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.357 Sig
bperdue21
Member Posts: 1,457 ✭✭
Looking for an accurate 357 sig load. thinking of going with 124 gr. hornady's. will be shooting out of an XD 4". thanks.
When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
Comments
This is what I have found out.
Since I am use to reloading bottle neck rifle cartridges, I find that it is no problem to reload .357 sig cases.
Many posts have been made on the internet stating not to resize .40 Smith & Wesson Cases to .357 Sig, as the cases are shorter, and not loaded up to the pressures of .357 Sig.
It is true that the .40 Smith & Wesson case is .020" shorter than the .357 Sig Case, but when you run the .40 Smith & Wesson case into the .357 sizer die, the excess Brass is extruded up into the die. This has the effect of lenghtening the case by .015", so that the reformed .40 Smith & Wesson case is now only .005" shorter than its .357 Sig counterpart.
The next myth about the .40 Smith & Wesson case not being as strong as the .357 Sig brass is easily dispelled by your scale. What I found was that in weighing a Winchester .357 Sig case and a Winchester .40 Smith & Wesson case was that the .40 Smith & Wesson case actually weighed more, by 1.7 grains. This point out that there is slightly more brass in the .40 Smith & Wesson case, and if anything, you must presume that the .40 Smith and Wesson brass is slightly thicker, and therefor completly satisfactory.
The final test is in the shooting. Using Hornady 124 grain XTP bullets, 7.0 grains of Unique, and .40 Smith & Wesson Brass reformed to .357 Sig, I was able to produce a load which will put all twelve shots from a Springfield XD into the head of an IPSC Target at 25 meters. Velocity was 1470 FPS.
I am posting this report simply to prove that you can in fact reform .357 Sig brass out of .40 Smith & Wesson and produce a good accurate cartridge. Considering how much surplus .40 Smith & Wesson brass is out there, and the fact that it is many times being given away, this is certainly the way to go.
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357SIG 115gr JHP 1500fps/575ftlbs
357SIG 125gr JHP 1425fps/564ftlbs
Pow'Rball 357SIG 100gr Pow'Rball 1600fps/568ftlbs
Safety slug 357 SIG 80gr-1650fps / 484ftlbs-6 Rnds. per pkg
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