Recommendation for 357 mag, for silhouette and target shooting?

[prgallo]

Veral,

Hi, I'm looking to place an order for a mould and would like a recommendation.

The gun is 357 magnum, Taurus 66 with 6 inch barrel.  It slugs with (after a mild firelap) 358 throats and 357 groove.

Do you recoomend the 140, 160 or 180?  Should the diameter be 360 and then sized down after casting or just order 358?  That way if I get a levergun or another revolver the same mould should work.  Is this enough info for when I place the order,  so you know the correct nose length, or do I need to measure?

Thanks in advance for your help.

   Pete

Added later:  FYI, while if have some experience casting (not a ton, but 10,000 or so bullets) I haven't gone Silhouette shooting yet, will be going for the first time in November.  Hence the basic uninformed question...  thanks.

[WayneS]

Pete,
You need to specify which silihouettes you plan to shoot; the IHMSA  ones shot out to 100 yds or the ones out to 220 Yds. This will determine the weight of bullet required.

[prgallo]

I just checked and it's IHMSA, out to 100 yards.  Looks like 25, 50, 75 and then 100.  Plan on shooting Field Pistol using my red dot.


Pete

[prgallo]

Some additional info that may matter:

I'm currently casting and loading a 168 Keith in my Taurus 66.  It fits just fine (custom mould 358429) when crimped into the groove with a OAL of 1.620.  It's close to the face of the cylinder (.01 inch), but has been working very well.

From an alloy point of view, I get pure lead very easily and WW not so much.  I do get enough WW to mix in 25% with the lead for water dropping.  I also do buy alloy mixes from Roto, so getting lino if needed is OK w/me.  I do throw in some solder for tin as well.

Hope this helps a bit.

Oh, for the foreseeable future I'll keep pan lubing.  A Star is on the "someday" wish list.  So does 1 lube groove or 2 lube grooves work best?  My thought is to optimizze for pan lubing, if I should ever get the Star and need a bigger mould I'll deal with it then.  I guess the real questions is, 1 or 2 lube grooves for pan lubing and silhouette shooting?

[Veral]

  You'll get the hardest impact on steel with a wide nosed bullet, same as on game, except for steel high velocity isn't as much an asset as heavy weight.  I suggest a 200 gr FN, with nose length a bit shorter than your Keith, as .010 if too close to the end of the cylinder for relibility.  As long as there isn't an enemy to take down, it won't be a serious matter to tie up the cylinder if a bullet slips a little, but even losing a match or ruining the fun of completeing it isn't worth running too long an OAL.

  If you want to finger lube, let me know when you order the mold and I'll set it up with good grooves for that purpose.  Most likely two grooves on a 200 gr FN plain base.  Ordering at exactly cylinder throat diameter is wise if you don't plan on getting another gun, as I guarantee over what is asked for, trying to hold about .0005 over specified diameter, but allowing up to .0015 over.  If you believe you are quite likely to get a lever gun, drop the weight to 180 gr, as their twist is a bit slow for a 200 gr pb, but will stabilize a 180 gr pb very nicely at the speeds possible with pb.

[prgallo]

Thanks Veral.  Order will be coming.

Pete

[TommyD]

Hi Veral,

I just got a new GP100 and am looking to get a new mould, perhaps in the 160 or greater weight range. Mostly for target and plinking, but also for self defense. Maybe for some pest control. There are some coyotes where I have my country place, and my wife had to dispatch a rabid raccoon last year with her shotgun. I would be loading them in both 38 special and 357 brass.

I recently bought a mould for a 170 grain Keith bullet (the same one mentioned above) but have sent it back to the manufacturer because it casts bullets way undersize. The bullets only weigh about 160 grains and the diameter of the rear driving band measures 3565 to 357 and the front driving band measures only 354. It drops through the .358 cylinder of my GP100 with essentially no resistance at all. I sent it back to the manufacturer for replacement. We will see how they respond.

In other posts you have mentioned the XS bullet configuration which isn't listed in your catalog. How does the nose shape/meplat compare to the regular flat nose configuration? Which gives better accuracy in the 50-100 yard range? Will the XS nose shape feed in a lever gun? I don't own one yet in 357, but who knows what the future will bring.

In my area, gas checks are getting harder to find, so I am tending to a non-gas check version. I use a Star sizer and love the 45 cal 260 grain bevel base bullet mould you made for me. It is the most accurate bullet in its weight class that I have found. If you think it would work well, I would like another bevel base bullet.

What are your recommendations?

Tom

[Veral]

  I've already answered your questions via email but they are good for public information, so I'll do it again here.

  The GP 100 is a fairly light gun, which will probably dictate a 160 gr to keep recoil pleasant for the type use you have for it.  The XS will not feed in a lever gun, as the meplat is much wider than the FN, which is the bullet I'd recommend if you think you might want to use it in carbines.  I've been able to hit a quart oil bottle quire regular at 100 yards, using the XS with hot 38 special loads from a 4 inch revolver, shooting off hand, with two hand hold.  Speed being 1100 fps, which could have been faster with a slower powder.  So it is plenty accurate, but the FN does have a better flight form, and is more accurate. 
A bevel base is what I'd reccomend for Star users, flat base if for RCBS or Lyman sizers, and one doesn't want to use gas checks.  However for wringing a carbine length barrel out, or a 357 revolver, a gas check bullet can churn out quite a bit more horsepower, with no leading and optimum accuracy.  I strongly reccomend anyone wanting to shoot plainbase bullets to get our LBT bullet lube.  It will take you to far higher levels of power and accuracy than any other lube, whether plain base, bevel base or gc.

  The so called Keith bullet you have is quite typical of most mass production mold maker designs, which are set up to feed or chamber freely in any gun, accuracy be hanged, as long as it goes bang.  Keith hated it and complained about it till he died.  If I call a bullet a Keith, it is as exact a replica of his design as I know how to make, and they shoot like he claimed they did, if they fit the gun and if the gun is set up to the standard of the guns he shot.  (Of coarse you know the manufactures sent him only custom shop guns once he became popular!?)   The LBT lap kit will make most guns equal to what he unknowingly used.