What did you do in the reloading room recently?

[jpm]

13.3 gr of 2400. The box looks like it’s from the 60s so maybe I got a bad batch?
Be interesting to see how they shoot. If they suck it’s only 100 Bullets

Now you're gonna make me break out my calipers.

 

[jpm]

13.3 gr of 2400. The box looks like it’s from the 60s so maybe I got a bad batch?
Be interesting to see how they shoot. If they suck it’s only 100 Bullets

You could always use them in 9mm since they're a little undersized for 357mag! ;-)

 

[p..]

I loaded some of these Sierra 170 gr 357 bullets I forgot I had. Unfortunately it seems the bullets are slightly undersized (my calipers say .3565”). Takes next to no effort to seat the bullets. They still move a little bit after a firm crimp when I press them against my bench.
Oh well. I only have 100 of them.
View attachment 474840

I have those exact bullets, same box and vintage. I can't put my hands on them at the moment to measure them, but I can pull up my notes and I've had good luck running them at 100 yards, loaded in Starline brass with CCI #500 primers and 13.3 grains of 2400 loaded to 1.566" OAL. Average speed out of a 6" 586 was 1203fps with a 25fps SD. I tried 13.6 grains and got 1333fps average speed, but had hard extraction and cratered primers with that load.

 

[jpm]

I have those exact bullets, same box and vintage. I can't put my hands on them at the moment to measure them, but I can pull up my notes and I've had good luck running them at 100 yards, loaded in Starline brass with CCI #500 primers and 13.3 grains of 2400 loaded to 1.566" OAL. Average speed out of a 6" 586 was 1203fps with a 25fps SD. I tried 13.6 grains and got 1333fps average speed, but had hard extraction and cratered primers with that load.

I was just going to load some of these up with 2400 and was thinking of 13gr but you both saying 13.3gr is a good one so I'm going to try that in a 5" 27-2.

 

[DW357]

I was just going to load some of these up with 2400 and was thinking of 13gr but you both saying 13.3gr is a good one so I'm going to try that in a 5" 27-2.

13.9 is max according to my Sierra manual.

 

[Uzi2]

I loaded some of these Sierra 170 gr 357 bullets I forgot I had. Unfortunately it seems the bullets are slightly undersized (my calipers say .3565”). Takes next to no effort to seat the bullets. They still move a little bit after a firm crimp when I press them against my bench.
Oh well. I only have 100 of them.
View attachment 474840

Next batch, remove the decapping pin from a 9mm resizing die and run the tops of the 357 cases into it about a 1/4-3/8 inch. Then bell them with a 9mm flaring die.
This will improve the neck tension and remove some of the slop of the undersized bullets.

 

[jpm]

13.9 is max according to my Sierra manual.
View attachment 474853

Thanks! I needed a blue dot load for this too. My book didn't have this profile bullet in it.

 

[DW357]

Next batch, remove the decapping pin from a 9mm resizing die and run the tops of the 357 cases into it about a 1/4-3/8 inch. Then bell them with a 9mm flaring die.
This will improve the neck tension and remove some of the slop of the undersized bullets.

Interesting. I’ll have to try that. Thanks

 

[p..]

13.9 is max according to my Sierra manual.
View attachment 474853

I think part of the issue when I ran 13.6 grains of 2400 is I loaded them 0.020" shorter than what Sierra calls for. My last load with those bullets was 13.4 grains of 2400 at 1.585" but I haven't shot them yet.

 

[NavelOfficer]

FWIW, AR had some MP 265 powder a short while back. It's rated to be similar to AA#7.

 

[Uzi2]

Interesting. I’ll have to try that. Thanks

Keep the bell minimal as you can.

 

[Klal]

Liking the looks of these .45 Colt 250gr XTP.

13.4gr of Longshot gets these moving just over 1,500 fps. Shoots great with W572 as well. Max charge pushes along at a leisurely 900fps.

Both should do fine for close range deer.

 

[jpm]

Interesting. I’ll have to try that. Thanks

I opened a new box of those bullets and mic'd a few and they were all the same size .3565

 

[jpm]

Next batch, remove the decapping pin from a 9mm resizing die and run the tops of the 357 cases into it about a 1/4-3/8 inch. Then bell them with a 9mm flaring die.
This will improve the neck tension and remove some of the slop of the undersized bullets.

@andrew1220 this is the problem. I just tried seating one of mine in a 357 case I prepped (sized, primed, belled) and it doesn't go in past the slight flare I made (maybe 1/4") in them with my Lee 357 dies.

 

[DW357]

@andrew1220 this is the problem. I just tried seating one of mine in a 357 case I prepped (sized, primed, belled) and it doesn't go in past the slight flare I made (maybe 1/4") in them with my Lee 357 dies.

So you’re having neck tension issues also then?

 

[jpm]

So you’re having neck tension issues also then?

No I'm saying its perfect on my brass that I sized with Lee 357 dies

 

[p..]

