Recipes for short barrel 357 magnum

303hunter

303hunter

Loves Tommiegirl
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2017
Messages
1,992
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Rating - 100%
50   0   0
I recently bought a 2” 605 Taurus 357 magnum, and need some powder/bullet recommendations. I’m figuring H110/296 will result in a bunch of muzzle blast/flash. What do y’all recommend?
 
Use? What bullet do you plan on using?

H110/W296 are on the slower end and will throw fireballs in a 2” gun.

5 grains of HP38/W231, which are on the faster end (a smidge faster than Unique), should give a more complete burn in the short barrel and can push a 158gr LSWC at a decent velocity.

I use that load in my single action. Feels more in line with .38+P recoil, shoots clean, and no leading even with swaged bullets.
 
Last edited:
JRV said:
Use? What bullet do you plan on using?

H110/W296 are on the slower end and will throw fireballs in a 2” gun.

5 grains of HP38/W231, which are on the faster end (a smidge faster than Unique), should give a more complete burn in the short barrel and can push a 158gr LSWC at a decent velocity.

I use that load in my single action. Feels more in line with .38+P recoil, shoots clean, and no leading even with swaged bullets.
Click to expand...
I’ve got 158 XTP, 148 wad cutters, and 158 lwsc at the moment, and will try them first. Also have a few pounds of CFE Pistol and Titegroup. These will be for general shooting.
 
Based on what I'm looking at (Hodgdon's site plus an old Lyman manual), 5 grains of Titegroup behind a 158 LSWC should run almost the exact same pressure and velocity in a .357 case as W231/HP-38.
 
303hunter said:
Just target/general shooting. This Taurus is rough with full power 357’s, and I’ll only use them for carry and occasional shooting just to stay familiar.
Click to expand...
The load I listed is a bit of a mild magnum. If memory serves, it is around 1000fps from a 4" 686 and just under that from a 2" 640. It's pretty easy shooting. 😎
 
Since you already have Titegroup, I would start there. Be careful, it is possible to double or even triple charge a 357 case. For good midrange loads, I use BE86.

If you want magnum loads, N-110 will give similar performance to H-110 but have less flash/bang.
 
Last edited:
Toprudder said:
Since you already have Titegroup, I would start there. Be careful, it is possible to double or even triple charge a 357 case. For good midrange loads, I use BE86.

If you want magnum loads, N-110 will give similar performance to H-110 but have less flash/bang.
Click to expand...
Have you tried CFE Pistol? I’ve loaded quite a bit of 45 Colt and milder 44 magnum with it. It gives better case fill than Titegroup.
 
303hunter said:
Have you tried CFE Pistol? I’ve loaded quite a bit of 45 Colt and milder 44 magnum with it. It gives better case fill than Titegroup.
Click to expand...
Never tried it in 357mag or 38spl. I have used Titegroup in those and it worked well.
 
I don't have good access to my notes, but when I was loading 38spl with HS6 it made huge fireballs from a 3" barrel. I decided to load the rest with titegroup. The powder gets stretched further to reach the same velocities, and no fireballs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom