What grain ammo for .357 16"

The Rossi Model R92, a lightweight carbine for Cowboy Action, hunting, or plinking! Includes Rossi manufactured Interarms, Navy Arms, and Puma trade names.
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CBennett
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What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by CBennett »

Ok...when I traded for the Rossi I did it knowing it didnt feed .38 Specials correctly..im gonna try to get that worked out..But in the meantime I will buy some of what it will function well with and thats .357 magnum...I dont have a lot of that on hand just a few boxes of SD/HD load and thats essentially it..so im gonna buy some(if just for the brass alone...also gonna get into reloading sometime in the next 6 months or so)

So what does the 16" .357 Rossi/Puma run well with accuracy wise since ive seen grains from 110-158 (and yes i know more also im just talking standard stuff...110/125/158 ) and this is just for general "plinking" but normally in my 37 years of shooting most guns tend to(twist rate wise) run better with certain weights/grains..whats the Rossi 16" run well on ....I dont know if they ever changes the twist rate through production this is a older Rossi/Puma model with the front sight on the barrel band.
dlidster
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Re: What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by dlidster »

Here's a little background info on Model 92s of any variety and their feeding preferences. The original Winchester 92s were available in 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, and 44-40. All of these are specified to have a max OAL of 1.59". Interestingly enough, .357 magnum is also specified to have a max OAL of 1.59". .44 magnum and .45 Colt cartridges are specified to have a max OAL of 1.61" and 1.60" respectively. So, it appears to me that the 92 was designed for, and continues to be manufactured for, cartridges with an optimum OAL of about 1.6"

The .38 Special cartridge is specified to have a max OAL of 1.55". In my experience, a .38 Special with a 125 gr RNFP bullet has an OAL a little shy of 1.45". That's not long enough for the cartridge on the lifter to keep the next cartridge in the magazine tube held in place by the cartridge stop. The result is a "double feed," which is inconvenient to say the least.

The solution is to handload. With bullets seated to approach the 1.6" OAL you'll never experience double feeds and the cartridges will slide from the lifter into the chamber smoothly. If you don't handload, take your calipers to your ammo supplier and purchase cartridges with an OAL of at least 1.50"
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Re: What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by Sarge »

Reloading has many benefits and few negatives.

The best 357 Rossi load I came up with used the 140 grain XTP and the max published charge of w296. It did 2000 fps (+/- 5 depending on headstamp) from a 16" barrel, would group 5" for three shots at 200 yards was obviously expanding on water jugs at that distance.
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Re: What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by GasGuzzler »

As stated elsewhere I prefer the 20" but the main issue with the R92 accuracy wise is the 1:30" twist rate.

I am not a "light for cartridge" guy so I do not prefer the 110-125 grain bullets...I have rimfires for that kind of shooting. For target I'd use a tried and true 158 grain lead RNFP.

My original 20" shoots light (125-145 grain) almost as good as heavy (NOE 360-180) plus everything in between but to run the heavier stuff (for hunting) you must really push the velocity.

See RD's hunting load using short brass.

My heavy bullet is slightly lighter than his and its profile just allows me to get it in .357 brass. My R92 will swallow up to 1.631" (from memory, will edit if needed) and my Black hawk only slightly shorter (in the 1.615" range). For this load I use Li'lGun but I won't post how much. I also use H110 or W296 with this bullet but once again, you need to experiment if you're willing.

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Re: What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by Deleted User 327 »

I'm not saying that the 1:30 twist rate in mine is good or bad for a particular bullet weight but I use 158grn handloads in both my 20" carbine and 24" rifle. I shoot steel plates at 300yds with my tang and globe sighted rifle as well as bowling pins at 200yds with it. I use my carbine with just the addition of some Marbles sights including a 1/16 brass ball front sight, to shoot 8" steel plates at 150yds with and have shoot 6" plates at 100yds as well. Pretty good for 72 yrs old.

BTW, both of mine fed both .357mag and 38spl when new without a hitch, however, I only use .357mag brass in my handloads as it avoids any need to sort brass sizes.
CBennett
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Re: What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by CBennett »

Yeah, I planned on probably using 110 or 125 for hunting(Coyotes) I probably now wont worry so much about deer with it as I have the use of a .257 Roberts for deer from a friend. I DO though plan to use it for Coyotes though and just general plinking..I just knew that some guns(from 35+ years of shooting experience)tend to like or do better accuracy wise with different bullet weights..thats why id asked... sometimes you hear...dont use x,y,z,weight in this twist rate because it wont stabilize it properly..you guys know what I mean hell you guys shoot too..and you also get different points of impact if you use a 158 grain lets say then go to 110 grain...I think i will try to stick to the 125 or under range thats plenty enough for coyotes.

Probably wont be handloading till at a minimum spring or most likely next late spring or summer..
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Re: What grain ammo for .357 16"

Post by Zee33 »

I'm using hand loads , .357 magnum
Remington Brass
Berry's 125gr copper plated HP
CCI Small Pistol Primer #500
Hogdon TiteGroup powder 7gr.

O.A.L. 1.554
Crimp 0.3745 tapered

(Note: the tapered crimp will resolve most feed issues including the .38sp+p loads)
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