.357 mag with 158 gr. SWC and Unique???

[ru44mag]

My books don't give a listing for Unique and this heavy of a lead bullet in .357 mag. I had written down 6.4 grains, I think from INGO. I was getting ready to load 7.2 grains, but thought I would double check. I am reading info that has max at 7.5 and at 8.0 on other forums. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

 

[CCC]

Alliant website. Company who makes or distributes Unique.

Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide


Alliant Powder - Home


Be careful your load looks HOT.

 

[ru44mag]

Alliant website. Company who makes or distributes Unique.

Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide


Alliant Powder - Home


Be careful your load looks HOT.

Thanks! I looked at Alliant's website before. Somehow I missed that data. I have already tested my 200 grain 44 special rounds with 7.2 grains and 44 mag rounds with 10.2 grains of Unique. They were great out of my Super Blackhawks and the Rossi model 92. I will back off a little on the .357.

 

[ru44mag]

My books don't give a listing for Unique and this heavy of a lead bullet in .357 mag. I had written down 6.4 grains, I think from INGO. I was getting ready to load 7.2 grains, but thought I would double check. I am reading info that has max at 7.5 and at 8.0 on other forums. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

Wow!!! That's bad! I found the thread on INGO...and I was posting in it. It was only 2 weeks ago...... Sucks getting old....maybe it's lead poisoning.

 

[SSGSAD]

My books don't give a listing for Unique and this heavy of a lead bullet in .357 mag. I had written down 6.4 grains, I think from INGO. I was getting ready to load 7.2 grains, but thought I would double check. I am reading info that has max at 7.5 and at 8.0 on other forums. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

I use Speer #10, yes it is OLD, but so am I ..... I load 6.0 ..... that is max, for a lead bullet .....

Mild recoil .....

 

[ru44mag]

I use Speer #10, yes it is OLD, but so am I ..... I load 6.0 ..... that is max, for a lead bullet .....

Mild recoil .....

I just loaded 100 rounds with 6.5 Unique. I will test them in the morning. I'm expecting mild to moderate for .357. 2 of my 3 .357 revolvers can handle it. The third never gets more than 38 +P.

 

[snuffy33]

I use Unique at 6.0 or 5.5 with a medium crimp

 

[woodsie57]

You have the most common bullet weight ( for the caliber) and arguably the most commonly used pistol powder; the combination of the two has been a classic load since the 1950s or earlier. You should be ok- I've shot hundreds using the 0.7 cc lee dipper , works out to 6.4 grains- mild, accurate and kinda dirty

 

[oldpink]

You may already have this in mind, but just in case, I'll mention that you'll want to keep muzzle velocities fairly mild -- below 1,000 feet per second -- if those SWC bullets are soft lead and not cast of suitable alloy or gas checked, the reason being to minimize leading.

 

[ru44mag]

You may already have this in mind, but just in case, I'll mention that you'll want to keep muzzle velocities fairly mild -- below 1,000 feet per second -- if those SWC bullets are soft lead and not cast of suitable alloy or gas checked, the reason being to minimize leading.

I tested those loads, and they are pretty mild for magnums. I like them though, and will stick with that load for my cast bullets. I have not noticed any leading. I think they are good quality bullets and hard enough. I copied what's below. These are the bullets I use. Tell me what you think.

Welcome to Dardas Cast Bullets! You have found the ultimate in accuracy, quality, and value! We have been incorporated since 1992 and pride ourselves on providing customers with world class quality cast bullets. You can order using our webstore, telephone, email, or check. All of our bullets are 100% visually inspected which ensures that you will receive ONLY world class quality cast bullets. We use only World Class Quality 92-2-6 alloy which has a BHN of 16. We will provide you the specification sheet in PDF format upon request. I have 45 years of bullet manufacturing experience which is reinvested in the world class quality cast bullets that you will purchase. I also have won National, State, and local titles in both rifle and pistol. I am also blessed with National Records as well. We define World Class Quality by Standard Deviation (SD). Our SD is maintained at or below 0.5 as a result of our closely monitored quality control standards.

 

[oldpink]

I tested those loads, and they are pretty mild for magnums. I like them though, and will stick with that load for my cast bullets. I have not noticed any leading. I think they are good quality bullets and hard enough. I copied what's below. These are the bullets I use. Tell me what you think.

Welcome to Dardas Cast Bullets! You have found the ultimate in accuracy, quality, and value! We have been incorporated since 1992 and pride ourselves on providing customers with world class quality cast bullets. You can order using our webstore, telephone, email, or check. All of our bullets are 100% visually inspected which ensures that you will receive ONLY world class quality cast bullets. We use only World Class Quality 92-2-6 alloy which has a BHN of 16. We will provide you the specification sheet in PDF format upon request. I have 45 years of bullet manufacturing experience which is reinvested in the world class quality cast bullets that you will purchase. I also have won National, State, and local titles in both rifle and pistol. I am also blessed with National Records as well. We define World Class Quality by Standard Deviation (SD). Our SD is maintained at or below 0.5 as a result of our closely monitored quality control standards.

