The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old May 26, 2000, 11:14 PM   #1
munir
Member
 
Join Date: January 25, 2000
Posts: 92
I have rediscovered shooting after 30 years of not shooting. The weapon/calibre combination I enjoy shooting most is a SIG P239/.357 SIG. I rent the weapon right now, and will for a while.

But someday, I may buy a P239, and would have the option of supplying my own ammunition (right now, I buy ammo from the range I rent from). I have thought of learning to handload to keep the cost down (or the number of rounds up, with cost staying constant).

I have searched the various "newbie" threads in this area, and am learning from them, but I do have some specific questions. Is the .357 SIG the wrong calibre to learn to reload with? From what I've read about the .357 SIG, there is very little area for the neck of the case to "grab" the bullet. If this isn't done just right, the bullet can creep back in the case during recoil from the previous round, and the decreased volume inside the cartridge leads to execessive pressures when the round is fired. It appears that this round takes special handloading precautions. Is this correct, and are these precuations enough to make it wiser to learn with a non-bottleneck round like the .40?

Thanks,

munir

------------------
ahlan wa sahlan
PCV Yemen 1984-86
munir is offline  
Old May 28, 2000, 07:19 AM   #2
Patrick Graham
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 18, 1999
Location: Kokomo, Indiana USA
Posts: 674
Start with the 40. It's a simple barrel change from the 357 sig and much easier to reload for. Hope you have adjustable sights.
Patrick Graham is offline  
Old May 28, 2000, 08:28 AM   #3
k in AR
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 12, 1999
Location: Arkansas USA
Posts: 436
Munir, I agree with Patrick, start with a straight case, like a 40, 45, 9mm, 38, 357, etc.

Bottle neck, exsp the 357Sig, are very fussy about bullet seating. If you don't get it right the recoil of firing can drive the bullet of the rounds still in the clip back into the case. If this happens, real bad things can follow, like KB!

Your stright wall cases when resized are actually sized with a ID smaller (from mouth to base) than the bullet OD. Thus when you seat the bullet it isn't going anywhere.

Just get yourself a good reloading manual & follow the directions exactly. You'll be reloading like a pro in no time. BTW, when you select your caliber, this is a great place to find out what powder, bullets, primers, & cases people like so that you don't have to spend a lot of money sorting through all the options.

One other thought, at all the ranges I have ever been to, they do not allow any reloads to be used in their rental guns. So you may not need to get in a real big hurry.
$0.02 k
k in AR is offline  
Old May 31, 2000, 06:03 PM   #4
Reg
Member
 
Join Date: January 13, 2000
Posts: 54
While it may be "somewhat" easier to reload a straight walled cartridge, do not think that you cannot start reloading with the .357 SIG. This is exactly what I did about 3 years ago. I did a lot of reading and asked a lot of people about reloading in general. I then began to carefully reload rounds for my new SIG P226. Several thousand rounds and a couple years later, I am still hooked. I now also reload for several other calibers.
I think I was better off starting with the bottle-necked cartridge because I was extra careful and did not have any potentially dangerous attitude such as "aww..how hard can it be... I already know what I'm doing".
I actually find a couple of advantages of reloading the .357 SIG over the .40:
1) 9mm bullets are MUCH cheaper than .40
(just make sure to use bullets with a short ogive... Rem 115 & 124gr JHP, Rainier 124gr FP work excellent)
2) lots of used .40 brass has bulges from being fired in guns with unsupported chambers (ie: glocks)
3) Starline .357 SIG brass is top quality and about the same price as 9mm or .40 brass

The Lee dies are about the cheapest that you can buy and the general consensus is that they give about the best crimp of any dies for the .357 SIG. (they sure work well for me).
I know that some people have complained about bullet slippage, but I have never had a problem with my combination of Starline brass, Rem JHP's, and Lee dies.

If you enjoy shooting the .357 SIG, by all means do a lot of reading and then start cranking out the reloads!
Reg is offline  
Old May 31, 2000, 11:10 PM   #5
munir
Member
 
Join Date: January 25, 2000
Posts: 92
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Reg:
While it may be "somewhat" easier to reload a straight walled cartridge, do not think that you cannot start reloading with the .357 SIG. This is exactly what I did about 3 years ago. I did a lot of reading and asked a lot of people about reloading in general. I then began to carefully reload rounds for my new SIG P226. Several thousand rounds and a couple years later, I am still hooked. I now also reload for several other calibers.
I think I was better off starting with the bottle-necked cartridge because I was extra careful and did not have any potentially dangerous attitude such as "aww..how hard can it be... I already know what I'm doing".
I actually find a couple of advantages of reloading the .357 SIG over the .40:
1) 9mm bullets are MUCH cheaper than .40
(just make sure to use bullets with a short ogive... Rem 115 & 124gr JHP, Rainier 124gr FP work excellent)
2) lots of used .40 brass has bulges from being fired in guns with unsupported chambers (ie: glocks)
3) Starline .357 SIG brass is top quality and about the same price as 9mm or .40 brass

The Lee dies are about the cheapest that you can buy and the general consensus is that they give about the best crimp of any dies for the .357 SIG. (they sure work well for me).
I know that some people have complained about bullet slippage, but I have never had a problem with my combination of Starline brass, Rem JHP's, and Lee dies.

If you enjoy shooting the .357 SIG, by all means do a lot of reading and then start cranking out the reloads!
[/quote]

Just out of curiosity, what press did you start with?

Thanks,

Munir



------------------
ahlan wa sahlan
PCV Yemen 1984-86
munir is offline  
Old June 1, 2000, 03:34 PM   #6
Reg
Member
 
Join Date: January 13, 2000
Posts: 54
Because I was buying the gun, the press, and all the reloading components at the same time, I ended up starting off with a very inexpensive press. I bought the Lee deluxe pistol reloading kit for $79 from fmreloading.com. (includes auto-indexing turret press, scale, powder measure, plus a few other small items)
A lot of people cut down the Lee equipment, but for me it was an economical purchase that allowed me to get started in reloading. I am still using this press and it is working perfectly.
I am currently in the process of trying to decide if I am reloading enough to "really" need a fully progressive press. (Dillon 550 or currently leaning towards the new RCBS Pro 2000).
Even if I get a new press, I will keep the Lee turret to develop new loads on.

Cheers,
Reg
Reg is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:20 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04474 seconds with 8 queries