Heaviest bullet in 357 Handi?

[eskimo36]

What is the heaviest bullet that will stabilize and shoot accurately in the 357 Handi?  What rifle bullets have you shot that will group?  I am not concerned with expansion right now, just potential accuracy?  Is a heavier roundnose or pointed bullet most likely to shoot better? I have some 200 grain lead roundnose bullets that I shot 20 years ago at bowling pin matches.  I haven't had a chance yet to load any for my handi. Thanks guys.

[Paul5388]

I use a 250 gr Beartooth that looks like the second from the right in .357 Mag brass with the others to the left in .360 DW brass.  I shoot all of these in my unmodified Handi except the .44 Mag that's all the way to the right. 



The Beartooth will group like this at 100 yards.



The loaded OAL of the .360 DW loads is 2.15" as pictured and the Handi standard .357 Mag chamber will chamber these.  The .357 Max is only 1.98" OAL and these are longer than that.  They are seated in the normal crimping groove and the 180 gr XTPs are seated in the lower cannelure. 

The 180 gr XTPs as pictured will shoot 1" at 100 yards.

[Paul5388]

I should have mentioned that I have also shot pointed jacketed bullets up to 220 gr.  I don't think there's enough velocity to get them to expand, so they are probably a waste of time.  Besides, they didn't shoot as well as the 180 gr XTP or the Beartooth cast bullet.

 I suppose there's a possibility the 180 gr Hornady single shot pistol bullet would expand, but I doubt it would do as good as the XTP HP.  The XTP will clock at about 1670 fps with the .360 DW load I was using in the group posted above.  That's 1081 ft lbs of energy, which is pretty respectable.

The .357 Mag Handi has a very long throat, as you can see by the OAL I was using with .360 DW brass. 

I tried a lot of combinations trying to get it to shoot right and one of the biggest factors to influence accuracy for me was to eliminate the roll crimp.  When I started using a taper crimp (Lee dies will do a modified taper crimp if you set them right, but I use an extra taper crimp die) things began to work right.  There really isn't a need for a roll crimp in a single shot and the taper crimp will provide plenty of bullet pull for good ignition.  The Lee Factory Crimp Die may be a good option, but I haven't actually tried it to say for sure.

The 3 things I have done to change a bullet sprayer to a pretty good rifle are; 1) float the barrel 2) get the locking shelf right and 3) use a taper crimp.

[Swampman]

The Speer 180-grain FN will shatter both shoulders of a 150lb hog.  I was impressed.

[eskimo36]

Paul5388
  Can you suggest a starting load for a 200 grain lead bullet?

[Paul5388]

Eskimo,

I use 7.5 gr of 800X with the 250 gr LRNFPGC in .357 Mag brass, CCI 400 and seated in the crimping groove at about 1220 fps MV.  That would be a starting place for the 200 gr and then work up from there. 

I have used 13.5 gr of Lil'Gun with a 200 gr Rem PSP jacketed bullet at 1.845" OAL with a CCI 400, so that load would probably be fine for a lead bullet too.  I have also used 10.0 gr of 2400 with the same components and OAL.

If cold weather and double based powder is a problem, you might try 6.5 or 7.0 gr of SR 4756 (a single based powder that's not the same as SR 4759!) and work up from there. 

You won't find these loads in any manual that I'm aware of, so use caution!  AFAIK, they're too long for a handgun, so they're only suitable for a Handi or T/C.

My notes aren't nearly as good as the 17 page thread I started here. 

[eskimo36]

Thanks Paul5388...those 17 pages contain a bucket full of data.