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Posted: 7/27/2009 7:09:42 AM EDT
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wow tried a search nothing in three months and nothing in the published loads....
what's everyone using for a starting loads? looks like 125 grains are the gold standard in the retail market. looking for plinking loads and defence. 
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| People that load for most pistol rounds are loading straight-walled cases. Because of this you can use no-lube carbide sizing dies. This no-lube thing on high volume pistol rounds just spoils you. Because the .357 SIG is a bottle-necked round you have to lube the case and then remove the lube later. |
| I load for a Sig P229. I got most of my starting info from Speer 13. I have only used Speer 125 gr. TMJ's and GD's. I use AA#7––started at 11.1 gr. per the book. I also use AA#9 starting at 13.1 gr per the book. Accurate loading guide #2 has quite a few loads with their powder ranging from 95 gr. up to 147 gr. A few years back, Winchester sent me a component guide with load data. They listed a single load with a 125 gr fmj, WSF 7.1 gr. running 1260 fps at 33,800psi. I have never tried the Winchester load. It is a little more work, but I love shooting the round. When you are packed at the range, you really don't have to worry too much about others grabbing your brass. |
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Yeah the guys who dont load it because it is bottleneck are nuts. Bottlenecks are easier to load on a single stage - no need for an expander die.....
Anyhow, I use remington 124gr JHPs over 9.6grains of blue dot 10grains is fine, 10.5 was a bit warm for my taste... |
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Go to hodgdon.com, accuratearms.com, alliantpowder.com for loading data online. I don't reload it due to bottleneck - sold all my 357 Sig stuff because of that. Same here, 357 sig was the 2nd most pain in the ass round to load behind 44-40. I sold my sig barrel for my Glock and all my 357 sig reloading stuff. |
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Like Trimix, I've also stuck to loading Speer 125 TMJ and GDs. Best results have been with Power Pistol. Preliminary loads with Unique have been less "blasty" and it's been easier to find than PP.
I load them 1.135"/8.3gr PP/CCI 500/RCBS dies with Lee FCD/ sized .007" under the barrel face. Speer 13 and Lyman 49 indicate this is a middlin' load but other data sources are conflicted and show this load on the light side. Test for setback before you get too crazy with the loads. There's not a lot of neck to hold tension with; I kiss the rounds with the FCD just enough so setback is down to a few thou per chambering. Pete357 has tons of info including bullet/powder selection and a section on crimping. Realguns 357 sig load data Realguns 357 sig headspace article |
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Like Trimix, I've also stuck to loading Speer 125 TMJ and GDs. Best results have been with Power Pistol. Preliminary loads with Unique have been less "blasty" and it's been easier to find than PP. I load them 1.135"/8.3gr PP/CCI 500/RCBS dies with Lee FCD/ sized .007" under the barrel face. Speer 13 and Lyman 49 indicate this is a middlin' load but other data sources are conflicted and show this load on the light side. Test for setback before you get too crazy with the loads. There's not a lot of neck to hold tension with; I kiss the rounds with the FCD just enough so setback is down to a few thou per chambering. Pete357 has tons of info including bullet/powder selection and a section on crimping. Realguns 357 sig load data Realguns 357 sig headspace article Hey thanks for the links, reloading only 8 months links like that help. Didnt know anything about the 357 sig until last week when I bought a buddies gun.... in fact the middle link really helped, I thought the 357 would take .357 bullets not .355, but then the hodgen site has loads for .357" and .355" 
the set back is also very helpful. dies are on back order so I will keep reading for now. |
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Don't get me wrong here, I am still new to the metallic reloading, and so far nothing has gone wrong, I have a P229 with a barrel in .40 and .357 sig. I only plan on reloading for the .40 as it is easier for a pistol round ( at least in my opinion). Bottlenecks to me are most suited for rifle, granted I am sure there are other bottleneck rounds out there but to me a bottleneck involves more work than a straight wall case. I recently loaded a batch for my .40 that were nice and easy to shoot, mild recoil, easy on the wrists, and accuracy wasn't too bad either, and it is comparable to a .357 load in terms of ease to shoot and how nice it is to your wrists. But I am not going to load that one again due to the fact that it was a bit too weak to cycle properly to eject the case all the time and would jam now and then.
Just my thoughts here. granted this may not be true but I think that it is called .357 SIG for a reason  but then I am a Sig fan go figure......
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Bottlenecks are easier to load on a single stage - no need for an expander die..... 
Single Stage or Progressive - they still need to be lubed and de-lubed. Why no expander die? Are you loading boat tails? I believe the two die set I have just ordered will consist of a sizing die and a seater / crimp die. unless I am missing something shouldn't the expander ball open the neck far enough on the way out....
https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/MainServlet?storeId=webconnect&catalogId=webconnect&langId=en_US&action=ProductDisplay&screenlabel=index&productId=2174 AGAIN I HAVE YET TO PULL THE HANDLE ON A 357sig "Hornady One-Shot Case Lube allows the reloader to lube entire blocks of cases in one shot. The One-Shot formula dries in minutes. One-Shot is a non-petroleum wax that will not contaminate powder or primers. Also available in an 8 oz Pump Spray Bottle." |
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Yeah the guys who dont load it because it is bottleneck are nuts. Bottlenecks are easier to load on a single stage - no need for an expander die..... Anyhow, I use remington 124gr JHPs over 9.6grains of blue dot 10grains is fine, 10.5 was a bit warm for my taste... Expander die? WTF is that? 
