The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Challenge: Looking for a "Light" .357 Mag load

trapshooter · August 28, 2004, 11:24 AM

Thanks, Chris. I think you are exactly right regarding small charges in a .357 Mag case, as the only reason the case was extended was to prevent chambering in .38 Spl guns. (Newer compressed .357 loads notwithstanding). But I'm really looking for real 'light' .357 performance, around 1200 FPS for the 140/145 grain bullets. So, as I said, the 140 XTP is easy. Lots of data.

Like you, it puzzles me that WW shows no other powder outside of 296 for the 145 grain. It's a good powder for heavier mag loads, and I've used it for that in the past. (I like it in the .44 mag especially). Since the Winchester data is from the Winch manual, it's not surprising and entirely understandable that only Winchester powders are covered. Presumably, they think that 296 is the only really suitable powder they offer for that particular setup.

I think the other problem is that the Silvertips are not reloaded as much, as they aren't cheap, and aren't commonly available. The price tends to make them not popular for 'practice', and most folks don't like to load thier own SD rounds, which is the ST's target market. (No pun intended, but I like it anyway). So, that leads to a lack of good load data, apparently.

We'll see if anyone else feels like jumping in here.

August 28, 2004, 11:24 AM	#3
trapshooter Junior member Join Date: January 2, 2002 Location: Missouri Posts: 902	Thanks, Chris. I think you are exactly right regarding small charges in a .357 Mag case, as the only reason the case was extended was to prevent chambering in .38 Spl guns. (Newer compressed .357 loads notwithstanding). But I'm really looking for real 'light' .357 performance, around 1200 FPS for the 140/145 grain bullets. So, as I said, the 140 XTP is easy. Lots of data. Like you, it puzzles me that WW shows no other powder outside of 296 for the 145 grain. It's a good powder for heavier mag loads, and I've used it for that in the past. (I like it in the .44 mag especially). Since the Winchester data is from the Winch manual, it's not surprising and entirely understandable that only Winchester powders are covered. Presumably, they think that 296 is the only really suitable powder they offer for that particular setup. I think the other problem is that the Silvertips are not reloaded as much, as they aren't cheap, and aren't commonly available. The price tends to make them not popular for 'practice', and most folks don't like to load thier own SD rounds, which is the ST's target market. (No pun intended, but I like it anyway). So, that leads to a lack of good load data, apparently. We'll see if anyone else feels like jumping in here.