Load for .357 158g frontier cmj with TG??

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Parnelli

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So I'm new to handgun loading. Trying to find what load to put behind .357 mag with frontier cmj 158g bullets. I get there is a difference between plated, cast, and copper bullets and hogdon only lists 158g hornady xtp loads and mei cast loads with a full grain + difference between the two. I dont want to underpower... or overpower.

Suggestions? Is a cast metal jacket round closer to a cast fswc or an xtp? I was hoping to do 4.7ish grains... is under if the bullets act like xtp... but right in the middle if closer to mei cast??
 
That's the question though. Xtp is listed 5.4 to 6.1, cast is listed 4.5 to 5.0. So for cast I'd be pretty hot at 5.4.... but if they are more like xtp I'd be very low. Hence when its cast that jacketed... which scale is better to go with?
 
Plated (think campro) are harder then lead but not as hard as XTP. So I load more then lead but stop around start load for jacket. Then again just go to campro site and print off there listed loading on there home site.
 
Just beware that not all plated bullets are plated to the same thickness as Campro products. I have used other plated bullets where plating was so thin even a light roll crimp cut thru the surface. Proceed with caution. Unless otherwise stated by the maker use lead data for plated bullets. Do what u want but prepared for the outcome.Frontier claims their CMJ bullets are equal to FMJ so u may be just fine
dB

edit..Just looked at Frontiers plating specs..They claim 125microns which is equivalent to .004in, half the plating thickness of Campro
 
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Campro lists 5.4g start and 6.1 end, exactly what hogdon lists for xtp...
So things should be ok with the cast metal jacket with over top for lead cast, which ends at 5.0g, and xtp which starts at 5.4g??

Looks like a similar process (plated copper jacket) as frontier uses, so ill start at 5.4. going back to berger and rifle bullets after this haha! getting that crimp right is an art to itself
 
Parnelli said:
So I'm new to handgun loading. Trying to find what load to put behind .357 mag with frontier cmj 158g bullets. I get there is a difference between plated, cast, and copper bullets and hogdon only lists 158g hornady xtp loads and mei cast loads with a full grain + difference between the two. I dont want to underpower... or overpower.

Suggestions? Is a cast metal jacket round closer to a cast fswc or an xtp? I was hoping to do 4.7ish grains... is under if the bullets act like xtp... but right in the middle if closer to mei cast??
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My suggestion is to ask for a book from whoever you bought the powder from . you never mentioned what type of powder . go to the Hodgon website and look up a load for a 158 grain jacket bullet . if I'm not mistaken the frontier bullets are plated ? follow the book loads and you won't have any problems . I have loaded plated bullets with the same powder amount that I have run with jacketed bullets. I have never had any problems .I don't ask people for their loads I go by the books I get from who I buy the powder from . I have noticed that a lot of powder makers have lowered the amount of powder that they used to say that you could use in a given load in a new book as compared to a previous older loading factory manual . liability issues I guess .
 
Yup its listed above a few times, Titegroup. I also have blue dot. Blue dot isnt listed under the loads by hogdon, titegroup is. Titegroup is listed at those 2 ranges i list above. 1 range is for cast bullets. the 2nd range which is .4g higher then the highest cast range is for the hornady xtp.
So if i load max for cast, im still under minimum for the hornady xtp. if i load the CMJ at the lowest for the xtp listed by hogdon, then ill be over max for the cast range... so hence the question, what is a frontier cast with copper metal jacket more like, a cast round, or an xtp round... TG stands for titegroup, apologies for not writing that one out.

And not asking people for loads, i am asking exactly which range I should load to, cast, or xtp....
 
Parnelli said:
So I'm new to handgun loading. Trying to find what load to put behind .357 mag with frontier cmj 158g bullets. I get there is a difference between plated, cast, and copper bullets and hogdon only lists 158g hornady xtp loads and mei cast loads with a full grain + difference between the two. I dont want to underpower... or overpower.

Suggestions? Is a cast metal jacket round closer to a cast fswc or an xtp? I was hoping to do 4.7ish grains... is under if the bullets act like xtp... but right in the middle if closer to mei cast??
Click to expand...

Between titegroup and blue dot, I'd use the later for .357.
I usually try to pick a powder that has the greatest spread of weighed charge between minimum and maximum published.

In my experience, a complete metal jacket isn't going to behave too much differently than a plated bullet unless you are in the extremes of loading for the velocities you want. In the end you are starting low and working up and ideally checking velocities at the same time with a chrony. More often than not, unless I'm starting out with a cartridge for the very first time, I might be starting in the middle of their published data, and rarely at the very bottom.

Do you handload for any other pistol caliber? Plans to? I'd save the titegroup for something like a small case auto like 9mm or 40 S&W.
 
Blue Dot is a good medium velocity powder for .357. It can get you closer to top velocity than most but I suggest working up carefully. Alliant did stop publishing data for 125/.357 combos but 158 never came with any warnings.

It's a very flashy powder BTW, good for wowing guests at the range. Both powders will provide a mid-range load which is what I gathered you are after.

Titegroup will be something you really want to watch when loading, small charges are easy to double up and that would be very bad. It's also a very hot burning powder.
 
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