Powder for reloading 357 mag

[sandman31774]

I haven't actually begun reloading yet but studying up on things. I see Alliant 2400 being highly recommended but Hodgdon Lil'Gun has caught my attention also. I've searched the internet some but don't have much time right now as my wife is going to have a baby soon. So i'm asking some compare/contrast these two powders in this thread please. I will be using 158 gr jacketed hollow points (remington) most likely if this helps at all. Ruger GP100 6" barrel. Anyone have experience with both of these powders?

[zxcvbob]

Lil'gun is a better (the best?) powder if you're loading 180 or 200 grain bullets for a carbine. But for 158's and 125's, it's hard to beat 2400. You can get a little more velocity with 296 or H110 or Lil'gun, but they are harder powders to work with and it takes a lot more powder per cartridge.

I like AA#7, but that's partially because I bought a bunch of it cheap.

[Sport45]

What are you looking for? W296/H110 will give top velocity for most bullets but can't be downloaded much. Lil'Gun is good for heavier bullets. I believe they all need mag primers and a heavy crimp.

If you want a lot of flash I hear Blue Dot is the ticket.

2400 and Enforcer are more flexible and I don't think require mag primers.

I use a lot of Unique or Universal for mag loads. They're stout enough for me.

[Doodlebugger45]

Just like the others have said, either the Lil Gun or 2400 will get you some badass high velocity rounds. Same thing with 296/h110. AA-9 and IMR 4227 are also good on the top end of velocities. I happen to like Enforcer in that same range as well. Nothing wrong with any of them really.

But... the really cool thing about 2400 is that it is MUCH more flexible than any of those other powders. Not that you want to use it for light loads, it's not THAT flexible. But all those other modern powders are designed to work at very narrow ranges. They are kind of like the old Dodge Hemi engines. They work great at peak RPM but run like crap cruising down the street.

2400 is a really old powder. I think it was actually intended to be a rifle powder back in the day for the old weaker rifle cartridges. But it is truly remarkable in magnum pistols. It will get you very very close to the max velocity of the newer super pistol powders, but you have quite a bit more flexibility if you don't want to push the limits of your gun.

[zxcvbob]

If you haven't bought the bullets yet, you owe it to yourself to try a box of 158 grain hard SWC or RNFP cast bullets with 8.0 grains of Herco. (start at about 7.2) It's powerful, fun, and cheap to shoot.

[NWPilgrim]

Lots of good powders. For the common bullet weights you get top velocities with W296/H110 (only reduce load y 3% at most), AA9 and 2400.

Medium loads (significantly faster than .38 spec +P) can be had with flexible powders such as Unique, Universal, and many others.

The .357 and .44 Mag cartridges are fantastic for reloading as they have lots of case capacity and high pressure ratings so you can load from mild to wild. The only issue I have found is when loading light charges there is a lot of empty space, which is why I like Unique for slow to medium loads in these cartridges. In the smaller pistol cases I might go for W231 or AA2, but I like Unique to take up more space in the larger revolver cases.

[Doodlebugger45]

Well put Pilgrim. I guess the OP was mostly interested in the hotter faster loadings, but you're missing out if you don't investigate the more moderate loads as well. I like the 44 mag and 357 mag because there is a lot of room to play with there. The one powder that I know of that deviates from the normal worries about fast powders/big cases is Tite Group. I don't understand the chemistry there, but Tite Group works extremely well in big cases with low charge levels. It burns clean and consistently with just a little dab of it in the case. It gives some pretty respectable loads in my 44 mag revolvers. Not in the w296 range, but surprisingly high anyway. I have even loaded Tite Group in my 480 Ruger loads. Not the obvious choice, but it worked very well for some pretty potent, highly accurate, clean burning loads.

I just went and counted the pistol powders in the closet again. Hmm... 15 of them in there and there's a couple more that I'd like to have. I LIKE having 15 of them, but I could still function with 3 or 4. Don't ask me which ones I would have to eliminate, but if I was forced to cut down on the number of powders, I think I would definitely have a can of 2400 and a can of Tite Group on the shelf no matter what.

[Sevens]

While this won't help you a whole lot for reasons to use it in .357 Magnum, I'll still share why 2400 is the one I choose.

I use it in .357 Magnum because it's got a long, LONG history in this cartridge and it's established. There may be better, but as was already said by others... 2400 not only works, but it's flexible, doesn't need to be a scorching max load but can still run hard... doesn't need a magnum primer... and meters beautifully through my equipment. It's easy to find load data for it because it's been so popular in .357.

And another h-u-g-e reason why I use it is because while I keep more than a dozen different powders on hand (I enjoy the flexibility and ability to experiment), I love to have some powders that I can use in multiple applications.

For me, 2400 is one of those powders. I use it in .357 Mag loads, cast and jacketed, and I use a lot of it in .30 Carbine loads for my Blackhawk. I've also begun using it in my .327 Federal Mag loads with jacketed bullets and it seems to run well there also.

Next to Power Pistol, 2400 is one of my favorites and very important to my bench.

[WESHOOT2]

One choice? 2400.
Smart choice? More choices.....

