JONAH898 Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Hello, just purchased my first lee loader aniversity press today for .357 and .38 special and just got wait for the dies to come in stock. Can anybody recommend me and powerder heads etc for a newbie to use and any recipes for certain weight heads to powder etc? Wanted to ask on hear as don't fancy blowing face off doing it wrong cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 I homeload several thousand 357's a year. First question-what are you shooting? Is it a LBP or a lever action rifle? If its a rifle,a good load i've found is a 158grn hard cast bullet,9 grains of Aliant 2400 powder and a CCI small pistol primer.I've chron'd them and they're averaging 900fps so not overly fast,but good for 25-100m shooting.I cast my own bullets (or boolits) using range lead and reuse brass so my only costs are powder and primers.Cost wise with this is around £8 per 100 rounds. Another good powder is Unique and for same bullet and primer use 6 grains.Hard to get though as gun shops sell out quickly due to it being very versatile despite what its called. If you want to shoot on a shoestring then use same primer and bullet,but use 3 grains of Bullseye.This is a fast burner so you dont need a lot of it,but it isnt good for longer distances,but means you can get over 3,000 charges from a 1lb tub of powder. When ordering dies though-get the 38 special set. The 38 set will load 38's and 357,but the 357 will ONLY load 357.Henry Krank sell hard cast bullets for £33 per 500 so not expensive. http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=164_165_166&products_id=1284 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Cheers will be shooting them in a lbr and lever action. Got a few hundred each of the .357 and .38 special and thought if need dies for each one. Henry Krank is were I'm having my press and tumbler from, do you know wots the best/cheapest media for the tumbler and were to get it cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 For the pistol Unique might be better as its slightly faster burning and means the powder should be burnt by the time the bullet leaves the barrel.Another powder to consider is Blue Dot. Coca cola is a perfect brass cleaner-really it is.Pour some into an in icecream tub over de-primed brass making sure they're all covered and leave to soak for an hour or so giving it a shake occasionally.Then rinse under running water and leave to dry in an airing cupboard-they come out looking like new! Dont bother using Pepsi because for some odd reason it does nothing. *Coca cola is also great for de-liming toilets and rotting teeth too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 I'll give the coke a go mate cheers saves me £60 lol Carnt wait to get started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 I use Hodgdon Titegroup in the .44 magnum but it can also be used in the .357. It's a quick burning powder that uses economic charges. The first thing you should get yourself is a good reloading manual (I have the Lee one) and read it from cover to cover and watch videos on youtube to get yourself fully up to speed with the process. The Kranks GMC hardcast boolits are good and so is the shellhouse bullet company stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Got a couple of loading manuals going blind looking at all the calculations lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Got a couple of loading manuals going blind looking at all the calculations lol The Lee one in particular is good because it has lots of pictures and kinda treats you like an idiot-which really does help when you start homeloading. Part of the fun is perfecting loads.Enjoy yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 I use Green dot and Herco in mine....it fills the case enough to make a double dose obvious!! A2400 for my full power loads. Tried H110 but had no joy. Got some Blue dot and that looks promising with good power. Most common shotgun powders will work in 38special and 357m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Most common shotgun powders will work in 38special and 357m Yes,Vectan A1 being one of them. 5 grains of this with same primer and bullet made it incredibly cheap shooting as i used to buy this for £18 a tub from Peter Lawman in Northampton which significantly reduces your homeloading costs,but he's not reliable anymore and never returns phone calles or emails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 (edited) Don't forget a pair of digital calipers--- a def requirement for good consistent loads Ps. I use HP38 for my .38spl Edited March 23, 2014 by Jaymo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Cheers fellas got a new pair of digital calipers and keep all the good advice coming all welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Can anybody recommend any of the powders Henry kranks sell for home loading .357/.38special so can put order in at same time as my dies and other bits and pieces as new to this and so many bloody powders to choose from lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Bullseye Red Dot Unique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Cheers mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 All for 158gr lead boolit from Lee book with 357 case:- Titegroup 4.5 - 5.0gr Unique 5.3 - 6.0gr Bullseye 4.2 - 4.8gr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Cheers mate Carnt for the dies to come in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Is it small or large pistol primers I need? Also do I need the magnum variety if liar the .357 magnum as well as the .38 special Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) 357 uses small pistol primers and I would just use normal ones in your plinking load, I get no problems with my 44. 38 Special loads with Titegroup run from 3.2 - 3.8 grains with the 158 so dead cheap. If you do go with Titegroup, loading discipline is paramount as it doesn't fill the case much so a double / triple charge would is difficult to spot. Edited March 28, 2014 by Livefast123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Is it small or large pistol primers I need? Also do I need the magnum variety if liar the .357 magnum as well as the .38 special I never use magnum primers even if i load full power 357's with FMJ's. Just use normal small pistol primers-CCI are ideal. Livefast made an excellent point about using Titegroup or Bullseye.You use so little, it is very easy to put too much in the case so you do have to be careful.Like i mentioned previously,i use 9 grains of 2400 powder and when i peak inside the cases i can see easily whether they're charged correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JONAH898 Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Would you all recommend getting a set of digital scales instead of using the balance ones that's come with my kit so more accurate ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Would you all recommend getting a set of digital scales instead of using the balance ones that's come with my kit so more accurate ? I like digital scales but they can be a bit cranky sometimes so would put more trust in a beam scale. I use both and can use one to verify the other if anything seems untoward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Magnum primer use is more to do with the type of fuel/powder and or the amount of fuel/powder than to do with any calibre that is called a magnum. The use of H110 in 357 (and pretty much anything else) is best ignited with a magnum primer. It is what they call a spherical powder and although not always true, they are best ignited by a magnum primer. Most loading data includes primer type. The flaky shotshell powders used in 357 are fine on standard primers. I use standards for all my loads except for when using H110. So that's Green dot, Herco, Blue dot and A2400. U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) I just use a set of cheap Lee beam scales. I've never had a problem with setting them up and they are very accurate. Not saying they are the best by any means but better than most digitals. Edited March 30, 2014 by Livefast123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 RCBS beam scale and a set of electronic ones too.... I use beam for initial powder throw. Then elec ones for most of the charges with a random check using the beam once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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