Asking for CAS .357 load

Riomouse911

A friend of mine asked me to assemble load for his .357 mag Marlin and Uberti single actions for CAS. He bought new Rem .357 cases, 500 Silver State .358 158gr LSWC (I suggested 125 RNFP, but these were all he could find), Win SP primers (reg not mags) and a pound of Titegroup. I'm partial to Unique or Bullseye, never worked with Titegroup before.

Anyone have a tried-and-true Titegroup .357 mag load for CAS they're willing to share?

kansasjayhawk

quote:Originally posted by Riomouse911
A friend of mine asked me to assemble load for his .357 mag Marlin and Uberti single actions for CAS. He bought new Rem .357 cases, 500 Silver State .358 158gr LSWC (I suggested 125 RNFP, but these were all he could find), Win SP primers (reg not mags) and a pound of Titegroup. I'm partial to Unique or Bullseye, never worked with Titegroup before.

Anyone have a tried-and-true Titegroup .357 mag load for CAS they're willing to share?

kansasjayhawk

quote:Originally posted by Riomouse911
A friend of mine asked me to assemble load for his .357 mag Marlin and Uberti single actions for CAS. He bought new Rem .357 cases, 500 Silver State .358 158gr LSWC (I suggested 125 RNFP, but these were all he could find), Win SP primers (reg not mags) and a pound of Titegroup. I'm partial to Unique or Bullseye, never worked with Titegroup before.

Anyone have a tried-and-true Titegroup .357 mag load for CAS they're willing to share?


I shoot one load in both the Uberti SAA Model P (4 3/4") and the Uberti 1873 (20"). I use .357 brass in both with magnum primers (various brands), 2.7 grains of Trail Boss, and Dardas brand 125 grain LRNFP bullets. These loads run a little over 700 FPS out of the SSA's. I use only Winchester unplated brass but I assume any (including mixed) brass would work as well. I have no problems with this combination which I load on a Dillon 550B press. That being said, I also carry several rounds loaded with 158 grain bullets and about 4 grains of Trail Boss for the occational stubborn knockdown targets. This load has low recoil and was accurate enough to take a state championship (in class). As far as the Tightgroup goes, Hodgdon lists Tightgroup under a 158 grain LSWC at a 3.5 grain starting load for 893 FPS and a maximum load of 5.0 grains for 1,108 FPS. The 38 SPL section also lists 3.2 grains at 815 FPS. This info is available in the Cowboy Action section of the Hodgdon online load data site. Check it out. Hope this helps.

Wolf.

I shoot 3gr Titegroup and 125gr rnfp lead slug. But, that's just me. You will do what feels right for you. My feeling is I get less recoil with the lighter slug. The semi-wadcutters should cycle okay through the Marlin, especially in .357 cases, but were I you, I would load up about 50 that seat properly in the Marlin and have him cycle those through it to check for any failures to feed that style slug.

You probably know this, but for those who do not, were I you, I would, prior to loading very many of them, make sure that your loads are seated (and crimped) a correct distance into the cases, so as to seat properly in the cylinders of your pal's revolvers and in the chamber of his Marlin rifle without problems.

Also, as you probably already know, plated or unplated brass is irrelevant, as regards performance of your powder/slug load. However, again, for those readers who do not know, plated brass has a reduced reloading service life of approximately only 1/4 to 1/3 that of unplated brass, having a distinct and real tendancy to split at the case mouth fairly quickly. So, Standard Operating Procedure is to inspect all brass prior to and after reloading, for case splits.....but pay special attention to plated brass.

Wolf.

Riomouse911

Thanks for the responses guys. I chose 4.0 gr Titegroup and sent them over. He's action-tried them through the Marlin and they seem to function well. I'll let you know how they shoot when he's done (This week or next, I can't remember when his match is.)