I'm no expert on cast bullets by any means, but the alloy listed in that description should allow you to go about as fast as you practically can with a .357, should you really want to, although you're obviously intending to keep them more at the middle.
Those look like the definition of hard cast to me.

 

[Sniper 79]

Don't know what my powder charge was now but I loaded a bunch of those swaged Hornaday lead bullets with Unique. Shot like a cap gun and hit way low from my Ruger Vaquero. Pistol was dialed for full power 125grn mags. Overall a fun shoot all day range load. Gun was dirty from powder but no lead.

I bought a mag to shoot mag so I shot them up and burned the rest of Unique in 45acp.

If those bullets are hard I would look into 4227 or 2400.

 

[ScouT6a]

I'm no expert on cast bullets by any means, but the alloy listed in that description should allow you to go about as fast as you practically can with a .357, should you really want to, although you're obviously intending to keep them more at the middle.
Those look like the definition of hard cast to me.

You have to keep in mind that harder bullets does not ALWAYS equal less leading. Common myth.
One factor of barrel leading is when the bullet is too hard and the base does not obturate during firing. This is a fancy word that means the base of the bullet does not upset or expand to seal the bore off. Hot gases can then blow around the sides of the bullet and melt the bullet, resulting in leading of the barrel.
Just one factor, but an important one.

 

[mac45]

Like ScouT6a said, sometimes harder isn't better.
Size is if anything, more important. A good rule of thumb is .001" over the cylinder throat.
Unique wouldn't be my first choice for Magnum loads, but does OK for the midrange stuff.
If you want to push it, try 2400, IMR4227, or Lil Gun

 

[straight-shooter]

If I were to run a 357 magnum load and cast I would either run a gas check or powder coated bullet. I would also recommend Alliant 2400. As mentioned above, Unique will get you mid range quality. Unique is a great powder for cast but not the magnum flavor.

 

[oldpink]

You have to keep in mind that harder bullets does not ALWAYS equal less leading. Common myth.
One factor of barrel leading is when the bullet is too hard and the base does not obturate during firing. This is a fancy word that means the base of the bullet does not upset or expand to seal the bore off. Hot gases can then blow around the sides of the bullet and melt the bullet, resulting in leading of the barrel.
Just one factor, but an important one.

Like ScouT6a said, sometimes harder isn't better.
Size is if anything, more important. A good rule of thumb is .001" over the cylinder throat.
Unique wouldn't be my first choice for Magnum loads, but does OK for the midrange stuff.
If you want to push it, try 2400, IMR4227, or Lil Gun

I can't argue with either of you on your excellent points.
As mac already mentioned, proper sizing is helpful to stop leading.
Have the proper alloy and that, and you can probably forget about having to go through all the hassle of gas checks.

 

[Sniper 79]

I had some commercial hard cast that leaded like crazy with 231. I think that powder was too fast melted the base and blew lead all over that gun. I think I went to 4227 or 2400 it cleaned up and I had a much better mag flavor working load. I played with the same type of stuff in 44mag in a 10.5" Super Blackhawk

 

[ru44mag]

The bullets I'm using are .358 in diameter. I have not noticed any problems with leading. I have most of a pound of H110 that I bought around 25 years ago when I dabbled in reloading with a friend. I was planning on buying some jacketed hollow points for the .357 mags and the 44 mags, and load those up sometime this winter with the H110.

 

[Sniper 79]

The bullets I'm using are .358 in diameter. I have not noticed any problems with leading. I have most of a pound of H110 that I bought around 25 years ago when I dabbled in reloading with a friend. I was planning on buying some jacketed hollow points for the .357 mags and the 44 mags, and load those up sometime this winter with the H110.

Sounds good. I would go with plated for plinkers and jacked for anything else. Two hours in my basement scrubbing lead out of a revolver was a real time burglar. I no longer shoot bare lead in anything. The money I saved I spent on cleaning supplies and time not to mention having to stop the loading process to scrape bullet lube from the seater die.

 

[Hookeye]

My dad used to cast bullets, good ones (sold them at gunshows for years).
158 SWC and Unique..............burned tons of that in .357 as a kid.
Dirty but pleasant as far as recoil goes. No leading problem.
Been a long time since I shot those wuss loads, think it was 6.5 grains....maybe 7.0.
But these were not soft lead or crappy sized. Pops made darn good stuff.

Myself included