Loading .357 for plinking only.....LRN or FCP?

McHoss

McHoss

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New Brunswick.
Curious what folks think. Am I better off going with lead (Hornady) or copper plated (CamPro) for casual target shooting, not competition. I am able to get both locally in 158gr for basically the same price and will be loading with Unique. I have read that Unique and lead bullets is a nice match up. Looking at the data I would load 4.5gr under the LRN bullet and 5.0gr for the FCP with small pistol primers for both.

Revolver is a Ruger GP100 4.2” bbl.
The Hornady bullets are in stock in 300 packs for $33.
CamPro has to be ordered and comes in 1000 for $111.

I shoot about once a week and roughly 50 rounds of .357 per outing, give or take.

Thoughts?
 
For plinking the bullet barn sells 105gr lead for 47$/500 have used them they work great I my sp101
 
For what it's worth, I have 2 GP100, and I use campros. We had a similar thread a few weeks ago, I posted pictures of my targets, you can see my results for accuracy. The conclusion was that campros weren't as accurate as I believed them to be, but still way more accurate than I shoot if I don't use a hand rest, so there is no practical reason not to use them for me until I get better. Also, I shoot full power loads with H110, so I think LRN would lead the barrel.

But for me, the main reason I don't like LRN is the lube. Whenever I've used lubed bullets, my gun gets dirty to such an extent that it pisses me off. I don't particularly like cleaning guns, I like shooting, so I clean my guns because I need to in order to shoot. And the lube got everywhere in the mechanism, and I had to do a huge cleaning job every 50-100 rounds of LRN, compared to practically never with FMJ.

So I don't doubt that either bullets would work just fine for you, but the Hornady might be more accurate while the campros might be less of a cleaning hassle. With that, it's up to you to choose what you prefer.
 
I've been making up 158 gr Campro bullets over W231 for my GP 100, but recently started making Hornady XTP's for my Henry 357 carbine. Huge difference in accuracy in the carbine, but both bullets shoot better than I do in the GP 100. Shooting range with the revolver is 15 to 25 meters, with the carbine 30 to 50 meters at the range.
 
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Being a lead bullet caster I'd go for the lead bullets. I find that if the proper load is used they are not that dirty. Last outing over
300 rnds through my 44 which had no problems. Unique is an excellent powder which will cover low to just over mid range loads.
 
I load 7 gr UNIQUE over 158 Campros for target practice. I get exceptional accuracy with all my revolvers with them. I’m a bullet caster too and make lead tumble lubed 158 gr bullets over 3.5 gr Bullseye in a 38 Spl case for my best accuracy. I mostly use those in my S&W K38 but they shoot great in all my 357 revolvers too.
 
I use 158 Cam Pros with either 6 or 7 grains (both very accurate) of Unique in the 357 mag case in my GP100 4.2". They are accurate, and it also shot Berrys very well too. I don't shoot PPC so no need for 38 special, that way I don't have to worry about crud rings when shooting the magnum rounds.
 
McHoss said:
I do. But I have much more .357 brass and my dies are .357 only right now. Also I can avoid the magical cylinder fouling created by firing .38 from a .357 revolver.
Click to expand...

Yep, if you have a 357 gun then there is no point collecting 38 brass. That dirty ring is just more work cleaning.
 
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