.357, 148gr. lead bullets

sarg1c

Today at a local gun store, I found 1000, .357 lead 148 gr. Bullets for $ 30.00.(.03 cents each). Was this a good buy or was it?. I bought them. They had another 1000 but I didn't buy. Also 1000 lead 9mm 115 gr. Should I have bought those? These were sized and lubed.

They could be 158 gr., will weigh one and see tomorrow.

DoctorWho

Maybe for lower velocity plinking loads....

sakodude

Great price really. Most are 30 something for 500 count boxes.

Sako

Teach

I'm a little spooky about cast lead in a 9MM unless they're cast harder than woodpecker lips. In a .38/.357, the cast bullets should work OK as long as they're not pushed too fast- - - -< 1K FPS, for instance. A lot of pre-lubed bulk bullets have a tendency to get the lube all over everything including the base of the bullet, so wipe 'em off vigorously on the bottom before seating the bullets. Lube-contaminated powder sometimes goes poof instead of bang.
Jerry

Durwood

I shot about 500 hard cast 9mm handloads last summer with no issues. I used Missouri Bullet Company bullets and Hunter Supply both.

Riflemann

Ya that is a good price, I just bought 900 158gr. SWC for $28.49 per 300 from Midway about 2 months ago.

sarg1c

I set up my press a little while ago,loaded 5 just to see how the dies are working, I would have loaded a few more but Changed the bolt handle on the new Savage axis. Looks good got it from Midway Fit good, A little hard to get broke loose , but once it moved it went smooth. May change the one on the Savage 110. Back to the bullets, may go back over and get the 9mm. Ive shot them in my Walther PPK a few years ago worked great. I'm sure they will work in the Ruger.and yes they are to just go punch paper being SWC . I've got the GOOD stuff to carry.

HAWKEN

You certainly got a good deal, go back for more. You did not say which powder you are using, so I would recommend a shotgun powder like Clays, Red Dot, or Unique. Any lead bullet pushed over 1000 fps can be expected to cause leading. I load 3,5 grains of Clays for .357 or 38 Special and 4 grains of Clays for my .45 apc. These loads give me about 650-750 fps. The last time I found a deal like Yours was at a small gun shop in Indiana where I bought 100, 255 grain .45 lead bullets for $1.50........Robin

sarg1c

HAWKEN wrote: »

You certainly got a good deal, go back for more. You did not say which powder you are using, so I would recommend a shotgun powder like Clays, Red Dot, or Unique. Any lead bullet pushed over 1000 fps can be expected to cause leading. I load 3,5 grains of Clays for .357 or 38 Special and 4 grains of Clays for my .45 apc. These loads give me about 650-750 fps. The last time I found a deal like Yours was at a small gun shop in Indiana where I bought 100, 255 grain .45 lead bullets for $1.50........Robin

I always used Bullseye but I might have trouble finding it. If not I'll try Unique I 'm holding the FPS back a little with this Airweight., Around 800 FPS will be ok to shoot SWC at paper.My book says 2.8 gr. for725 and 4.4 gr at 800 fps. I should go back over and buy another 1000 bullets of the .357 or get those 9MM.

breamfisher

cpj wrote: »

In my experience loads over 1000 FPS don't cause leading. It really depends on the alloy.

And the lube. Bad lube will tend to lead worse in my experience.

Durwood

And the bore... I have a Smith Model 15-2 .38 Special (made in 1963) that I've never shot anything, but cast bullets in and I've shot several brands including home cast from wheel weights. I have shot over 500 rounds without cleaning and the bore looks like a mirror???

sarg1c

Went back to Ashland today and bought 1000 9MM cast bullets today for $25.00 . May get back over and get another 1000. These had been sized and lubed. Thought this was a good buy...

Big Chief

148 grain are usually Wad Cutters (WC) and 158 grain are usually Semi Wad Cutter (SWC) or Lead Round Nose (LRN). Not always though, I have seen different weights for both designs.

Sounds like a pretty good buy. $30 bucks is about or was the going price for # 500 cast .38 caliber bullets.