.357 SIG

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RichN
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.357 SIG

Post by RichN »

Does anyone have any good recipes for .357 SIG?
I'm mostly interested in using 125 gr. bullets.

This is a new caliber for me. Anything I need to be aware of regarding the bottleneck case?
I have already read that I should get bullets specifically designed for .357 SIG since the profile on some 9mm bullets causes a poor crimp. I ordered my first batch from Montana Gold Bullet.
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dl1911
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by dl1911 »

xTreme 124gr FPs work great for 357SIG. No problems with seating or setback. Started loading this in January and have been very happy. I've been using BE-86 for powder. One of the few that really let you get real velocity. 8.0gr is about 1350fps according to Alliant (haven't been able to chronograph them yet). I've also tried 10gr of Blue Dot (nice muzzle flash) and 8.4gr of Power Pistol (nice and loud). I also started with some from Montana Gold but have switched over to the Xtreme's. No problem with tumbling with the BE-86 load. Only problem I had was getting the dies set up. I have a Hornady Progressive LnL and used Dillon's die set with an RCBS Expander. Had some trouble getting the sizing die set to work with it but once I got it going it's been great. You'll want to get your barrel out or a case gauge to set that easily since it headspaces on the shoulder. With my only experience before 357SIG being straight walled pistol calibers, it was a slightly different setting for me.

I was worried about finding brass. Local range had mentioned having bags of it that no one wanted but I think they gave up and sold it for scrap. Thankfully I caught the Brass Exchange online earlier this year when they had a sale on the brass. Thought I got a decent on 2,000 but turned out it was a great deal on 4,000! Grindell Sales was able to get me 300 or so before I stumbled onto the sale.

Loving the round. Been shooting it recently with a P226. May use it a lot more this year at matches just for fun. Put a .40S&W barrel in it for lost brass matches and the 357SIG for the others.

Good luck. Feel free to PM me with any questions you have and let us all know your results. If you were closer to Cleveland, I'd say get together and compare notes and loads at a range.
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RichN
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by RichN »

Did you switch from Montana Gold because of performance or price?
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dl1911
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by dl1911 »

RichN wrote:Did you switch from Montana Gold because of performance or price?
Price. They both work well for me and the xTreme bullets are a lot cheaper! Best price at Montana Gold is $358 for 3,200 or about 0.11/ea (111.88 per thousand). xTreme is $39.90 for 500 or 79.80 per thousand. Since I go through 500-1,000 a month or more, it makes sense to save as much as I can.
Dale
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RichN
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by RichN »

Thanks for the info.

Based on your recommendation, and that of my local powder store, I decided to try the Alliant BE-86. I started with 7.8 gr. for my first batch. Hopefully I can get out and shoot them tomorrow night. I will say the BE-86 powder is the most consistent metering powder I have worked with.

My starter brass is once fired purchased from Precision Delta.

Regarding the mechanics, I didn’t really have any issues. I have a 5 station Hornady Lock-N-Load Progressive and I bought the Hornady .357 SIG die set. The Hornady .357 dies are not carbide, so I did one pass with a .40 carbide resizer/decapper and then the .357 SIG resizer.

I then checked the cases using an L.E. Wilson Case Length Headspace Gage.

I then made a second pass with the expander die, the powder drop, the bullet seating die, and a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

I checked overall length of the first 10 cartridges, and then randomly after that. I also made sure a random sampling would chamber in my P320 (pointed in a safe direction, of course).
"Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin

"So this is how liberty dies; with thunderous applause."
- Senator Amidala (Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith)
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dl1911
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by dl1911 »

Just remembered that Zero also makes an 125gr bullet for 357SIG. You can find it sometimes at Shooter's Connection (http://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) or Roze distributing (http://www.rozedist.com/mm5/merchant.mv ... e_Code=RZD" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Can't remember which one but did go through a box of 500 that I picked up at a gunshow.

If looking for brass, it looks like Southern Belle Brass (http://www.southernbellebrass.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) has 357SIG brass in stock for $40 per 1,000pcs.
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by RichN »

So, I finally got to the range with my first batch. I'm happy to report there were no problems.

I'm pretty happy with it for my first effort. The target on the left is Corbon 125 gr. JHP listed as 1425 fps. The target on the right is my reloads. All shots (5 Corbon and 10 reloads) were made offhand at 25 yards.

Image

I need to get the point of impact to come down a bit to synch up with my defensive rounds. Should I adjust with .1 gr increments or start with something larger?
"Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
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- Senator Amidala (Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith)
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JustaShooter
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by JustaShooter »

Since you need to bring POI down, which means speeding things up and therefore increasing pressure, you do want to go easy on the changes. What's your load and how close to max are you, and how much do you need to bring it down?
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RichN
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by RichN »

I used 7.8 gr. of BE-86 with a 125 gr. bullet. Alliant's website says to use 8.2 gr.

I need to bring it down about 2 inches at 25 yards.
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- Benjamin Franklin

"So this is how liberty dies; with thunderous applause."
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by JustaShooter »

Then yeah, moving up in .1 grain increments seems best.
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RichN
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by RichN »

After playing around with this all summer, I think I have settled on a load I like.
Using 8.3 gr. of Longshot gives me almost identical performance to the Speer Gold Dots I carry; good groups at about 1,390 fps.
"Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin

"So this is how liberty dies; with thunderous applause."
- Senator Amidala (Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith)
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Mr. Glock
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Re: .357 SIG

Post by Mr. Glock »

FWIW, 1390 fps is what I get consistently (1390-1395) with Speer Gold Dot 125 gr in a Glock 32.
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