Lee dies charge + expand in the same die, others don't do this? |
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Any one using a 40 carbide die then a 357 I was ordering components and came across it. one guy calls it the"potter method" size the brass with no lube using a carbide 40 die, the size the case with a 357die to move your shoulder. all done without lube..... I was reading down wondering why no one had mentioned this yet; it's what I do it works great for me. |
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Bottlenecks are easier to load on a single stage - no need for an expander die.....
Single Stage or Progressive - they still need to be lubed and de-lubed. Why no expander die? Are you loading boat tails? I believe the two die set I have just ordered will consist of a sizing die and a seater / crimp die. unless I am missing something shouldn't the expander ball open the neck far enough on the way out....
Most of the times it won't - you will need to bell the case mouth to seat flat base bullets. |
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Any one using a 40 carbide die then a 357 I was ordering components and came across it. one guy calls it the"potter method" size the brass with no lube using a carbide 40 die, the size the case with a 357die to move your shoulder. all done without lube..... I was reading down wondering why no one had mentioned this yet; it's what I do it works great for me. I thought about doing this as well, but Dillon wouldn't make a fifth station for my 550... :) |
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Any one using a 40 carbide die then a 357 I was ordering components and came across it. one guy calls it the"potter method" size the brass with no lube using a carbide 40 die, the size the case with a 357die to move your shoulder. all done without lube..... I was reading down wondering why no one had mentioned this yet; it's what I do it works great for me. I thought about doing this as well, but Dillon wouldn't make a fifth station for my 550... :) Get a 650 |
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I load for a Sig P229. I got most of my starting info from Speer 13. I have only used Speer 125 gr. TMJ's and GD's. I use AA#7––started at 11.1 gr. per the book. I also use AA#9 starting at 13.1 gr per the book. Accurate loading guide #2 has quite a few loads with their powder ranging from 95 gr. up to 147 gr. A few years back, Winchester sent me a component guide with load data. They listed a single load with a 125 gr fmj, WSF 7.1 gr. running 1260 fps at 33,800psi. I have never tried the Winchester load. It is a little more work, but I love shooting the round. When you are packed at the range, you really don't have to worry too much about others grabbing your brass. According to my manual, 13.0gr of AA#9 is MAX for this combo. I found it to be accurate, but BLASTY. You'll likely see 1400+ with this load out of a full size gun. If you want something a little more gentle, Power Pistol works, try 8.0ish. (8.6 is listed as max.) Universal Clays works pretty well too, 5.7gr is max for that load. Anything lower than 5.3gr wouldn't cycle a Sig P229 though, so don't go TOO light with that powder, lest you have a malfunction-fest. |
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Bottlenecks are easier to load on a single stage - no need for an expander die.....
Single Stage or Progressive - they still need to be lubed and de-lubed. Why no expander die? Are you loading boat tails? Erhm, the expander is the decapper, all in one operation. No need for a seperate expander die like as is the case for straight walled pistol cases. Hornady one shot FTW. (but HOS doesn't cut it for rifle brass) |
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"Hornady One-Shot Case Lube allows the reloader to lube entire blocks of cases in one shot. The One-Shot formula dries in minutes. One-Shot is a non-petroleum wax that will not contaminate powder or primers. Also available in an 8 oz Pump Spray Bottle." If you use this lube, follow the directions to the letter. It might work okay on a short case like .357 Sig. We haven't had a thread in a week or so about stuck cases while using One Shot, so we're due any day now. I use Dillon spray and Imperial Sizing Die wax, mostly Imperial. |
| I use a .40 cal carbide lee die, then a steel Redding or RCBS .357 sig die for my yellow brass. If I load nickel cases, I have found some issues at the base of the brass and the lee .40 die, so I just use a Redding .357 sig die and lube. Best I could describe the problem is a thin sharp edge around the base. I have had no problems loading .40 cal brass/nickel with the die, so who knows. I have ruined 50 nickel cases before I caught on to the problem. The only .357 sig brass I own is Speer. |
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I load for a Sig P229. I got most of my starting info from Speer 13. I have only used Speer 125 gr. TMJ's and GD's. I use AA#7––started at 11.1 gr. per the book. I also use AA#9 starting at 13.1 gr per the book. Accurate loading guide #2 has quite a few loads with their powder ranging from 95 gr. up to 147 gr. A few years back, Winchester sent me a component guide with load data. They listed a single load with a 125 gr fmj, WSF 7.1 gr. running 1260 fps at 33,800psi. I have never tried the Winchester load. It is a little more work, but I love shooting the round. When you are packed at the range, you really don't have to worry too much about others grabbing your brass. According to my manual, 13.0gr of AA#9 is MAX for this combo. I found it to be accurate, but BLASTY. You'll likely see 1400+ with this load out of a full size gun. If you want something a little more gentle, Power Pistol works, try 8.0ish. (8.6 is listed as max.) Universal Clays works pretty well too, 5.7gr is max for that load. Anything lower than 5.3gr wouldn't cycle a Sig P229 though, so don't go TOO light with that powder, lest you have a malfunction-fest. I agree. The round is a bit blasty. I have noticed a variation of loads from different manuals. I just hope your manual isn't the same Speer 13 manual I used, or I'm contacting ATK. What bullets do you use for your loads? I really haven't experimented with others, but always interested. |
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