YOU CAN MAKE remarks about the ancestry of my dog. Have your doubts about the gas mileage toted up by my family sedan. Spread the story, if you wish, that my backyard barbecues could be best digested by a brood of Arkansas razorbacks. But if you cast aspersions on my .357 Magnum sixgun, get somebody to hold your coat. We'll continue the discussion in the alley.
-- Skeeter Skelton.My first revolver, my first handgun, my first firearm -- was a 357 Magnum. It's the caliber I always wanted to own.
So I'm happy to report that, after shooting 357 Magnum and a plethora of other calibers for years, the 357 Magnum is still my favourite.
Shortly after I bought the 357 (A Taurus 66, 3" barrel) a fellow at work emigrated, and sold me a few hundred Norma cases. I'm still reloading those.
I started with 0.95 cc (12.5 grains) S265 (roughly eq to 2400 / 4227) behind a 190gr bullet from Richard Boothroyd, which gives 1025 fps and about an inch at 50m (5 shots) from my Astra 357 (4" barrel). It's a bit slow though, gives unburnt powder. It's also become rather expensive recently.
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| S221 (roughly eq to AA-5 / W571) is much cheaper. A friend told me he uses 11.5 grains of S221 with a 190 grain monolithic bullet -- but I realised this is in a Freedom Arms revolver, so I tried 11 grains. Way hot in both my guns. Dropped to 10 grains, still too hot. Nine grains gives 1150 fps and eight grains gives 1040, of these the eight grain load is slightly more accurate. |
| Date | Primer | Bullet | Load | Velocity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-04-18 | CCI SP | 190gr cast | 12.2gr S265 | 1 030 fps |
| 2011-03-20 | CCI SP | 190gr cast | 8gr S221 | 1 040 fps |
| 2011-03-20 | CCI SP | 190gr cast | 9gr S221 | 1 150 fps |
10 grains of MP200 behind a 125 grain Hornady XTP for 1400 fps from the 3" Taurus. 10.5 grains gives 1450 fps but the groups open up.
| Date | Primer | Bullet | Load | Velocity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-03-01 | PMP SP Magnum | 125gr XTP | 10 gr MP200 | 1 400 fps |
| 2008-03-01 | PMP SP Magnum | 125gr XTP | 10.5 gr MP200 | 1 450 fps |
Note: Hornady loads this bullet to 1500 fps from an 8" barrel. According to BBTI the difference between a 3" and 8" barrel is about 500 fps which makes this a rather hot load. Maybe I should get some Hornady factory ammo to compare?