bmb: most of the commercially made bullets for 38/357 are cast hard enough to stand up to nominal magnum velocities without leading the barrel. Some folk who reload prefer a gas-checked bullet. Your best bet is to slug your bore (use a really soft bullet and send it down the tube with just enough powder to get it out the end of the barrel and then mic the slug) and use cast bullets .001 larger than your bore. Most Rugers I know of use a .358 slug and most commercially cast bullets will work just fine. I would not recommend softening the nose on a cast slug - using cast I want that bullet to hold together and not deform which may cause it to veer off course and not drive straight on through.
I feel, personally, that the leverrevolutions just may not be worth it and I do not prefer lightweight bullets moving at high speeds from revolvers for hunting. I prefer the heavier cast semi-wadcutter or LBT designs at slower speeds for greater penetration.
You need not go crazy purchasing tons of reloading equipment. You can purchase a set of dies and a Lyman hand tool, saving yourself some serious $, and work on a few at a time rather than trying to cook up a couple of hundred all at once. And you will also have to determine which bullets and powder combinations shoot best in your revolver. This is where it becomes fun and once you have found a load that you like and one that shoots accurately you will get bored shooting boolets through the same hole alla time - (and all this from the master of the one shot group........).
As for the corbon 180s - you will find you can purchase slugs like that from any number of sources and use common cannister powders to obtain the velocities corbon claims - which by the way aren't anything hotter than what any of my load manual prescribe. My personal favorite for the 38 and 357 is a 200 gn semi-wadcutter from either Colorado Cast Bullets or Mt. Baldy Bullets over a factory charge of WW296 for the magnums or WW231 for 38 spl snubnosed revolvers, and I guarantee ya that the corbon loads won't or can't do that for you. HTH and good luck.
