American Handgunner July/August 1977

'RELOADING THE .357 MAGNUMalways seat the bullet flush in the casemouth, then crimp lightly. Accuracy mayvary with cas^/bullet fit It may be worthwhileto try different-size, expander plugsuntil the best combination is obtained.Bullet alloy isn't critical toaccuracy, so awide range may be used. Everything fromLyman #2 to pure linotype mix seems toshoot well so long as bullets are properlylubricated and sized.Shooters sometimes want to speed upthese wadcutter loads for one reason oranother. With hollow-base bullets, notmuch velocity increase can be obtainedwithout danger of the base blowing out atthe muzzle. This 'produces wild shots.Solid-base bullets can be speeded upconsiderably, but over about 900 fps, afairly hard, lead alloy becomes desirable ifaccuracy is to hold up and barrel leadingis to be prevented. Actually, these 'hot'wadcutter loads serve no useful purposein ordinary target shooting, but are sometimesrecommended for defense use.Target-type loads are best for plikingand fun shooting. Conical bullets may bepreferred by some, but so long as bulletweight remains the same, target-loadpowder charges may be used safely. Ourtarget loads produce very low pressures,ACTION Omm ^3P9S DOUBLEACTION 9mm10 rounds of 9mm Iparabellum punching power-* Weighs two poundsReliable~accurateAlso features polygon bore anddelayed roller-locked slide.HK4 DOUBLE ACTION .MOW22 LK.32dlJ.25 dl.(Continued from page 56), '..' ...so even if a bullet substitution does causean increase, no problems will be encountered.SMALL GAME & HELD LOADSThis load class falls between target andfull-charge, magnum loads. It is probablythe most useful of all to the average shooterbecause it covers such a broad spectrum;yet per-shot cost is quite low, only alittle more than that of target loads. Cast,lead bullets of medium weight are best,and velocities of up to 1000 fps are easilyobtained with relatively small charges ofpowder. Yet, these loads can be effectiveto 100 yards or more and will kill edible,small game without excessive meat damage.Hard-alloy, cast bullets of 150-175grains weight and semi-wadcutter formseem best A 5/5/90 tin, antimony, andlead mix is hard enough, and on upthrough linotype metal. I've never seenany need for gas checks in this range solong as hard-enough metal was used. Norare hollow-base bullets of any particularadvantage. Bullets should be well lubricatedwith an Alox-base lubricant andsized to actual groove diameter or nomore than .0015" greater.P9S DOUBLE ACTION .45 cal.A real big game stopper!8 rounds instantly ready Weighsless than two rounds l PolvaonPSS DOUBLE ACTION .45 d l-HK~DOUBLE ACTION .380cal.l.22 LRl.32 cal.l.25 cal.l The perfect backup gun-4 guns in one.Shoots the high lethality 380 cal.(9mm short) cartridgeConverts to tow cost .22LR in secondsKits for .32 and .25 cal. also availablePerfect for the backpacker. Lightweight(16.902)Ask your doator about all of the exciting new H&Kguns or writ* for our W-OWH color catalog. Pleawinclude $2.00 for and handling. -Heckler & Koch, Inc.933 N. Kenmore St., Suite 218Arlington, Va. 22201Powder charges are greater than for targetloads and I've found Hercules Uniquewill do everything that is needed~and atlow cost Others are suitable, of course,for this range of loads, but why argue withsuccess?While .38 Special cases are usable withthese loads, I really prefer the full-lengthmagnums. Cases must hold bullets tightly,and a good, stout, roll crimp is necessary.If all this is done with .38 cases, you'll bereducing powder space about 15 percent,increasing pressures accordingly. If forsome reason you must use .38 Specialcases, select those bullets which have thecrimping groove properly located so thatthey may be seated to produce standard.357 cartridge length in .38 cases. In effect,this moves the bullet forward in thecase, duplicating .357 case powder space.When doing this, though, making thecrimp a bit heavier will help obtain moreconsistent ignition and velocity.BIQ GAME & DEFENSE LOADSThe "creme de la creme" of .357 Magnumloads. These tire the two purposes forwhich the cartridge was originally developedand promoted. For the very simplereason that the cartridge is the most powerfulwhich the average shooter can learnto handle really well, the .357 is our bestrevolver defense number, for much thesame reason, it is a superb hunting cartridgefor all but the biggest species.For both uses we need loads oroducingmaximum velocity and energy; and withthe capability of transferring as much aspossible of that energy to a live-animal targetHowever, this does not mean thathunting and defense loads should be identical."Big game" implies heavy, massiveanimals, while "defense" implies the targetwill be man, which is a relatively small,light animal. In defense, there are otherconsiderations of safety which requirelimiting penetration, reducing ricochetprobability, etc. Yet on big game we needmore penetration and do not encounterthose other limitations. This means thatfor defense we want light, frangible bulletswhich do not penetrate deeply or ricocheteasily and yet create massive tissue damage.For game, we need deeper-penetratingbullets.Both are best served by modem, jacketed,expanding bullets of the type pioneeredby Super Vel Cartridge Corporation.For defense, the lighter, hollow-pointbullets deliver maximum energy to thetarget without excessive penetration orricochet risk. For heavy game, the heavier,soft-point bullets at slightly lower velocitygive us what we need.The reasons are simple. A fast, lightlyconstructed,JHP bullet of around100-110 grains weight expands violentlyon impact, creating a very largediameterwound cavity; therefore, it transfers maximumenergy to the target and does notpenetrate deeply. Its light construction re-58 AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULY/AUGUST 1977