looks to be similar to Bluedot regarding performance / burn rate. Heading up to my local reloading shop tomorrow to see what’s in stock.
 
B

BBarn

New member
I like Power Pistol and HS-6 for medium plated 357 loads in a revolver. But I haven't tried them in a rifle.
 
R

Road_Clam

New member
TJB101 said:
That must be a nice fireball coming out of your Ruger
Click to expand...

Not really, my load is pretty much the go-to full house 357 magnum load. The 6" bbl Ruger GP100's are a bit heavy, but well balanced revolver. The felt recoil is not bad at all. I also added a Hogue rubber grip which is a very nice upgrade.
 
L

LE-28

New member
158gr plated X-treme and 10.0-10.5gr 2400 works in my lever gun. Right at 1300 MV.
No copper fouling.
Click to expand...

I think for some reason the rifle barrel didn't compute when I posted about the copper fouling. Don't have to load near as heavy with the longer barrels.

That happened with 14.5 gr of 2400 in my 4" Gp100.

10.5 gr of 2400 should be a decent load for mid range in a rifle.
 
R

Rifletom

New member
LE-28, it is a good load out my Henry w/ 20" barrel. Pretty darn accurate and pleasant to shoot. It's just a plinker.
 
H

Hammerhead

New member
With the Rainier 158 plated FP (one of my fav's) @ 1.585" some of my pet loads;

8.5 HS-6
6.6 SR 4756 (gone now)
6.0 Unique
5.5 Universal
7.0 Power Pistol
5.5 N340
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top