.357 Magnum

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Ranman

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I am the proud new owner of a S&W 686 .357 Mag 6" barrel for which I want to reload. I have my Dillon 650XL ready for the task but I need to know a good online source for brass and bullets. I'll also want 38 special brass as well. So, a couple of questions:

Where can I get the brass and bullets online? What powder is popular for the .357 as well as the 38sp? What weight of and style of bullet is favoured for general range use?

Thanks
Randy
 
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budget shooter has 357mag cases in stock and various bullets, try the other sponsors above.

a popular load for 357mag is a 158gr (jacketed, plated, cast) bullet with 15gr of h110/w296 powder. another one i use is a 110gr or 125gr bullet with 22gr or 21gr respectively, although i wouldn't shoot many of those in your smith. i have a smith 586 that i used to use them in, but now only shoot them in my ruger blackhawk. For 38 spl my favorite load is 2.8gr of bullseye with a 148gr HBWC, very light recoil and laser accurate. beyond those it's a matter of experimentation and seeing what you and your gun likes.

357 mag powders i use are h110/w296, lil'gun, 2400, and 4227.
38spl powers tightgroup, trailboss, w231/hp-38, universal, bullseye, etc etc.
 
Spawn-Inc said:
budget shooter has 357mag cases in stock and various bullets, try the other sponsors above.

a popular load for 357mag is a 158gr (jacketed, plated, cast) bullet with 15gr of h110/w296 powder. another one i use is a 110gr or 125gr bullet with 22gr or 21gr respectively, although i wouldn't shoot many of those in your smith. i have a smith 586 that i used to use them in, but now only shoot them in my ruger blackhawk. For 38 spl my favorite load is 2.8gr of bullseye with a 148gr HBWC, very light recoil and laser accurate. beyond those it's a matter of experimentation and seeing what you and your gun likes.

357 mag powders i use are h110/w296, lil'gun, 2400, and 4227.
38spl powers tightgroup, trailboss, w231/hp-38, universal, bullseye, etc etc.
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I was thinking of trying out some .38spl loads with Trailboss. Does it meter well in a powder mesure?

N.B: Sorry OP, not trying to hijack your thread.
 
Armored Metal said:
I was thinking of trying out some .38spl loads with Trailboss. Does it meter well in a powder mesure?

N.B: Sorry OP, not trying to hijack your thread.
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Hey, not at all. I have the same question. I want something that will meter well too.

Thanks Spawn for your insightful reply. I will try Budget for the brass.
 
Armored Metal said:
I was thinking of trying out some .38spl loads with Trailboss. Does it meter well in a powder mesure?

N.B: Sorry OP, not trying to hijack your thread.
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no, it's a fairly large donut shape which is not conducive for consistent metering. i mostly use trailboss in my 500 mag for very light target loads using a RCBS uniflow powder measure. i use 10grs for a 440gr bullet and have to tap the powder measure about 2-3 times to get consistent results. if i don't tap the powder measure i get from 9.5gr to 9.7gr.

Armored Metal said:
I was thinking of trying out some .38spl loads with Trailboss. Does it meter well in a powder mesure?

N.B: Sorry OP, not trying to hijack your thread.
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i haven't loaded a whole lot of 38spl with trailboss because to me any 38spl i've tried is a light load as compared to the 500mag or ever 357mag. if trail boss metered great i might consider it. any standard powder for 9mm, 40, 45acp will work good for 38spl.
 
Ranman said:
... as well as the 38sp? ...
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My opinion only but also shared by others...if you want to shoot .38 special, get a gun chambered in .38 special. You have a gun chambered in .357 mag so shoot .357 mag. You can download .357 mag to get light loads similar to .38 special so you are not accomplishing anything by shooting .38 special in it and there are some downsides...obviously not significant in most folk's minds. But just 'cuz you can, doesn't mean you should.

Congrats on the gun by the way! Have fun and be safe....357 mag is very versatile and my favourite cartridge.
 
Ranman said:
Hey, not at all. I have the same question. I want something that will meter well too.

