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Old June 6, 2009, 07:37 AM   #1
John McHenry
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.357 vs.358

Gentelmen. I shoot in a pistol league using a S&W 686 for the centerfire portion with reloaded SWC 38 spl ammunition. As you know cast lead bullets for this caliber come in .357, or .358. Has anyone noticed any difference as far as accuracy and performance go?
John
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Old June 6, 2009, 09:17 AM   #2
RamSlammer
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In my experience it depends on how hard the bullets are cast. I get better results using .358 for softer bullets (BHN 12 and below) and .357 for harder casts above 14 BHN. Velocity also plays a role; below 850 FPS I use softer bullets at .358.
Best accuracy for my .38 special chambered guns is with .358" LSWC at 10 BHN and around 750 FPS velocity. Coincidentally or not, this approximates the "standard" loading for that caliber used for years.

For .357 Magnum chambered guns I seem to get better results using magnum length cases with a .357" LSWC cast to 18 bhn at around 1,000 fps.

I get my bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. which does a good job of offering several alternatives in hardness and sized dimension.
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Old June 6, 2009, 09:21 AM   #3
wncchester
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I think the individual barrel will be the controlling factor, not what any of us think.
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Old June 6, 2009, 11:40 AM   #4
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To determine the proper size bullet for your gun you will need to slug the barrel and determine the chamber throat sizes for each chamber of the cylinder. A lot of answers to using cast bullets is available in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook.

To reduce leading and improve accuracy, you need to know the bore/throat measurements. Shooting too small bullets is a guarnteed leading problem. I would suggest you start with some .358" bullets. Drop one into the cylinder, and push it out. It should be a light push fit. (if the throat is smaller than the bore, the bullet gets swaged down as it passes through the throat and is too small for the bore) If you don't have any slugging material (fishing sinkers; egg type) take a bullet and mark the sides with a marker pen, carefully drive the bullet through the lightly lubed barrel. Measure the results. All the marker should be gone and the measurement will tell you the bore size. If there is any marker left that means the bore is over .358" and you should have a larger bullet. Extra/better accuracy will take a little work; but it's all fun!
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Last edited by mikld; June 7, 2009 at 11:16 AM.
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Old June 6, 2009, 12:27 PM   #5
Dannyl
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My S&W 586 works very well with 0.357

Hi,
I have a S&W 586, and have always used 0.357 bullets ( cast) both in 158Gr' SWC and 180Gr' truncated, flat nose.

I load them with a medium charge of a local powder (Somchem S265), which is equivalent to IMR4350 and Hogdon H205 (as per the manufacturer's manual).

I use it for pin-shooting competitions, IDPA and handgun Metallic Silouhette.

When it comes to accuracy, I can consistently hit steel targets that are roughly 10"x10" at 200m and knock dem down (180Gr', open sights)

In theory you should slug the barrel, but unless your handgun has a worn out barrel, I would try first with the 0.357.

I have to point out that I only use 0.357 mag cases, not 0.38 Spl.

Good luck,

Danny
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Old June 6, 2009, 11:20 PM   #6
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I don't know if S&W is as bad as Ruger in machining cylinder throats. I have a 45 LC where almost every throat was a slightly different diameter and all of them were less than bore diameter. No wonder I couldn't get good accuracy with ANY bullets. I sent it out and had the cylinder throats opened to .4525. My bore was just "slightly" less than .452. What a difference the work made. I probably voided my Ruger warranty, but accuracy got better 10 fold.
I seem to remember seeing a show on revolvers where the factories machined all 6 cylinders at the same time, with 6 different cutters. No wonder there are differences in throats.
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Old June 7, 2009, 12:51 AM   #7
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It's been a long time but I think I remember there was a difference between S&W and Colt one was .357 and the other .358 could be wrong anyone know for sure.
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Old June 7, 2009, 06:42 AM   #8
John McHenry
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Thanks

I really appreciate all of your replies. I've only been shooting handguns competitivly for 2 years, and have learned alot, but the main thing I've learned is that I have alot to learn. At first it didn't matter because my shooting ability wasn't good enough to tell if I had equipment problems, or if it was just me (which was mostly the case), but as I've become more proficient I'm starting to suspect that it's not all me anymore. I have become competitive at the highest level (in our local league) so now I'm looking for the little things that might take me to the top spot, and I appreciate your help.

John
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Old June 7, 2009, 08:30 AM   #9
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Ruger4570, Ruger is well known for tight throats. They are designed for jacketed bullets as there aren't too many (in proportion) that shoot lead. All the Ruger wheel guns I've had were .3575 bore and .3575 throat.
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