.357 shot shell recipe?

OkieCruffler · September 1, 2002, 08:58 AM

Well, after several months cut off from the rest of the world, I've finally found an internet provider out here in the boonies. It's great out here, I can shoot out my bedroom window as long as The Wife isn't around. But I have a small problem with snakes of the rattling kind. Now I'm normally of the mind to live and let live, but a couple of the buggers have wanderd into my backyard and my city dogs don't have the good sense to leave them alone. Now a .22lr works, but I was wondering if anyone had a good mix for a .357/.38 shot shell without buying those little blue shot cups. I don't need anything big enough to shoot at passing geese, just enough shot and velocity to take out 3 feet of nasty.

swifter... · September 1, 2002, 10:44 PM

Well. Never tried this with .357... Mostly with .41 &.45 LONG

Colt.

Anyway, cut some wads from a cleaned & dry milk carton. You'll need one over the powder, and one over the shot.
You probably won't be able to get much shot into a .357 round, but look up the lightest load for the lightest bullet in a fast powder. Bullseye. Red Dot, etc.
Load that into a primed case.
Slide a wad down onto it. A dowel helps.
Unless you have some loose shot, sacrifice a few shotshells to get it. I find a mix of 6 & 8 or9 birdshot works. Fill the case to just short of the mouth, add a second wad, and seal with a dab of silicone sealer.
Remember, you're not looking for 1400 fps here, 450-500 will work fine. Test loads on a cardboard box to see if you have "buzzworm coverage".
Don't shoot yourself in the foot...

Tom

griz · September 2, 2002, 07:55 AM

I've used the same method as Swifter for my 44 mag shotshells. Never shot a snake, it was more an experiment than anything else. Also second the advice of testing the pattern.

The 357 will have a light payload but seems as if it would work at close range. I base that on using CCI 22 shotshells on rats. If that dinky charge will kill a rat, then you should be able to get one snakes worth in to a 357 case.

Quantrill · September 2, 2002, 08:24 AM

Okie,
What the others have said is right on the ball. The only thing that I can offer is one more way to load those shotshells. Use gas checks. Put one over the powder, flanges down, then put in the shot ( I always use #9 cause you can put more of them in there), then cap it off with another gascheck over the shot. I crimp the case as usual and that holds everything together. We used them to shoot floating balloons as a demonstration. The powder was 700X and the load was 2.7 grains. Quantrill

OkieCruffler · September 2, 2002, 08:27 AM

That sounds like the ticket. I was thinking of useing a powder load from the 38S&W chart and dropping a load of 9 shot on top, just wasn't sure what to put in between and how much shot I could use. Never thought of just using the same weight as a bullet

. Looks like I got some experimenting to do.

Gunslinger45 · September 6, 2002, 07:10 AM

Going with the same idea as using a cut down .410 shell in a .45 Colt, I got ahold of some .357 maximum cases- holds a good bit more shot, all you have to do is " shrink" the front of the case to fit in the chamber - I think I used a 9mm sizer.

September 1, 2002, 08:58 AM	#1
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	.357 shot shell recipe? Well, after several months cut off from the rest of the world, I've finally found an internet provider out here in the boonies. It's great out here, I can shoot out my bedroom window as long as The Wife isn't around. But I have a small problem with snakes of the rattling kind. Now I'm normally of the mind to live and let live, but a couple of the buggers have wanderd into my backyard and my city dogs don't have the good sense to leave them alone. Now a .22lr works, but I was wondering if anyone had a good mix for a .357/.38 shot shell without buying those little blue shot cups. I don't need anything big enough to shoot at passing geese, just enough shot and velocity to take out 3 feet of nasty. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

September 1, 2002, 10:44 PM	#2
swifter... Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 1999 Location: So. CA Mountains Posts: 540	Well. Never tried this with .357... Mostly with .41 &.45 LONG Colt. Anyway, cut some wads from a cleaned & dry milk carton. You'll need one over the powder, and one over the shot. You probably won't be able to get much shot into a .357 round, but look up the lightest load for the lightest bullet in a fast powder. Bullseye. Red Dot, etc. Load that into a primed case. Slide a wad down onto it. A dowel helps. Unless you have some loose shot, sacrifice a few shotshells to get it. I find a mix of 6 & 8 or9 birdshot works. Fill the case to just short of the mouth, add a second wad, and seal with a dab of silicone sealer. Remember, you're not looking for 1400 fps here, 450-500 will work fine. Test loads on a cardboard box to see if you have "buzzworm coverage". Don't shoot yourself in the foot... Tom __________________ There are damn few situations so screwed up that adding government to them will not make 'em worse... The best homeland security is an armed & informed citizenery! Molon Labe!

September 2, 2002, 08:24 AM	#4
Quantrill Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 1999 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 725	Shot loads Okie, What the others have said is right on the ball. The only thing that I can offer is one more way to load those shotshells. Use gas checks. Put one over the powder, flanges down, then put in the shot ( I always use #9 cause you can put more of them in there), then cap it off with another gascheck over the shot. I crimp the case as usual and that holds everything together. We used them to shoot floating balloons as a demonstration. The powder was 700X and the load was 2.7 grains. Quantrill

September 2, 2002, 08:27 AM	#5
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	That sounds like the ticket. I was thinking of useing a powder load from the 38S&W chart and dropping a load of 9 shot on top, just wasn't sure what to put in between and how much shot I could use. Never thought of just using the same weight as a bullet . Looks like I got some experimenting to do. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

September 6, 2002, 07:10 AM	#6
Gunslinger45 Member Join Date: August 22, 2001 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 49	Going with the same idea as using a cut down .410 shell in a .45 Colt, I got ahold of some .357 maximum cases- holds a good bit more shot, all you have to do is " shrink" the front of the case to fit in the chamber - I think I used a 9mm sizer. __________________ Gunslinger Cogno, ergo, boom

September 2, 2002, 07:55 AM	#3
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: Middle Peninsula, VA Posts: 1,588	I've used the same method as Swifter for my 44 mag shotshells. Never shot a snake, it was more an experiment than anything else. Also second the advice of testing the pattern. The 357 will have a light payload but seems as if it would work at close range. I base that on using CCI 22 shotshells on rats. If that dinky charge will kill a rat, then you should be able to get one snakes worth in to a 357 case.