Oh, and light loads in pistol cases cannot "detonate". Nor in rifle cases, either. Smokeless powder isn't shock-sensitive.
What DOES cause trouble is that light loads are prime candidates for double-charging, since they almost never fill the case enough to make a double charge obvious.
A sound .357 rifle won't be distressed by a double charge of that load I just posted, btw. Pressure calculates as within spec for a +P .357 load.
=
This is timely.... shooting comps at Bisley (UK) this weekend and a fellow squad member tells me he shoots 158 grn TC casts from a micro groove Marlin with 2.8 grns Bullseye (.357 cases)... Freestanding obliterates the 1.25 inch X-Ring at 25 metres .... couldn’t believe what I was seeing...?
I load the 358429 with 3.5 gr red dot in .38spl. case. it works slick in my rossi 92 and a friends 94.
One of the first times I shot a cowboy shoot, I saw a shooter fast cycling a Marlin 357 and I thought he was shooting a 22. It sure seems these shooters are using suggested starting loads and working there way down. For their purposes, they want minimal recoil for fast action recovery. If your not cowboy action shooting, I don’t believe anyone complains about recoil with a standard 38 special load (in .357 cases) out of a rifle. With at least 900 FPS out of a rifle, you simply aim at the top of a target at 100 yards to hit it if your gun is sighted in at 25-50 yards.
My main target load in my Rossi is a 150 grain hollow point over 6.3 grains Unique. In .357 brass, of course.
Sorta,
To move a .38spl light load to a .357mag case, I simply
load .5grs to 1.0grs of Bullseye or TiteGroup more in the longer case.
When my Kids were Cowboy Action Shooting with me. We loaded .38spl cases.
Now that they are no longer around to shoot with DAD,
I use .357mag cases with a TiteGroup charge straight out of the old HODGDON Cowboy Reloading Handout.
For .38spl - 3.2grs to 3.8grs. TiteGroup
For .357mag - 3.5grs to 5.0grs. TiteGroup
And no extra elbow grease to scrub out crud from .357mag chambers.
My MARLIN 1894CS will feed anything except the #358429 loaded in Magnum cases. It's Micro-groove rifling likes harder bullets, #2 or Linotype.
I thank each and everyone for your Bullet recipes and your input on this!
I just didn't want any cases going to Boom from pressure build up with little powder in them.
..............I really enjoy shooting light(er) loads in my 357 Rossi M92 Short Rifle.
http://www.fototime.com/1E3476AAA5405E2/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/5A9FFAF4E7D64F6/standard.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/BD14211F2674C94/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/6AB7D8CB362D4B2/standard.jpg
I use a Lee 6 cav for their Tumble Lube wadcutter. Cast up a gallon can of'em and you're set for a couple years :-) Well, YOU might not be, but I am! Heck during the late "22 Rimfire" unpleasantness I was shooting for a lot less then the rimfire cost by a long shot :-)
The Rossi (mine anyway) has no problem feeding and chambering the rounds.
..............Buckshot
I gotta get healthy and heal up, I miss blasting around with my 357 Magnum levergun. I waited 4+ years for Remlin to re-release their 1894 variants in 357, and lost patience with them after missing a Winchester/Miroku 1892 locally in June 2016 by about a week. I ordered and bought a Henry Big Boy/steel receiver, and it is a honey. A few of its features are not "Levergun-traditional", like the rubber buttplate and 22 LR-like tubular magazine. But I can live with that, because the mechanism feeds wonderfully and the accuracy is pretty darn good. I am probably 850-900 rounds in (so far), and it is a fun rifle. I meant to give it a day afield this year during deer season, but that won't happen this year. Drat the luck.