What's your recipe for 357 Cowboy action reloads?

[Key-Hay]

So my light target loads (158 gn LSWC running at 800 FPS) are kinda over the top for CAS. What would you recommend for getting a little closer to the 60 power factor?

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[Throckmorton]

I have a LaserCast manual with some load data I can share if u want. what is your load now ?

 

[Key-Hay]

Using 4:5 grains of Unique. 158gn LSWC from lasercast. Think I need to drop to 125gn and find a cleaner powder.

 

[Throckmorton]

the lasercast manual shows only max loads,you could download a bit,say 1/2 grain and see if it's more to your liking.All of their loads run right at 950fps..kinda hot if ur looking for mouse phart loads. Titegroup burns pretty clean,max for 125 grain bullet is 4.2 grains. 3.3 grains for 158 cast bullets.
As i say,try them and if to spicy,download a bit from there.
ps,I know a great place to get bullets if you need some.

 

[Key-Hay]

I have a friend who is shooting 105gn in .38 Special. The bullets are Badman I think. Round nose with a flat point (for use in lever). Feels like my vaqueros have a .22 conversion in them.

 

[Throckmorton]

yep,big difference in felt recoil between .38's and .357's,especially as you go lighter in the bullet dept.
Have u tried Western 3 gun ? I just tried it last week, and boy is it different. we're putting on another one..as far as I know..this coming Sat at tri county. It's not on the sched so they were going to try and get the range for the day. You can shoot on the move,and shoot the targets just about any way you want tol.almost all targets are bonus targets..knock downs..so aiming is important in addition to going as fast as you can. your stage time can easily end up in negative numbers the way it's played. Way more stell to pack tho. I'llf find out it it's a go today.

 

[Key-Hay]

TCGC is my club. Was planning to go there this sat to practice. Gotta work on stuffin the double quicker.

 

[OldGrayDog]

The Speer Manual #14 has some interesting discussion about CAS loads. They recommend a 140 gr. minimum bullet with one of the faster powders for the most consistent .38/.357 results.

Here are some loads I've chrono'd, all with 158 gr. SWC in .38 brass:

True Blue 4.8 - 761 fps av
Clays 3.1 - 747 fps av
Trail Boss 4.0 - 737 fps av from a 6" barrel, 760 fps from a 7 1/2"

Some similar loads with other powders:

A#2 3.6
TiteGroup 3.1
HP-38/W231 3.6
Bullseye 3.1

All of those will be around 750 fps, give or take a little. The Clays load is my favorite, and it has the added advantage of being one of the least position sensitive.

The power factors are all in the 115 to 120 range. If you really want to get down closer to 60 you'll have to go to a 90 gr. bullet in a .32

 

[Key-Hay]

My Speer is 13. All it has for 357 is 158 gn for lead. That's what loaded my 357 target loads for. Not gonna be competitive with those.

 

[Throckmorton]

We are good to go for a Saturday 'extra' match this coming weekend. I'll paste in the letter I just received.

"We had some requests to add another Western 3 Gun match to our schedule before winter sets in and we've just received approval to hold one this Saturday October 29th at the TCGC action range. We'll begin set up at 8:30am Saturday morning (NO Friday set up). A mandatory shooters meeting will begin at 10:00am followed by match start.

Help with set up and tear down is GREATLY APPRECIATED! If you can help, we need you!

This will be a "fun" match. The only thing you can win is bragging rights (no ribbons). Overall match results will be made available online .

We don't usually offer food after fun matches, but Red Ryder Rose and Snappy Dan will be bringing Spaghetti! Side dishes will, of course, be appreciated.

The match fee, for those without an annual pass, will be half price - only $4.00. Women and Juniors, as usual, are free.

So, if you enjoy Western 3 Gun, dress for the weather and come on out. Let's have some fun!


YOu might as well practice on the clock,eh? I suck at sxs reloading too,what the heck,it's still fun.

tons of steel for these matches,so ALL help is a big help !

 

[Key-Hay]

So I got a package this afternoon from MidwayUSA. 2 sets of Wolff spring kits for the Ruger SASSs. So I dove in and installed one set. Now I have the revolver back together but when I spin the cylinder the typical clicking is much louder. If I point the barrel at the ground the the clicking sounds normal. If I point the barrel up the clicking gets loud.
I took it back apart and reassembled, can't see anything i did wrong. Revolver seems to function fine except the clicks.

 

[Key-Hay]

Thanks for the invite Throkmorton, That was way too much fun. Got my picture taken with Iain Harrison, History Channel's Season 1 "Top Shot" champion. Are they going to post the results so I can see how I did?

 

[Throckmorton]

we are supposed to get an email with the results,suppoesed to get it last night,but so far no show. I"m sure she'll get it done tho.
I wish I had taken time to go watch Iain shoot,just got too busy to be able to do it.

 

[Key-Hay]

It's on the web already. Here you go

http://www.oryguncowboys.us/uploads/102911MatchFinal.pdf

 

[AMProducts]

I usually run 5.0-5.5gr of HP38 behind a 130gr lead RNFP. I usually run it through both pistol and rifle. It's a lot of fun to shoot. The bullet is a magma 130gr RNFP, most of the major "cast bullet" providers sell this exact bullet. Try D&D bullets, tru-cast, or *gulp* redline.

These loads might be a bit on the hot side for cowboy shooting. I double checked the book, 4.1gr of HP-38 is the minimum doing about 950FPS which is hotter than I usually see firing these over a chronograph. (~850fps) which is why I bumped it up. For the 60PF with a 130gr bullet, you need to be doing 500fps, which is probably unreasonably slow. Maybe bump it down to 3.5-3.8gr of HP38 and yes, I realize this is below a minimum load use at your own risk (works fine for me)

 

[civilian75]

Mikeli,
Do you have a chronograph? They come handy for load development. One can be had for around a hundred bucks.
Have you looked at Trail Boss?

 

[Key-Hay]

So I settled on 3.0 grains of Titegroup behind a 125 grain TFP in .38 Special. Chrony'd them at 600 fps.

I looked into Trail Boss. It's for folks who tend to double charge rounds. Have never had that problem (yet). It's almost twice the price of titegroup and has a tendency to "Bridge" in progressive presses causing low powder throws.

 

[Throckmorton]

I tried some 140 grain bullets over 3.8 Titegroup tonight for my son's Blackhawk and our snub nose for plinking.shot fine,but I may try just a smidge less and see hot it goes. These sounded good shot to shot,didn't have the chrony,not sure it would work at the indoor range I just joined,which is MILES closer to home.

 

[Key-Hay]

I'm loading for Cowboy action so the loads I was looking for are as Throckmorton calls "Bunny Pharts". All they have to do is ring a steel plate from 7 yards away.