Question regarding reloading for .357 Magnum rounds
- Thread starter OldNewGuy
- Start date
Is that so? Thats great because that's all I have lol
Rule of thum
If you use powder which fills up only 1/4 to 1/2 of the case (like 700x) use regular small rifle primers.
If you use powder which fills up most of the case, you need bigger boom, use small pistol magnum primer.
If you use powder which fills up only 1/4 to 1/2 of the case (like 700x) use regular small rifle primers.
If you use powder which fills up most of the case, you need bigger boom, use small pistol magnum primer.
I have loaded and fired 10s of thousands of 357 and I use exclusively H110/W-W 296 and CCI 550 spm primers and a heavy crimp into the cannelure. I even trimmed all my 357 once upon a time when I was shooting some silhouette with it, in order to get a good firm and consistent crimp on my bullets. I moved up to a 44 mag after but followed all the same procedures and I got very consistent loads by doing this. I have seen a dirty ugly squib with 296 and a standard primer with no crimp. It is an ugly and stinky thing, one must also then remove the bullet from the barrel and scrape all the goo, which turns to a glass like substance when it cools and is a nightmare to remove from your pistol.
Virtually every manual recommends a magnum primer when using H110/296 and there is a good reason for it, it is also the "go to" powder if you truly want absolute maximum magnum loads. I have never used a magnum primer with any other powder in any pistol, but I have never tried L'il Gun in a pistol cartridge but I suspect given it's shape and burn rate a magnum primer may well be a good idea.
Virtually every manual recommends a magnum primer when using H110/296 and there is a good reason for it, it is also the "go to" powder if you truly want absolute maximum magnum loads. I have never used a magnum primer with any other powder in any pistol, but I have never tried L'il Gun in a pistol cartridge but I suspect given it's shape and burn rate a magnum primer may well be a good idea.
If you want to find out if you are getting a good primer ignition in very cold temps look down at the snow. While working up 44 Spec loads with Blue Dot a couple of winters back, I found the accuracy of all the various loads to be P poor. I happened to glance down at the snow in front of the range house shooting port. There was a layer of unburned powder lying on the snow, Research indicated that Blue Dot, although an very good 44 Spec option, does not ignite well in very cold temperatures using a standard large pistol primer. Switching to a magnum primer for the same loads greatly improved ignition... and hence accuracy. This is the reason that I often use ball powders in both pistol and rifle (e.g. Win 748) for punching paper during sub-zero winter outings.
