Reloading the 357mag

[skeet]

Good choice.. I use quite a bit of that myself. I have about 800 rounds of 357 mag once fired..think I'll get it all loaded up myself.. Then it won't be cluttering up the shelves..as useless brass

[Skinny Shooter]

I'm finally a handgun reloader...

Minimum starting charge of HS-6 is 9.8 grains.
That is a small charge of powder in a 357 mag case and is that really the correct amount?
Seems like such a small volume of powder when compared to case size.

[skeet]

Starting charge is 9.8 with a 125?? Sounds bout right...max is probaly under 11 grains or so.. Have fun..be careful.. You can also use HS 6 with heavier bullets...and with cast bullets too. I have a bunch or 158 gr cast that I load..

[Skinny Shooter]

Yep, max is 10.9.
I worked up in 2/10 grain increments from 9.8 and stopped at 10.8.
What's the be careful part for? LOL

[Jack]

You'll find lots of loads in the 357 that leave a lot of powder space unfilled. That's OK, just inspect carefully - there is enough room to get a double charge in there.

[Skinny Shooter]

Thanks
I'm using a rockchucker so it's slow going with deliberation.

[skeet]

What Jack said..double charges. One of the reasons I don't use Bullseye. and slower powders for mags are my choices. But I don't usually need the max speeds for most of my shooting. My ol Highway Patrolmans shoot most of the heavier stuff extremely well. But they are N frames anyway..

[Skinny Shooter]

Got to the range today with the reloads.
Due to a few factors I couldn't benchrest the pistol so I shot offhand.
Not ideal but its what I had to work with.

Ended up being very pleased with the results.
The minimum load wasn't a bad group. The next two loads got bigger and then the 2nd from last load was the tightest.
10.6 grains of HS-6, WSPM primers and the 125gr XTP are what I'm going with for now.
I plan to eventually shoot off the bench to check everything.

HS-6 is cleaner than the American Eagle and Winchester white box that I was shooting.
Recoil was mild for all loads.

This is gonna be a bonafide groundhog slayer come Spring...

[skeet]

I thunk you'd like that 125 gr bullet. It shoots flat but has a bit of oomph when it gets there.. Much flatter than most cast loads. The 110s are screamers but lose energy fast too. You can get more velocity with 296/H110 but at pretty high pressures....and a lot more muzzle blast. Also..a little lower velocities are USUALLY more accurate . darn it..but not always..LOL My ol 5 screw Highway Patrolman 357 shoots the 125's very well. it is a 6 inch one. I like to carry the 4 inch gun though

[Skinny Shooter]

I forgot to ask earlier.
With rifle reloads, whenever a component change is made, you back off a bit and work back up to make sure everything is safe.

If I change the brand of brass in a revolver, do I need to work up a new load all over again?
I have some Federal brass and am currently using Winchester.

[Jack]

Hodgdon shows 9.8 as a start load for 125's in the 357, and 10.9 as max. Since you're within 3/10's of max, I think I'd back off a bit and work up with any component changes - including brand of brass.
Maybe not necessary, but, it can't hurt, and it's lots cheaper to work up a load again than to buy a new gun, hand or eye.

[skeet]

Allen..With Commercial brass i doubt it would make a big difference. With Rifle ammo many rounds were based with military brass which was usually heavier..but as Jack said.. it surely can't hurt and you only have to try a few 10ths less. I also would drop back. with the pressures you are looking at..may make a big difference. When loading 45 auto 38 spec and other rounds I load 'em mid range so mixed brass is not a real big deal...with magnum stuff I weigh every powder charge when loading at the max. with a RCBS Chargemaster electronic powder measure scale combo. Same with rifle loads.. I am a chicken in my older years

[Skinny Shooter]

I had loaded Winchester brass with no issues.
Picked up Remington brass cause that's all I could find.
Loaded up a new batch of loads with Win primers and HS-6 and Remmy brass.

After shooting the first set of loads this afternoon and looking at the primers they seemed to be seated deep.
Every load after that had one or two rounds that failed to fire and showed a light primer strike. They eventually did fire once I cycled them through again.

For some reason these primers were seated too deep.
I use the RCBS hand priming tool and don't think I seated them too heavily.
Anyone else have this problem?