I load for S&W with a 6" bbl. I have Unique, Red Dot, Bullseye, Universal, Blue Dot, 571, Lil Gun, No. 9. It's mainly for plinking, I use swc's because they are so much cheaper. I would like to be close to full power.
I would like to deer hunt with it also, would jhp's be better for that application? I have read good things about Lil Gun and XTP's. Do you suggest 158's or 180's for deer???
Mainly looking for a general suggestion as where to start, instead of trying to do loads for 8 different powders to find out what is best.

Thanks,
Redrider.

I no longer own a .357 because all of my revolvers are for deer hunting. I don't like the small bore. You need a bullet that expands and the XTP would be the better choice. Yes, many deer have been killed with the SWC but too many have been lost. I would use the slow powders like Lil gun, No. 9, 296 and H110. I think your accuracy would be better instead of a hot load of fast powder.

my favorites are H110 and blue dot. I generally stay away from 2400 because its so dirty

For 125's I use H-110 and for 158's I use 2400.

I limit my .357 to 75 yards or less for hunting and use the 158's...

Blue Dot will get you top velocity and be useful for larger revolver and magnum shot shells as well.

The thing I was wondering about, is there like a "universal accuracy load"??? If I were asking about my 30-06 people would tell me to use 57g. of 4350 with a 165g. or 180g. bullet. They would probably say, "Shot good in every '06 I ever tried it in, boy I tell you what." If I asked Jack O' about his 270 he might say, "a case full of 4831 with some kind of boolit, son." Yeah yeah I know, every gun is different, work up to max etc. etc.. So come on, let me have it. That one load that just seems to shoot in all of 'em.

Thanks,
Redrider.

Of the powders you have, LilGun will probably give you the best results, I perfer H110. Accuracy loads are hard to predict in a revolver as you really have 6 diff. chambers & they can all shoot differently, so you get an average for accuracy by firing the entire cyl. I would also go w/ the 158gr XTP for a deer load. Expansion isn't as great as some others, but you want the penetration on deer size animals IMO. You "can" practice w/ an equiv. 158grLSWC, but expect leading at vel. over 1200fps.

When I just want to plink with my .357 I just use .38 specials in it along with W 231. When I really want it to be a .357 Magnum I use H110 and 125 Gr. Hornady XTP's.

Lil'gun is THE powder for the .357.

I'll cast my vote for the H110; it's very accurate in 180gr gas checks. For plinking I like to use Unique, but it's dirty. 2400 seems to do well at "moderate" loads, but picky at higher velocities. I have Blue Dot for reduced rifle loads; may have to give it a try in the .357.

AZ, the thing about Unique is to load near the upper end. Light loads will burn dirty. 9gr under a 125grJHP gets along about 1350fps & burns well., good accuracy too.

Clay Haevey listed an "Accuracy Load" that shot well in every 357. 140 gr Speer JHP& 16 gr
of 2400 for 1200 fps. It shot from my 4 in 357 at 1274 fps, but was not anymore accurate than any good load. Deer hunters using a 357 seem to go to heavier bullets, 180 gr or so.
Good Luck!

Bluedot is my favorite in the .357 mag

quote:

Originally posted by redrider:
The thing I was wondering about, is there like a "universal accuracy load"???

Hey Redrider, No, there is no such thing as a "universal accuracy load" for firearms.

quote:

If I were asking about my 30-06 people would tell me to use 57g. of 4350 with a 165g. or 180g. bullet. They would probably say, "Shot good in every '06 I ever tried it in, boy I tell you what." ....

That is a common misconception which remains in folklore by people who have limited experience. If they ever have the opportunity to try multiple firearms chambered for the same cartridge, they will quickly realize that for the best possible accuracy, the "universal load" concept is full-of-beans.

And Handloading a "universal load" without working up to it has potential to create a SAFETY issue concerning over-pressure conditions.
---

By the way, if you have a recently manufactured S&W, you can use loads in it that would shake the old ones apart fairly quickly. The folks who run S&W now, are doing a great job on them.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
AZ, the thing about Unique is to load near the upper end. Light loads will burn dirty. 9gr under a 125grJHP gets along about 1350fps & burns well., good accuracy too.

Thanks; I'll try that...

i use bullseye to load .38 spl and .357 magnums for my model 27...... i have used green dot and 2400 too though.. they are right 2400 is dirty.... bullseye seem to be lots cleaner burning be sure to crimp it good.... i've have used 6.2 grains of bullseye and had a good consistant reload that got over 1200 fps from a 6" barrel with a 150 gr homecast swc (lyman 357477 sized at 357").....

The majority of my 357 and 38 loads have been with bluedot. I have used 2400 with good results as well.

For max loads in the 357?

for 125gr H110
for 158gr H110 or W296
For 180gr H110

I'll use blue dot in 44Spl 200gr loads Blue Dot works "ok", but Unique works better.

The only use I've ever found for 2400 is in the 30Carbine, where it is again a "second best" propellant for the cartridge, where once again, another propellant works better.... W296.


for unjacketed bullets? Red Dot or Unique, though I once got a super deal on a big keg of GreeDot.... (it really doesn't matter)

AllanD

I reload 158 grain JSP for both my .357 handguns and a Marlin lever gun. I use the same load of Win296 powder in both for hunting. I also load 158 grain SWC but use Win231 powder for target practice. The Win231 meters better than Bullseye and does not leave as much powder residue. Sierra and Lee manuals list good loads for both of these powders.

WW-296 and magnum primers

I like 17.1 grains of WW296 and load it behind Hornady's 158 grain HP/XTP for an honest 1370f/s from my 6" 686.
I also like 7.5 grains of 3N37 behind a 158 grain LSWC. Clean and economical, it's good for 1150f/s.

W296 or Lil'gun.

I was duped with Hodgdon's bogus published data about 357 mag and LIL'GUN.

Poppenmann straightened me out:
https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=794103354#794103354


What does it all mean?
H110/W296 is just as good for 357 mag 158 gr as LIL'GUN, just ignore the published data.

My 2 cents!

H110 is what I use in my Python with
Sierra 180 FPJ and Speer 170 FP Gold Dots.

The 170gr GD Speer are most excellent for deer/bear size game!

H110 for mag load. H110 is specially formulated for magnum loads.

HS6 for ANY handgun load. HS6 works for all calibers, but for magnums, I'd go H110.

Last time I bought power, they were out of HS6, and so I got Win. 231. Seems comparable to HS6.

Deer with a .357? 158 gr. JHP, and cranked up on a long bbl. Then I'd make sure you have a clear shot and can chase it down when it runs, wounded.

Partial to 44 mag. Ruger, SBH 10.5 bbl. 240 gr. JSP and H110 max load. Big enough hole to follow the blood trail, and it breaks bones, which drops the game.

Lil' Gun and Blue dot is what I would use of the powders you have on hand. They'll definitely give you full power loads. Lil' Gun will give darn good velocity from the 357 Mag.

Lil' Gun is just a tad more accurate than BD w/ 158s in my 6" 586. However, I'll be using Bluedot this season pushing 158 Sierras which is good for about 3" at 50 yards in that 586.

Good Luck

Reloader

I use a Contender-only charge of H110 under the Remington 180 grain softnose hollowpoint; very accurate in my 10 inch T/C and the deer hate it. Standard data with the 180 XTP works fine in my 4 inch GP100 but I haven't had the opportunity to swat a whitetail with it yet. I'll try LilGun next time I need more powder.

Hornady 158 grain XPT hollowpoint .357 caliber bullets recovered from a Black Wildebeest shot with a 357 Herrett.

I used to shoot 26 gr LIL'GUN with 158 gr in a 38 special I converted to 357 mag until the chrono showed me that I could get more velocity with the Hodgdon book load of 18 gr.

I used to believe the Hodgdon pressure data on LIL'GUN until that liberal Poppenmann straigtened me out:

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=794103354#794103354

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:
I used to shoot 26 gr LIL'GUN with 158 gr in a 38 special I converted to 357 mag until the chrono showed me that I could get more velocity with the Hodgdon book load of 18 gr.

I used to believe the Hodgdon pressure data on LIL'GUN until that liberal Poppenmann straigtened me out:

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=794103354#794103354

Was that a typo? 26? Thinking meant 16 up to 18.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by redrider:
The thing I was wondering about, is there like a "universal accuracy load"??? If I were asking about my 30-06 people would tell me to use 57g. of 4350 with a 165g. or 180g. bullet. [unquote]

In my opinion, the "accuracy load" is an 158 grain jacketed bullet with 14 grains of 2400. This works great in any .357.

No typo, 26 is all that will fit.
It makes it louder and and kick harder, but less velocity.