357 mag shooting cast

[original]

hello.  i got to shoot my new used 357 mag.   i put some american eagle 158gr thruogh it and it shot pretty good groups at 50yrd open sights.  the handload hard cast .38 158gr semiwad cutters were a different story.  it was loaded with i think 4.7grain aof titegroup.  some of the bullets tumbled through the target, guess that is a keyhole??   another question is the barrel was factory fitted on a Bc frame and it lockes up pretty tight on my 243 frame, is there any problems from it locking up too tight? it does not take a lot of force to lock it up but just not as smooth as the other handis.  thanks

[quickdtoo]

Bullet instability(going thru the target sideways) can be causes by several issues, but top of the list is velocity is too slow or the bullets are too small for the bore.... or both.

Read my barrel fitting info in the FAQs to determine if if fits correctly.

Tim

[original]

thanks again tim.  how do i know what is the min velocity for a 22in barrel?  or is it a test load and shoot thing?  i will check the barrel fitting section again.  i want sure if there was anything on there about it being fitted too tight.  thanks again

[quickdtoo]

Your load is slightly above a start load, so it's likely the bullets are a little on the small side, and being hard cast, don't bump up to fill the bore, you can try to push them harder to see if it helps, but a bigger diameter cast bullet will probably be needed.

Tim

[gcrank1]

+1 on the too small dia. In my experience, most '.38 cal' guns shoot .359 or even .360 dia. cast bullets much better than those size at .357.