Load data for the 357 & 44 AMP |
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schwammy
R.I.P. Joined: 19 Apr 2011 Location: Birmingham, AL Status: Offline Points: 147 |
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Armed with clean reloading equipment I was able to work up some minimums for .357 to have it feed/cycle without jamming. For 125gr it took 26gr of H110 and for 180gr it took 20. The 180gr @ 20 averaged just over 1500fps with a nice tight group and moderate recoil. I'm not sure I really want to continue with the 125gr; those had a bunch of kick and muzzle blast by the time they would cycle. Inspired by Dirty Harry, and a love for doing a lot of math (yes I am a nerd), I worked up some 300gr loads for the .44 with the intent of hitting different speeds. 50 rounds of each with very tight groups were achieved with Starline brass @ 1.298" using Fed LPP, H-110, OAL of 1.6" proving I still know how to count (Remember Starline has a slightly higher case volume than cut rifle so you may need to adjust down.)
1000fps - 17.2gr 1050fps - 17.7gr 1100fps - 18.2gr |
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schwammy
R.I.P. Joined: 19 Apr 2011 Location: Birmingham, AL Status: Offline Points: 147 |
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.357 AMP, 180gr Hornady HP/XTP, 1.298" case (Starline), Fed LPP (150), H110, OAL 1.6"
1650fps - 20.8gr 1700fps - 21.6gr Lower and it would not cycle reliably and the 1700fps load had plenty of kick so I wasn't going any higher. (Besides, 1155 ft/lbs of energy is enough for me.) |
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Rocketthon
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 13 Apr 2013 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 251 |
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Interesting to note that my pet loads were thought by me to be a bit strong in order to cycle the action but according to this data not as strong as I thought. The 44 with a 180 XTP and 29 grains of 296 seems positively tame compared to the higher loads and the 357 140 Lever-evolution with 22 grains of 296 not so strong either. Yes I did say Lever-Evolution, seems to be just about designed for the gun since terminal performance is designed for a 357 in a rifle and that is just about what an Automag in 357 does, feeds well also.
I actually have the old Speer manual that lists both rounds and it shows the top performer with a 140 gr 357 to be Blue Dot, the new stuff is much hotter than the older formula so be careful. |
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Auto Mag
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Location: MA Status: Offline Points: 2091 |
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WOW, what caused you to dig this thread up?
Its was like seeing a ghost,,,
How long has Ian been gone, 6+ months???
gh
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Who was that masked man,,,
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usrguns
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 09 Mar 2008 Location: Pensacola, ,Fl Status: Offline Points: 942 |
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Yes it's been 7 months now. Was such a loss and for no reason. Do miss him on the site!!!! |
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If you can't have fun doing it, then don't do it.
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tgt40
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 05 Jan 2009 Location: Calgary Status: Offline Points: 499 |
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Agreed, but it is nice to continue to learn from him!
So using rifle brass is no problem for the .357 as it is with the .41? I have to admit I wanted a .41 until I started reading about it.
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jurras
R.I.P. Joined: 24 Sep 2012 Location: Hagerman,NM Status: Offline Points: 463 |
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tgt40, rifle brass is a POOR substitute for either 357 or 44 cartridge now that you can get cases from Norma and Starline. Most CDM is long gone. What was the problem with the 41 that changed your mind. And who was it that said that Blue Dot has changed ????? Blue Dot is a good cold weather load. I worked with the Hercules lab on Blue Dot load data for the 44 AMP.AGAIN, The powder companies do NOT randomly change burning rates w/o MAJOR public announcements.
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Auto Mag
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Location: MA Status: Offline Points: 2091 |
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Re: "Most CDM is long gone" true, sadly,,,
I say sadly as I have gotten my best service from CDM brass.
I cannot offer a scientific reason for it, but for me CDM has held up much better than Norma or any 308 commercial brass.
The Norma brass is super soft and easy to work with, but that was also its downfall for me. It stretched, bulged, and split way more than CDM. Maybe its too "pure" as I am guessing CDM may be of a lower grade, but it has worked for me.
Havent shot Starline enough to know how it stands up against CDM or Norma.
GH
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Who was that masked man,,,
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Rocketthon
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 13 Apr 2013 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 251 |
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My pet load for the 44mag in my M29 was always a 235-240 grain hard cast bullet with 17 grains of Blue Dot (with or without a gas check). I finally ran out of the older lot and picked up some new (always buy 8 pound kegs) and when the old powder was loaded up the cases would just drop out of the gun, even pretty dirty from a couple hundred rounds. The new stuff sticks even in a clean gun and I had to drop it to 15 grains to get it to shoot with the same extraction. Shame I did not have the old load chrono'ed so I could compare muzzle performance. Since the powder was the only thing that had changed (same lot of CCI primers and same brass as before, even tried this with 220 grain hard cast stuff and same result). With this evidence you be the judge. I understand and had the same thoughts as you about powder specs but evidence is otherwise with the lot I last got. Having run about 10,000 of these through the gun it is hard to believe there is something else that is causing this. It also seems a bit more in the 45ACP and my son reports the new powder to be pretty hot on his 357 Sig. Oh, and if I run the harder shooting loads in 296 with the heavier bullets it does still behave the same as before (21.5 grains 296 under a Hornady 265 gr). I don't make claims without something to back up my thoughts.
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Rocketthon
Callahan's Auto Mag Joined: 13 Apr 2013 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 251 |
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I recently picked up some Quality Cartridge stuff in 357 from Midway, still have not had the chance to load it up, looks good though.
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