[Snakedriver]

I've been using W296 for 30 years in my .357's and am very happy with it. I first tried Red Dot and it was dirty + inaccurate. Then, I went to Blue Dot and the huge boom + giant muzzle flash was not my style. Fairly good velocity and accuracy though. I finally landed on W296 (same as H110) after talking to some other reloaders and have been happy with it every since. There's no flash, smoke or excess boom from my S&W Mod. 28, just really good velocity and accuracy.

W296 is not a good choice for cast lead bullets as it's too hot and will lead-up your barrel or for .38 specials. For .38's use W231.

ETA: I only reload 158 gr. bullets in .357 Mag.

[overkill0084]

"2400. Easy to work with & accurate. Why would I switch?"
That's what I was told when I asked a friend about his powder choices for warm to hot .357 loads. He's been reloading longer than I've been alive. I'm sure there are other great choices out there. If the supply of 2400 were to go away tomorrow, I would look into Accurate 9 or perhaps H110.

[Poodleshooter]

To be fair, H110 and 296 are also pretty versatile. They get used in the .22 Hornet and are very popular in the .410.
However 2400 is my favorite because of its insensitivity to the downloading issue,and the fact that it runs very well through my measure (which chokes on AA#9, or AA# anything for that matter). It also makes a dandy cast bullet powder for downloaded rifle cartridges.
I haven't had a chance to try IMR4227 or Lil'gun- the two "even slower" powders that often get used in the magnums.

[Sevens]

While I haven't seen or used AA#9, I've seen and used AA#2 and AA#7 and I can't imagine any powder measure that wouldn't fall in LOVE with either of them.

IMR-4227 also meters well but it seems to me to be a heavy charge weight for what you get compared to all the other players. I know that 4227 can be/has been used in .44 Mag, but in .357 also? I don't know.

[AlaskaMike]

W296 is not a good choice for cast lead bullets as it's too hot and will lead-up your barrel

I gotta disagree with that one. 296 is the powder I use for probably 90% of my magnum level cast bullet loads and it works beautifully. In my five magnum revolvers (.357 and .44 mag) I get no leading whatsoever, I think mainly because my cast bullets (usually RCBS 38-150-SWC and 44-250-K) are sized well with respect to the chamber throats and barrels.

I used to dislike 2400, but I'm coming back to it in the .357 mag. 14 - 15 grains with a 158 grain bullet (cast or jacketed) in my 4" model 28 gives me very good results.

Another very flexible powder that doesn't get much attention in revolvers is Power Pistol. It's a little slower than Unique but is much more stable and consistent at the higher end of it's pressure range than Unique, but it's also perfectly fine loading mid-level loads as well.

[BigJimP]

You didn't ask for the comparison - but I prefer Hodgdon TiteGroup -- for all my handgun loads ...and its great in .357 mag or .44 mag ---and down to 9mm ....

[Poodleshooter]

While I haven't seen or used AA#9, I've seen and used AA#2 and AA#7 and I can't imagine any powder measure that wouldn't fall in LOVE with either of them.

The Lee "Perfect" Powder Measure doesn't do well with very fine grained ball powders like the AA# series. It requires a lot of fiddling with the drum to keep them from leaking out.

[mikld]

"W296 is not a good choice for cast lead bullets as it's too hot and will lead-up your barrel "

There's a lot of other factors to barrel leading, the most important is bullet/bore fit. Any powder used with an ill-fitting bullet will cause leading.

For my .357 I've used 2400, Unique, and Bullseye. 2400 for heavy loads, Unique for middle of the road power, and Bullseye for light easy loads (targer w/wadcutters and general plinking).

[RaySendero]

I just use what I have on hand.

Have H110 for M1-30 Carbine - Works well in my 357.

Also have green dot for 2 shotguns - It also works well in 357 for practice loads.

[spacecoast]

Titegroup is good for most low and mid power loads. I use H110 to bump up the power levels to near-max. for .357.

[458winshooter]

+1 for 2400 it is much more flexable than many other powders that are for top end loads.I would also like to recomend VV N-110.It is a clean burning powder that is very near the same burn rate as 2400.It is a bit more expensive because it is sold in 2 lb cans instead of a 1 pounder.It does not have alot of flash when ignited either.And it can be reduced much like 2400 as well when top loads are not desired.

[YARDDOG(1)]

I like H110 in my 158gr SJSP for hunting sidearm @ 1230 FPS ; )
Y/D

[WESHOOT2]

For my hotter 357 Magnum loads I use 3N37, N350, N110, AA9, H110, and W296 (my lots of H110 and W296 are NOT 'alike').

[Ruark]

Lil' Gun is reportedly best for heavier bullets in a .357, i.e. 158 and up, and with longer barrels, say over 6 or 7 inches.

I use H110 in a Blackhawk 6 1/2" stainless. 16.6 grains (the max load) with 158gr Hornady XTP HPs gives me close to 1600fps, about as hot as you can get with a .357. Use small pistol magnum primers, roll crimp.

- Ruark

[AlaskaMike]

CAUTION: The following post includes sarcasm and a weak attempt at wit. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from this poor attempt at humor.

For my hotter 357 Magnum loads I use 3N37, N350, N110, AA9, H110, and W296

I'm familiar with duplex loads, but never loads using SIX powders! Sheesh!

[Ruark]

"I'm familiar with duplex loads, but never loads using SIX powders! Sheesh!"

Don't forget to mix in a little peanut butter and mayonnaise!!!

- Ruark