SmallCaliberCentral

I have a dilema here!! I have been reading a few different sources that say different max loads for a .357 mag with H110 and 158gr bullet. I have a book that says 17.0, a internet source (steve's reloading pages) that says 17.7, and another book that says 16.7. Which is correct I started the loads at 15.7 and stopped at 17.5 going up in .2gr increments. will this be safe or is it above what anyone else has for info??

158gr hornady XTP
H110 15.7-17.5
CCI small pistol mag primer
.357 mag Taurus tracker

please help
thanks
kyle

Kyle-- I can't give you any specific help for handgun reloading, except to tell you that my 7th Edition Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading lists 12.7 grains as the starting load and 15.6 grains of H 110 as the maximum load for the 158 to 160 gr. bullets. So, according to Hornady, you started at .1 of a grain over the maximum load and went 1.9 grains over their max. I would advise you to quit trusting loads listed on the Internet. I have seen many loads listed for the calibers I shoot that are obviously WAAAAAY over the maximum load any sane person would attempt to shoot. Use the information found in legitimate reloading manuals.

You said you were increasing the powder charges by .2 of a gain each time. My gut instinct leads me to feel that your .2 grain increment for your test loads for a casing that has a maximum load in the 15.7 grain area might be a bit too big an increment. I do a lot of reloading for .17 Remington and .204 Ruger and max loads for those two calibers are somewhere in the 23 to 28 gr. area for the .17 Rem and a little more for the .204 Ruger and I seldom, if ever, use an increment larger than .2 of a grain. In these high-pressure small caliber loads like I shoot, dangerously high pressure can develop in a real hurry and move you from a safe load to an accident-waiting-to-happen-load.

Also, you might get more responses if you post this problem down in the Handgun Forum.

You will find as you look through reloading data for just about any cartridge, that each source will show different max loads with the same powder and bullet weight. About all you can do is start below max and work your way up keeping a close eye on everything. Without pressure testing equipment, you are forced to rely on good sense and (hopefully) educated guess-work. You must rely on subjective criteria such as primer appearance, brass life, velocity (assuming you are using a chronograph) and felt recoil. In hand gun loads changing from jacked to lead bullets can be a major difference. Sounds like you're going about it the right way, increasing by small increments.

my lyman 48th edition manual says 16.3-17.0gr H110. But everyone says that is too high making me think that I am wrong. should I not trust the manual??

i don't use h110 powder in my 357, but here are the listings in the sierra manual 5th edition, using 158 gr. jacketed bullets.

starting load is 13.3 gr, velocity 1150fps
next load is 14.8 gr, velocity 1200 fps
next is 16.3 gr, velocity 1250 fps this the max load!
these are loads using sierra bullets

but silverfox is spot on looking at the hornady manual, 7th edition, and you stated you were shooting hornady xtp bullets. 158 grain.

K_Hini wrote:158gr hornady XTP
H110 15.7-17.5
CCI small pistol mag primer

and as sagebrush burns said, you will find conflicting data from manual to manual.
personally, i would back off, and start over. and if you load hornady bullets, i would start at what hornady lists for your bullet and powder. also on a personal note, i do not load at the max on a 357 mag, because i don't like the recoil. you just might like shooting a little lighter load a little better, and shoot more often.
i guess whatever turns your crank!