Suitable .357 Magnum powder for 2" Snubbies

[JohnB92]

Good day, gents and gentle-ladies. Next week, im picking up a taurus 605 .357 magnum for carry purposes (dont worry, ill shoot critical defense for carry ammo) and ive been looking at different powders, trying to decide which will give me the best performance overall with any bullet weight. Im not going to load maximum loads like i do for rifles, but i do want something peppy to practice with. Ive looked at Autocomp, HS-6, HP-38, Accurate No. 5, 7, and 9, and a couple of others that i cant recall at the moment. I like to have a case mostly full of powder, i want a ball powder for good metering, and without too much muzzle flash (at least for the heavy stuff). I will likely shoot mostly plated 142s up to 158s, but i will probably also play around with lighter stuff as well for the fireball and some giggles. This is my own first pistol, but not my first rodeo loading for pistols. Ive loaded some 9mm and .45acp for family. Thanks in advance.

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[RustE]

My first thought is to start with HS-6 or AA No. 5. Burn rates are comparable. Also works for warmer .45ACP loads.

Next would be AA No. 7, slightly slower burn rate than the two above. Should get a bit more "OOMPH" while keeping a tolerable amount flash and blast.

With the snubby, you probably will not get much benefit (useful velocity) from AA No. 9. You'll certainly get the flash and blast. From what a member here mentioned in another thread, AA No. 9 is basically a cousin of Alliant 2400 and Win 296.

I thought about tossing Alliant BE-86 into the list because it has flash retardant, but this is an extruded flake powder.

[MarkDisciplinare]

Don't rule out BE-86. Meters excellent and doesn't require magnum primers to ignite, at least that's been my experience with it! Don't think it's position sensitive for revolvers either...? I think I'd go with H110.

[Wes Sage]

AA#2, AA#5 would work. Hard to get full burn in a 2" Barrel, and hard to get any decent velocity.
May be that faster powders with lighter bullets do the trick.
That being said, I load AA#9 for all my 4" 357 Mags with no problem

[handcannon]

Try some Win 231. It's a fairly fast powder with a 158 gr jsp. 296 & H-110 are better for longer barrels. Slow burning powder. Ok if you're shooting a 6" or longer bbl. I've got a 2 1/2" model 19 Smith. Shorter bbl faster powder. But it is a defensive weapon so magnum velocity's are really not needed. Terminal velocity is what's needed. And that is penetration through clothes into the body.

[omcforever]

W231/HP38 for the snubbies....125 JHP/JSP.

[JohnB92]

What would be the maximum velocity I could expect from any powder with berrys 158gr plated flat point from a 2" barrel?

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[JohnB92]

I dont really know what to expect, this is completely uncharted territory for me.

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[CodySPowell]

I use AA#9 exclusively for .357 mag. I have a S&W model 66 which has a 4.25in barrel. I've loaded some hot defensive rounds for it as well as target stuff. If you're looking for a great powder try AA#9. Obviously with a shorter barrel you'll lose some velocity but not a tremendous amount. (I just watched a show about the snubnose vs 4-4.25 in barrels, velocities were negligible)

I dont really know what to expect, this is completely uncharted territory for me.

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[Wes Sage]

Probably 900 FPS

What would be the maximum velocity I could expect from any powder with berrys 158gr plated flat point from a 2" barrel?

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