357 magnum ans 12 inch barrel- for bear defense

bandit86

bandit86

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My shotgun is too have to carry all day long I'm going to try my Chiappa mares leg in a side holster, it'll balance my hatchet maybe. I have some standard 158 blazer HP rounds ready to go but I'm thinking I'd reload some Hornady XT or just plain tmj rounds.

12 inch barrel, what is the best way to optimize a 12 inch barrel; rifle or pistol powder? Something in between? I have a stash of titewad, titegroup, 4198 amd 4895, I think the 4198 might work
 
Load Li'l Gun in that 357. It will outperform any other powder with lower peak pressures.

The 357 magnum case lacks the capacity to effectively use 4198

Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
Load Li'l Gun in that 357. It will outperform any other powder with lower peak pressures.

The 357 magnum case lacks the capacity to effectively use 4198

Dave.
Click to expand...

Correct - Lil'Gun is my top 180gr XTP load for 357 mag. Better yet, I have a BLR LW 20" carbine in 358 Win and use .357 cal 180gr XTP with a nasty RL7 load = .357 on steroids.
 
Just because it's a rifle you'll be using does not mean you want to use rifle powders. There's three top notch powders to use for full power .357Mag rounds. H110/W296, 4227 and 2400. These three options produce the most velocity for the least peak pressure.

Of the powders you list the ONLY one shown in the data is Titegroup. So why would you even consider the others? Stick to the loading manuals done by those that know what to use.

The Hodgdon reloading data web site as well as my Lyman manual both have separate data for .357Mag used in rifles and handguns. But both list the same powders. Just the expected muzzle velocities change due to the barrel length.

Too cheap to buy a reloading manual? Then stick to Hodgdon powders and use their reloading data website.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
 
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