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**Mal H** · December 13, 1999, 01:00 AM

Without knowing which gun you will be shooting those rounds in, it is impossible to give a definite answer. However, in general it is ok to standardize on magnum primers with most .357 Magnum loads especially the slower powders like you are using. Some manuals like Lyman #47 list CCI 550's for all .357M loads. 16.9 gr of 2400 is a medium to high load, depending on which manual you read. So you should be safe if, and only if, you are using a modern strong revolver or rifle. After firing the first round, you should examine the shell for pressure signs.

One bit of advice I would give is to load a small number of rounds when you are working up new loads. If you fired one or two out of your 100 and found excessive pressure signs, you would have wasted a lot of money or would waste at least a lot of time pulling the bullets out to reload. Also, it is always wise to start off on the light side of the listed loads instead of in the middle. You would be surprised how much of a difference in pressure a particular load will produce in one gun compared to another. And the same thing goes for one particular loader vs. another. You might crimp differently, load with a shorter OAL, etc., etc.

December 13, 1999, 01:00 AM	#2
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,955	Without knowing which gun you will be shooting those rounds in, it is impossible to give a definite answer. However, in general it is ok to standardize on magnum primers with most .357 Magnum loads especially the slower powders like you are using. Some manuals like Lyman #47 list CCI 550's for all .357M loads. 16.9 gr of 2400 is a medium to high load, depending on which manual you read. So you should be safe if, and only if, you are using a modern strong revolver or rifle. After firing the first round, you should examine the shell for pressure signs. One bit of advice I would give is to load a small number of rounds when you are working up new loads. If you fired one or two out of your 100 and found excessive pressure signs, you would have wasted a lot of money or would waste at least a lot of time pulling the bullets out to reload. Also, it is always wise to start off on the light side of the listed loads instead of in the middle. You would be surprised how much of a difference in pressure a particular load will produce in one gun compared to another. And the same thing goes for one particular loader vs. another. You might crimp differently, load with a shorter OAL, etc., etc.