So what are your go to bullets?

for rifles i like sierra game kings there hard to beat for the price and performance for pistols i like hornady xtp! right know i got some rainers and they are accurate but they cores seperate not a problem for plicking but i dont like it for self defence!

In 308 Winchester: 110 grains Hornady V-max, 150 grains Nosler Ballistic Tip, 150 grains Nosler E-Tip, 180 gains Hornady SST.

For my 300 Winchester Magnum: 150 grains Nosler Ballistic Tip, 165 grains Nosler Ballistic Tip, 175 grains Berger VLD Hunting, 180 grains Nosler Ballistic Tip, Berger 210 grains VLD Hunting.

But as my quriousity is huge and I love testing bullets, I allways have many more types by my loading bench.

This is kind of an old thread, but I'll go ahead anyways. Maybe it'll come back to life. If I had to walk into the sunset with one weapon and one load it would absolutely by my S&W Combat Magnum holding Lyman 358156 SWCGC over 14 gr 2400 powder. Easy to carry, easy to re-load, 100% reliable, and it will take down anything on 2 or 4 legs in North America. Nice thing w/ this bullet is it can be magnum loaded in 38 Special brass.

Arty wrote:This is kind of an old thread, but I'll go ahead anyways. Maybe it'll come back to life. If I had to walk into the sunset with one weapon and one load it would absolutely by my S&W Combat Magnum holding Lyman 358156 SWCGC over 14 gr 2400 powder. Easy to carry, easy to re-load, 100% reliable, and it will take down anything on 2 or 4 legs in North America. Nice thing w/ this bullet is it can be magnum loaded in 38 Special brass.

school me more on this round if you would arty I carry a S&W .38 magnum loaded would come in handy. hughie

It is a 158 grain Semi Wad Cutter, Gas Check design. When introduced in 1935, the 357 was high-tech, state of the art science and design. When you have some time I recommend you do some research on the development. We all owe a heck of a lot to these early pioneers of modern ballistics! Google Glen Fryxell, he has written extensively on the subject. Anyway, I'll get back on track... Way back when the 357 first came out Magnum brass was expensive and difficult to obtain. In conjunction with the natural development of new bullets, someone came up with the idea of adding a second crimp groove such that the bullet could be crimped in a magnum case on the upper groove, OR crimped in 38 Special case in the lower grove, and the overall length and internal volume would be the same. Add a gas check and you have a very versatile bullet. The 358156 was Lyman's entry into this class of bullet and it still maintains it popularity today. It's still made. Keep in mind this bullet allows you load to 357 Magnum specifications in a 38 Special case, it DOES NOT allow you to shoot a Magnum load in a 38 Special firearm! The ages-old standard load is 14 grains of Alliant 2400 powder, good heavy crimp. Typically comes out to ~1400fps in a 6'' revolver, and ~1800fps in a rifle.

thank you arty. have you or do you cast your own 358156 bullet for the round??

Yes I do. In fact I have several. One is a single cavity that I have always wanted to convert to hollow point, just haven't gotten around to it. The mold is still available from Lyman, or any vendor. I now people don't like ebay, but they come up there occasionally.

Hughie, how do I add a photo? This computer is a lot smarter than me!!!

Arty, you an add pictures a couple of ways. You can use an outside source like photobucket or tinypic. Once you upload your pics there, you will want to copy the IMG code. Just paste the IMG code into your post.

You can also direct upload from this site. Along the top of your message box you type in, you should see a few icons. Look for the icon that has a square box and then a smaller square box offset of that one. Click that. It will then tell you to locate your picture. Be sure to choose size of 640. Again, when you click host it, you want the middle selection. IMG code is what your looking for.

I hope that helps. I suck at trying to explain things. Maybe I could recruit someone to write a tutorial on how to upload pics!! Any volunteers? LOL

Daywalker, thanks, but I quit. Iv'e tried numerous times. It opens a small window to Serving.com which I followed all instructions, created an account, uploaded a pic... Now every time I try to post a reply I click the small box icon, the Serving.com widow opens and all I can do is keep uploading pics, I can't get out of it. Like I said, it's a lot smarter than me!!!

Im gonna Pm you....

OK, one more try.

The image on the left is the 358156 in a 38 Sp case, on the right another bullet in a .357 Mag case. Notice the extra crimp groove on the 358156 even w/ the top of the .357 case. I have loaded and shot literally tens-of-thousands of these over the last 40+years all using inexpensive 38 brass. I like to keep 2-3 thousand in inventory. On a safety note, I keep them in boxes labeled these must not be fired from 38 Special firearms, so be careful in that respect.

ok thanks arty good looking rounds you made there