I Hunt with .357 Magnum Cast Bullets

C

coote

Joined
Apr 3, 2006
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I have a Bergara .357 magnum break-action single-shot. I cast my own bullets, and I have a couple of favourite loads at the moment. One is a 210 grain semi-wadcutter which travels at around 1320 fps which really hits with a smack. The other is a 180 grain round nose flat point which is loaded to travel at around 1030 fps. I have a suppressor, and these cartridges enable me to shoot without making too much of a noise.

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I fitted a scope to the Bergara today, so I had to sight it in.

I had to use the BK9 to cut away brush between me and the target. I also used it to cut down a pine sapling which had partially fallen over. Great choppers those nines.

I looked at the ballistics chart and decided to zero the rig for the 180 grain subsonics at 65 metres (I've gone metric because the range finder I use has a metric display). This means, in theory, that the bullet should hit about 3 cm high (about 1.2 inches) at 50 metres (about 55 yards) and I can just aim and shoot out to about 75 metres (around 82 yards). Beyond that the bullet falls rapidly with a drop of maybe five inches at 100 yards.

There was a bit of wind today, but I was pleased to get a 2.5 inch, three shot group at 100 metres (109 yards). I'd be disappointed if I got a group that big with a .223 varmint rifle, but it is cause for rejoicing that I have a cast bullet subsonic load that shoots like that. I believe its best to limit shots at game with this load to 80 yards or so anyway.

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I don't think I've shot anything of significance with this particular subsonic load yet, but between my nephew and I we've had some pleasing success with various fast and slow .357 cast loads (shot from a Bergara single shot, a Rossi 92 lever gun and a Ruger 77 bolt action repeater).

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That Ruger .357/77! 😍

And that moose-rabbit, woah! :-o


Thought about going that route some years ago, but realized that after all the load development to produce nearly 2000fps in a .357 case in an 18" barrel, I might as well get a .30-30 and ammo would be easy to source AND make. So I did.
 
Yeah that Ruger 77 is just beautiful to handle. So light... and so simple without a scope. A real 'gun'. It kinda represents my fantasy ideal from my youth, having grown up with heavy military surplus rifles.

I chose .357 because it has a cartridge size that lends itself to subsonic loads. Also, the straight-walled cases are relatively easy to deal with and I am getting good life from the brass. I wouldn't mind a 30/30, but I've decided that I don't need another caliber. I have .22rf, .223 Rem and .357 magnum. If I need to reach out further I can call on relatives to loan me something bigger.

That moose-rabbit is a European hare. They get pretty big. They also do a bit of damage to trees. I have a neighbor whose citrus trees have been really chewed up by the critters. They have a decent amount of very acceptable, yet lean, meat on them. I'm currently in the process of making some biltong from hare now that my supply of frozen venison is almost gone.

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coote said:
Yeah that Ruger 77 is just beautiful to handle. So light... and so simple without a scope. A real 'gun'. It kinda represents my fantasy ideal from my youth, having grown up with heavy military surplus rifles.

I chose .357 because it has a cartridge size that lends itself to subsonic loads. Also, the straight-walled cases are relatively easy to deal with and I am getting good life from the brass. I wouldn't mind a 30/30, but I've decided that I don't need another caliber. I have .22rf, .223 Rem and .357 magnum. If I need to reach out further I can call on relatives to loan me something bigger.

That moose-rabbit is a European hare. They get pretty big. They also do a bit of damage to trees. I have a neighbor whose citrus trees have been really chewed up by the critters. They have a decent amount of very acceptable, yet lean, meat on them. I'm currently in the process of making some biltong from hare now that my supply of frozen venison is almost gone.

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Hares are great sport, there is a population explosion of them here in central New South Wales Australia at the moment. I like how they won't sit still, the continuous hopping makes for a challenging shot.
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Nice guns mate 👍🏻👍🏻
 
Thanks ! I like my .357s. I've sold that Rossi Levergun now, but I loved it. That's a decent sized hare in your photo.
 
