125 grain Round nose bullet for .357 rounds.

[Just Dave]

Just getting started reloading and I have loaded about 1,500 rounds of .223 and .30 carbine so far and have had stellar results in my opinion for a newbie. Now I am looking at all of this .357 brass I have laying around here and going to start on it. I have the 4 piece set of Lee dies coming so I have that covered. I found a deal on 125 grain Round nose FMJ's for $95.00 per thousand. http://www.evergladesammo.com/bullets/a ... llets.html Is there any reason that any one can think of that would make this a bad idea to load some of these up for my 92 and my Black hawk? Its just that I have never seen any commercial .357 ammo with a true round nose bullet. I can find .38's all day long but no .357. Seems like the 92 would love a round nose bullet. These will be strictly for making a bang at the range. What do y'all think?

[warnerwh]

The bullets you are considering have no cannelure which is something you're going to need to crimp into or at least I wouldn't want bullets for a .357 without a cannelure. In your 92 the recoil can end up pushing a bullet into the casing further increasing pressures to possible dangerous levels. In the handgun the bullets will tend to come out if not held securely. However I've not used bullets in a .357 without a cannelure so maybe someone else will have a different opinion.

If you like you can get Zero brand 125gr. JHP's and JSP's for just under 100 here: http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mv ... de=ZBJ-38S Another place to watch because what he gets in changes is:
http://www.shop.rmrbullets.com/product. ... egoryId=13 What he sells will vary and prices can be excellent. I bought some Speer pulls, bullets removed from loaded rounds, and they shoot 1.25" groups at 50 yards in my 92 plus they were really cheap. This is a consistent accuracy. If I can't repeat it whenever I want then it was a fluke. Those are two good places to buy good bullets at a good price.

And congratulations on your reloading. It sounds like you are doing well. A newbie taking care in what he is doing can load just as good of quality ammo as someone who has been doing it over 10 years.

[Just Dave]

I will buy the Cannelure concept. I guess there would be a chance of the rounds in the mag pushing the bullets in deeper which would increase pressure I believe. Makes perfect sense to me. So I am now looking for some with a Cannelure.

Your first link is out of stock and the other place only had some plated ones which I have been told are no good for Magnum load velocities. Is this true about plated bullets?

Can someone educate me on lead Bullets? Do they clog the rifling or are they OK to shoot in these guns? Do they require special cleaning for the bore? I have only used factory ammo my whole life so far and this is a lot of new variable that are available with the reloading all of the sudden.

Still wondering about a Round nose bullet as well. Are they less accurate in Magnums? I just wonder why I never see factory .357 with a round nose bullet. Thanks for the great info so far.

[MT Gianni]

Lyman made a rn 158 gr mold 358311 that was a classic 38 bullet. It groups well but does not cut clean holes in target paper, so most shooters have gone to a Semi-Wadcutter, swc. This has the advantage of a flat surface against a primer in a tubular magazine. I cast and have no issues with leading with a good lube and bullets that fit the bore. I like a crimp groove in a cast bullet, similar to what a cannelure would be in a jacketed bullet. Carolina Csat bullets is a sponser her and should be able to get you some bullets that are well made and that fit your rifle.

[MT Gianni]

http://www.rossi-rifleman.com/memberlis ... ofile&u=84
profile for Carolina cast bullets.

[warnerwh]

Keep an eye on that second link as he sometimes has 3 or more bullet designs of a caliber including .357. Zero bullets do run out but they will be back in stock and are a very good buy.
Cast bullets will not clog your rifling but you have to make sure the bullet is the right diameter and velocity for your gun. If you try some cast bullets and do get leading it is easy to remove. Just get a chore boy made out of pure copper, not the plated ones as they'll ruin you barrel. Wrap several strands around a brush and it will clean out the leading. Use some Hoppes no. 9 ore equivalent while you are doing this.
Round nose bullets can be as accurate as any other style but as stated earlier they don't cut nice holes in paper.

[Just Dave]

Thanks again. I have both of your links bookmarked and will keep an eye on them as I move through this learning phase.

[Just Dave]

Well I made the trip down to my somewhat local Reloading supply house and after a long talk with the owner I wound up going with some Zero 158 Grain JHP to begin with. Its just the first run after all and he said I was making it to complicated. LOL. Got 20 of them loaded in front of 17 grains of Lil'Gun and will try them out before I make more. Will let y'all know how it turns out. Thanks again for the advice.

[warnerwh]

Do let us know how they shoot. Full power loads sure kick more than I would have expected in these little rifles. The main load I use is a 125gr. Speer TMJ over 6.3gr. of Universal. I got the bullets from RMR bullets for cheap. Without much experimentation I am getting 1.25" accuracy at 50 yards. I did not think lever guns were very accurate and even reading what people were claiming I still didn't believe it. With my younger I am sure 1" groups are definitely possible.

Btw one of the advantages of reloading is that you can load your ammo down. I know many others beside myself who prefer light to medium power loads for general use. They are easier on the gun, your wallet and you.

[Just Dave]

I will let you know for sure. I like a lot of punch which is why I started reloading in the first place. Even when I bought factory ammo I never bought any .38's. Using brass I already had these are costing me about .24 cents a round or about 12 bucks for 50. Less than half what I can buy factory target loads for in my area. I am sure I will lighten up the loads in the future but for now I am just having fun. I will keep you posted.