No I'm saying its perfect on my brass that I sized with Lee 357 dies

I just dug mine out and measured four with a mic. 0.3564", 0.3564", 0.3563", 0.3563". I do not have neck tension problems either, using Dillon 38/357 dies.

 

[jpm]

I wonder if his sizer has accumulated some carbon/dirt and is now sizing slightly too big

 

[Uzi2]

No I'm saying its perfect on my brass that I sized with Lee 357 dies

Thats fine, my suggestion was for when there's not enough neck tension and it works.

 

[Uzi2]

I wonder if his sizer has accumulated some carbon/dirt and is now sizing slightly too big

It would size smaller not larger.

 

[jpm]

Thats fine, my suggestion was for when there's not enough neck tension and it works.

yeah I was trying to tell Andrew that it seems to be his sizer

It would size smaller not larger.

I'm talking about the depriming/sizing pin in the center

 

[DW357]

No I'm saying its perfect on my brass that I sized with Lee 357 dies

Hmm. The brass has been reloaded a million times. But it doesn’t have this issue with the Zero Bullets. I don’t recall the last time I cleaned the dies lol.

 

[jpm]

Hmm. The brass has been reloaded a million times. But it doesn’t have this issue with the Zero Bullets. I don’t recall the last time I cleaned the dies lol.

That is odd, could be worth trying though

 

[Uzi2]

yeah I was trying to tell Andrew that it seems to be his sizer


I'm talking about the depriming/sizing pin in the center

Unlike bottle necked cases, The decapping pin on 38spl/.357mag does not make any contact with the case wall, it just knocks out the primer.

 

[bigblue]

Finished reloading this batch of 150gr .308 then converted everything over to small primers just in time to drop a sleeve of srp on the floor on its way to the rf100...

 

[mac1911]

It works in .45.
Just like everything else, results are all application based.
Tried it way back, heres what I found-

.45 acp is one of those odd cartridges that will work with anything. You could take an equal mix of sun-dried dog swirls from out in the yard, grind up some match heads with it ( Ohio blue tips work best) and launch a 230 gr head with enough oomph to cycle. Its one of my favoriteistist rounds to shoot in large quantities. Nothin says "wrong house" like 230 grains of hatred. I'll be buried with my .45.

Unique is one of those.....................unique........powders that have a broad application range. I think it goes from .25 acp all the way up to shotgun loads. I'm pretty sure theres some cast rifle loads out there too. Had really good luck with it in .44 spl and mag, but thats not this.

Heres what I ran into with .45 acp and unique.
It works fairly well with 230 gr heads. It works with 200's, but it was blah (for a lack of a better description)
It works with 250/ 255's but I had a bigger s.d./ f.p.s. spread and I was trying to hit a consistent p.f.
Played around with charge weights and o.a.l's and noticed it smoked a lot compared to other powders. What I pulled for parameters at the time was out of a Hornady manual, and I tried it in both jacketed 230's and cast 230's and 200's. Soot was another more noticeable by-product.
Probably not a huge deal or maybe more manageable if its slow/ slower fire type shooting.
Not ideal for rapid or speed shooting. Has a lot to do with barrel length and burn rate.
More noticable inside than outside. If you're going to try and run a 5/ 7/ 8/ 10 shot string, you'll notice you're shooting through a cloud. Not the best for an indoor plate or bowling pin match.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, just passing along a heads up of what I've run into with it.
I hope your results are better than mine.

Unigue does well in reduced rifle loads also

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Unigue does well in reduced rifle loads also

Bingo.
The old Lyman books and cast manuals have a load with Unique in every rifle cartridge in the book. All with cast bullet of course. Just because cast bullets are better at everything.

 

[Uzi2]

Finished reloading this batch of 150gr .308 then converted everything over to small primers just in time to drop a sleeve of srp on the floor on its way to the rf100...

Like a wad of ones blowing out the car window! Hope you don't have long cut carpeting.

Eh, shit happens. At least they're all in one place.....more or less.

 

[Uzi2]

Loaded up a hundred of the 45acp 230gr XTPs over Accurate #5. Probably do the other hundred tonight or tomorrow.

2 new PSA 5.56 complete w/ BCG and CH uppers on the way, one 10.5"and one 16". That completes the AR build program here.......for now anyway. Hey, with 110 acres, I can always pitch a tent if my wife throws me out. ( very unlikely, she is with the program 100%.

 

[jek]

Finished reloading this batch of 150gr .308 then converted everything over to small primers just in time to drop a sleeve of srp on the floor on its way to the rf100...

I had something similar happen when I first started using the Lee Safety Prime. It has "Open", "Lock", and "On" settings for the transfer of primers to the tray, keeping the tray cover locked until ready, and turning it on to load the primer arm, respectively. Well, one time I put it to "Open" when getting ready to load, and all the primers went all over the basement floor. I did manage to find them all, but what a PITA.

Since then, I have set up a berm around my reloading setup using the cheap pipe insulation tubes. I cut the pieces in half lengthwise and lay them on the floor around the area. It has made it much easier to find the stray component that may fall on the floor, regardless of what it is.