I shoot a lot of cast 180 grain lead out of my revolvers. With a stout load of 2400 it can do about 1100 FPS out of a 5” barrel. One of these days I’ll pick up a rifle to shoot them out of. Penetration should be impressive.

Your 210 grain load will probably go from nose to tail on most critters, even big ones.
 
I've been fairly satisfied with the penetration of most of my .357 loads, despite the soft alloy and the flat noses. They travel relatively slowly compared to other rifle loads, but they must have a fair amount of momentum or something. Here is a photo showing the 180 grain flat-nosed and the 210 grain semi-wadcutter bullets. I got the brass molds for these from Cast Bullet Engineering in Australia. I don't try to make special alloys with a certain hardness. I want what I do to be easily repeatable, so I just use random scrap lead. Some of my early experiments suggested that slightly harder bullets from certain moulds grouped better than soft ones, but the two bullets illustrated are consistent and accurate enough using soft lead at sensible hunting ranges.
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Oh yeah, they're not designed to mushroom and have a lot of impact w/ the wide meplat and then penetrate due to less mushrooming.
One of my favorite .357 handloads is a 180gr XTP@1000fps out of my 4-5/8" Blackhawk. I like subsonic handgun loads. I went down the lead route for awhile before coming to understand that I'd really only get good performance by re-cutting the forcing cone. And while doable... time passed, life changed, and the hassle was no longer worth the cost savings vs. purchasing jacketed heads.
 
If I could control my trigger finger a bit better, I probably would have saved quite a bit of money if I'd just bought a couple of packets of factory ammo.... or even if I'd bought factory projectiles and still kept loading. I've spent heaps trying to find THE best bullet mould.
 
Talk about spending money. I went down the 450 Bushmaster rabbit hole. I should have stuck with my trusty 336 in 30/30. But I’m committed to the 450 now. Hooaw!!!
 
coote said:
But, you have to love the size of that bore. I've had to resist the urge to go bigger. A 45-70 called to me for a long time.
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Before I moved out of W.V. I was 5 deer with 5 shots with all 5 deers combined traveling less than 10 yards after being hit. With my 45/70 handloads I have killed deer at 225 yards
 
1066vik said:
If you ever make it to the middle of the NA continent, I can help you scratch that itch.
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That is a nice offer thanks. I visited your huge country in 1978, and only saw a tiny part of it. Dunno if I will get there again. I have a brother and niece in Colorado and I haven't visited them yet. Travelling is a bit more of a hassle nowadays. But I can chew the fat with Americans, I share their traditional values, I appreciate what they've invented and achieved, I own an American-made rifle and a couple of BK9s. I'm content for now....
 
coote said:
That is a nice offer thanks. I visited your huge country in 1978, and only saw a tiny part of it. Dunno if I will get there again. I have a brother and niece in Colorado and I haven't visited them yet. Travelling is a bit more of a hassle nowadays. But I can chew the fat with Americans, I share their traditional values, I appreciate what they've invented and achieved, I own an American-made rifle and a couple of BK9s. I'm content for now....
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Im on the other end of Kansas from the Colorado border and i have friends with a brewery, so id also stand you a pint or 2 if you wished.
 
Well 1066vik, if I do travel I wouldn't mind seeing your area. Very hospitable.

There may be the odd Handi-rifle floating around down here, but the only 45/70s I recall seeing advertised in recent years are Bergara single shots, Henry single shots and the Marlin & Henry lever guns. I doubt that I'll ever do it though. I've decided that having fewer calibers is a good idea. But I am still in awe of the bore.
 
My smokepole is a T/C .54 that I bought used for a great price, but that's just an absurd caliber. I put 230gr hardcast .45ACP projectiles into sabot sleeves and stack 'em on 100gr of 777. (the .45 heads were too hard for pistol loads). More power than that and your shoulder has my respect.
 
Dang... .54 is almost inconceivably big. And 100 grains of powder !! The 180 grain cast .357 that I load to travel at just under the speed of sound uses 4.8 grains of Universal, That .54 bullet must carry some energy.
 
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