Thanks Spawn for your insightful reply. I will try Budget for the brass.
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I'm still new at reloading so I can only tell you that HS-6 meters well and 700x does not. I have yet to try my fresh supply of CFE pistol. My youngest is theeting like mad (9 months old) so, little sleep and no time for reloading.

As for where to get supplies, I always get my powder and projectiles locally to avoid shipping costs. I get my brass of the EE. And congratulations on your new purchase, S&W revolvers are great firearms. I personally love my model 66.
 
38 brass is easy to get and it's cheap. My guess is you'll fire 25 or 50 and the rest will be a waste of money.

For .357 brass, the only way I could build any up was to buy factory ammo or commercial reloads, and save up. The commercial reloads were less expensive than some people are charging for brass.
 
Buying components on-line can cost you a fortune in shipping costs. Worse for bullets, primers and powder, but it's better to buy components locally. Most shooters buy loaded ammo and reload the brass when starting out.
Forget the .38 brass and load .357 brass to .38 velocities. Use a different bullet to keep 'em separate. Means you won't have to clean the cylinders after shooting .38's.
Been using Bullseye with a 148 grain WC for bullseye shooting out of a GP100 for eons. Don't shoot much .357 myself,(don't have much use for it since you can't hunt with or carry a handgun) but a 125 grain SWC is the 'go to' bullet.
 
sunray said:
Buying components on-line can cost you a fortune in shipping costs. Worse for bullets, primers and powder, but it's better to buy components locally. Most shooters buy loaded ammo and reload the brass when starting out.
Forget the .38 brass and load .357 brass to .38 velocities. Use a different bullet to keep 'em separate. Means you won't have to clean the cylinders after shooting .38's. .
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Good suggestion on using only 357 brass. The shipping rates for Budget don't seem too bad actually. 1000 bullets, 200 brass for under $20.
 
Good day. I have found Switzers auction in the Bancroft area to be very useful. This past weekend they had 10 pound bags of a large variety of brass. Definitely worth a look.
 
NVShooter said:
My opinion only but also shared by others...if you want to shoot .38 special, get a gun chambered in .38 special. You have a gun chambered in .357 mag so shoot .357 mag. You can download .357 mag to get light loads similar to .38 special so you are not accomplishing anything by shooting .38 special in it and there are some downsides...obviously not significant in most folk's minds. But just 'cuz you can, doesn't mean you should.

Congrats on the gun by the way! Have fun and be safe....357 mag is very versatile and my favourite cartridge.
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Beat me to it. Firing the 38 Spl in. .357 gives you some nice rings in the cylinder, true PITA to remove. I have a pet target load for my Mdl 19 using the longer cases. No worries.
 
brush out your cylinder once in a while, and .38's work fine. Skeeter Skelton used to load .357 loads in .38 brass, lots of them. 38 special brass used is about 25% of the price of used .357 brass, when you can find them.
 
ATOM said:
Beat me to it. Firing the 38 Spl in. .357 gives you some nice rings in the cylinder, true PITA to remove. I have a pet target load for my Mdl 19 using the longer cases. No worries.
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X2 The reason I stopped shooting 38special loads in a 357.

I shoot it with 2 loads. 158 XTP's and Lil Gun or 158 Berry's with Bullseye for my so called light loads. So much easier to clean.

Oh I have also shot 125 XTP's with 2400.
 
The thing about he higher price of the Mag cases is true, but they're straight cases and will last virtually forever, making the long-term cost pretty much moot.
 
sunray said:
Buying components on-line can cost you a fortune in shipping costs. Worse for bullets, primers and powder, but it's better to buy components locally.
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It also costs a fortune in gas driving around the country side trying to pick up some reloading scraps on a bunch of retailers empty shelves.

Guess what, I have no problem finding reloading components because my shelves are right full, all due to some of the great online retailers right here at CGN, and I didn't have to leave the comfort of my couch. Your buying components online bit was old the first 400 times you said it Sunray, give it a rest....
 
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