Your Preferred Bullet for your 357 Levergun ?

[TraderVic]

What is your preferred or favorite bullet (weight & shape) for your 357 rifle ? Do you mostly load and shoot lead/alloy ?
I'm considering a new Ruger Marlin 357 rifle to accompany my Ruger revolvers.

[Grizz]

What is your preferred or favorite bullet (weight & shape) for your 357 rifle ? Do you mostly load and shoot lead/alloy ?
I'm considering a new Ruger Marlin 357 rifle to accompany my Ruger revolvers.

.

357 125Gr.jpg

.
I used to buy the Winchester version for my winchester carbine, but don't see it. At this price I can make money by reloading them.

My regular hand load is 158Gr cast, and I have a 180Gr load just because. But my carbine likes the 125Gr skinny girls...

[Scott Tschirhart]

158 grain Federal red box soft point factory ammo.

[JimT]

IMG_6309.JPG

SAECO #382 160 gr. SWC

IMG_3206.JPG

IMG_7191.JPG

Lyman #358665 160 gr. FP
This is one of my more accurate bullets in both handgun and levergun

When using jacketed bullets I pretty much stick with RCBS 125 gr. (both hollow point and flat nose)

IMG_3986.JPG

[wvfarrier]

140 grain XTP with a 10% above max book load of Lil Gun nets me 2425fps from a 24" barrel and 1.5" groups at 125 yards. They also expand to almost .70" and retsin about 90% of their weight. Absolutely fearsome on deer, bear and coyotes.

[TedH]

I have recently discovered an inexpensive option for my 44 and 357 leverguns from Zero Bullets. Their 158 gr soft point is very accurate and perfect mushroom expansion when fired into a row of thick plastic water jugs. I load with max charge of H110. I buy them in bulk from Everglades Ammo. Besides those I shoot my own cast 180 gr. wide flat point with similar accuracy.

[LeverGunner]

I've been traveling this road myself for the Marlin 1894 Cowboy.

So far, I haven't gotten any favorites, but I have in the back of my mind the NOE 360-160-WFN might be the ticket for an all around bullet. I haven't picked one up yet, as I'm still messing with my Lee SWC bullets. So far, they feed well.

I also have a box of Hornady XTP hps to try, but I'd rather buy a mould that jacketed bullets.

[COSteve]

For just range plinking I like both 125 and 158 grn Berry's plated FP bullets. For plinking bowling pins at 200 and 300 yds, I like Zero JSPs in the same weights.

[Walt]

My Ruger/Marlin .357 mag will not feed Lyman 358665 cast bullets. It will reliably feed 358156GC bullets which I load in front of 13.5 gr of 2400. Although I rarely shoot jacketed bullets, when I do, I load Hornady 158 gr XTPs in front of 14.0 gr of 2400.

[ikocher]

I have a Remington era Marlin 1894 CST that I've been using factory loaded Remington 158 gr SJHP which worked well for deer in 2023. I have several pre-made cast bullets such as the Slippery Bullets 105 TFP that I made super light loads for subsonic suppressor plinking. They also shot okay from a revolver. I also like the 200 grain LFN with gas check from I think was Precision Cast or something but I can't seem to find them anymore. great for heavy weight subsonic. Thankfully I have the Lee 200 grain mold I can make.

GT Bullets makes what I think is a copy of the 358439HP Lyman mold. Those seemed fine but I would like to revisit them again plus that same mold I have and hold to get to start casting with.

I also have some 158 gr XTPs to test with this year.

[wvfarrier]

I will say that the 200 grain FTX (.358) loaded into 38spl cases is really good out to 100 yards

[6pt-sika]

I was partial to the Lyman 358156 . Had SWC molds and a SWC HP mold as well . I also had a mold that I’ve forgotten the actual number but it was a 215 grain SWC GC Lyman that was if memory serves initially made for the IHMSA guys to use in the 357 MAX , anyway that one shot very well for me in a couple Marlin 1894’s .

[zoner]

I shoot a Rossi 357 levergun. It's mostly a range gun and shoots mostly cast. I don't cast myself but the rifle really likes Missouri Bullets 140 gr TC coated. `I shoot em in 357 cases over a medium dose of HS6. These bullets want to go in the same hole at 50 yds

[OldWin]

For hunting or high velocity loads I use a 158gr XTP. I'd probably be better served with a 180, but I have a pile of .357 revolvers and only one rifle.
For general field or range work I used 158gr round nose plated for many years, but I've switched to 158gr SWC Acme coated.

[Paladin]

Out of my Rossi, I try to use 125SP or 158SP with 38 Spls when plinking.

[drone]

357 cast.jpg

I bought these in bulk,1000 of each, they are meant to be 158 grains, each weighs at 170 grains.
I load them with either Lovex D036, Alliant 2400, or Vv N110. Best velocities high 1600s very accurate.
For plinking I load them with 3.2 grains of Hodgdon universal for about 900 fps. Still very accurate.

[Tycer]

LBT 180 wfn

[mickbr]

I used a 357 rossi as my only centrefire for a long time, mostly shooting hogs. My pick of the bullets are the 158XTP HP for a couple of reasons. They are a great thumper at high speeds...and they also expand in a way at low velocity. They arent a soft bullet but for whatever reason just the nose of the 158xtp will peel back or flatten to about 50cal at subsonic speeds, 1000fps impact or so. Funnly enough in the 110XTP, 125 or 140XTP the nose will not . So the 158 for me was the best of all worlds, handles bigger game and also still gets some sort of expansion for subsonic shooting or when the velocity has dropped for shots way out there. Also worth noting, hornadys velocity envelope graph for their XTP's is totally gooned up, the minimum expansion estimates they show bear no relation to reality.

[ethang]

I have recently discovered an inexpensive option for my 44 and 357 leverguns from Zero Bullets. Their 158 gr soft point is very accurate and perfect mushroom expansion when fired into a row of thick plastic water jugs. I load with max charge of H110. I buy them in bulk from Everglades Ammo. Besides those I shoot my own cast 180 gr. wide flat point with similar accuracy.

I use the same.. mostly the soft points, but I have a couple thousand of the hollow points also. They shoot to the same POA. I use an above MAX load of LIl'gun and they are accurate screamers.. I have better results in my Rossi with this than I did with H110.

[COSteve]

I have recently discovered an inexpensive option for my 44 and 357 leverguns from Zero Bullets. Their 158 gr soft point is very accurate and perfect mushroom expansion when fired into a row of thick plastic water jugs. I load with max charge of H110. I buy them in bulk from Everglades Ammo. Besides those I shoot my own cast 180 gr. wide flat point with similar accuracy.

I use the same.. mostly the soft points, but I have a couple thousand of the hollow points also. They shoot to the same POA. I use an above MAX load of LIl'gun and they are accurate screamers.. I have better results in my Rossi with this than I did with H110.

My Rossis love Zero 158grn JSP bullets and a Max load of 18.0 grns of Lil'Gun as it doesn't beat up the brass like H-110 and 296 does and you don't have the caution of not downloading from max. As I've said here before, that's my preferred combo for blasting those pesky bowling pins with my rifle at 200 yds and when I'm on with my tang and globe sights, at 300 yds.

Since I put Steve's bolt peep sight and swapped out to a small bead on the front sight on my carbine, I can even pop the pins at 200 yds as well. For me they're accurate enough for any use as I'm limited by myself, not the platforms. Also, that load combo produces 2,005 fps in my 24" rifle and 1,952 fps in my 20" carbine at 6,100 ft asl on an 84° day in the dry Colorado mountain air.