Reloading .357

FirstHussar

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Hi everyone

I am about to endevour to try my hand at reloading. I have just bought a LEE press, and know absolutely nothing about the reloading process, so I have a couple of questions about it. I'm sure there are many experts out there, so hopefully you won't mind fielding a few questions from a newbie. First, is it just standard .38 sp bullets I need to buy? I notice that they come in different grains. Is this just the depth of the projectile in the casing? Second, is it an absolute necessity to have a scale? Is this just to weigh the completed rounds?

Thanks for any answers you can give me.
 
FirstHussar said:
Hi everyone

I am about to endevour to try my hand at reloading. I have just bought a LEE press, and know absolutely nothing about the reloading process, so I have a couple of questions about it. I'm sure there are many experts out there, so hopefully you won't mind fielding a few questions from a newbie. First, is it just standard .38 sp bullets I need to buy? I notice that they come in different grains. Is this just the depth of the projectile in the casing? Second, is it an absolute necessity to have a scale? Is this just to weigh the completed rounds?

Thanks for any answers you can give me.
Best advice...Get a reloading manuel,sit back relax..and read the WHOLE manuel cover to cover.This will answer a lot of your questions.
 
First off to understand the Grains. Grains is a unit of measure 7000 grains equals 1 pound

a 158 grain bullet typical 38 special weighs 158/7000 of a pound.

In the interest of safety, yours and anyone around you, I would highly recommend you get both a reloading manual and a powder scale.
 
Like the other guys have already said, you need to get a reloading manual and learn each step of the reloading process. It's not rocket science, but if done incorrectly, you're going to hurt / kill yourself and whomever might be around you.
 
See if you can find a mentor down London way - someone in EESA?

Get a manual and surf the component sites to cross reference whatever you decide to do: alliantpowder.com, hodgdon.com, imrpowder.com, vihtavuori-lapua.com, hornady.com, nosler.com, speer-bullets.com etc.....
 
Did you notice they only gave you 1 piece of advice? Honestly just from the questions you are asking at this point you have no business reloading. This is dangerous stuff you're going to be playing with. Read 2-3 manuals most questions will be answered there and then start asking questions.
 
There are several weights of bullets for 357...
147 and 158 are the more common weights but there are numerous others
there are also several profiles... JSP,JHP, HBWC, SWC, WC, JFP

Then you have many different powders you can use...

You will need calipers, a scale to weight your powder and possibly your bullets and cases.. a tumbler to clean your used cases...

And you probably want a manual... At least look at the sites mentioned above ... Reloading is like baking a cake.. But it can kill you if you do it wrong...
 
Thanks for the advice. Don't worry, I wasn't going to embark on this until I knew fully how. These were just some interest questions.



doc25 said:
Did you notice they only gave you 1 piece of advice? Honestly just from the questions you are asking at this point you have no business reloading. This is dangerous stuff you're going to be playing with. Read 2-3 manuals most questions will be answered there and then start asking questions.
 
Two manuals worth getting are:

Lyman's Cast Book Handbook
Lyman's Pistol and Revolver Reloading Handbook

Take a hard look at bullet casting, adds to your shooting hobby and you will never lack for something more to learn.

Take Care

Bob
 
couple of things- it's not 38 special bullets- if you ask for 38 bullets , you'll end up with something that's 38 caliber in diameter- what you need is 357's in whatever weight you like-and read a good reloading book- i like the speer myself-
 
You might want to pick up Lyman's Cast Book Handbook and also Lyman's Pistol & Revolver Reloading Handbook. You will get a good grounding in shooting lead bullets.

Also take a look at:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php

There are three forums off this site that have guys there who have been shooting lead bullets since Christ made water. Lots of useful information and the guys take time to help those just starting out.

Take Care

Bob
 
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