Cast Performance Bullets

Bear Track Cases - Belt Mountain - Bowen Classic Arms - Buffalo Bore - Cosby Custom Guns
Deep South Equipment - Freedom Arms -Garrett Cartridges - GunIndustry.Com - Reeder Custom Guns
Sixguns - Sixgun Sites - Sixgunner.Org

Cast Performance Bullets in the .357 Ruger Blackhawk

by Jesse Walton

Sometime back I had occasion to speak with my friend Jim Taylor concerning heavy bullets for my 5 shot Phillips and Rodgers Custom Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt. As usual Jim was ready with a patient answer to my questions and an outstanding suggestion it was. Jim told me I should contact his friend Kelly Brost over a Cast Performance Bullet Company about heavy bullets for my gun.

I called Kelly the next day and he was everything Jim told me he would be and then some. Kelly was ready with LBT design bullets in a fabulous array of styles and weights for the 45 Colt and the 454 Casull. In the course of our conversation I mentioned to Kelly that I had a stainless Blackhawk in 357 mag and I asked him about bullets for it as well. Kelly told me his company makes two outstanding selections in the legendary LBT design. A few days later I found a sizeable package waiting on my door step and I was ready for some serious handloading and range work.

The first thing I did was reread Paco Kelly's works on heavy bullets in the 357 mag to refresh my memory and help prepare me for what was to come. I prepared a sizeable lot of good hard nickel cases and primed them with WSR standard/magnum primers and proceeded to set up my powder measure for Paco's beloved 2400. I started with the 187 grain LBT gas checked bullet over 13.5 grains of 2400 and loaded up in half grain increments until I reached 15.5 grains. I made sure that I had my overall length set properly for my gun and then I started crimping all loads with my Lee carbide factory crimp die.

The next bullet that I selected was the 200 grain LBTGC and I again started and 13.5 grains and loaded up in half grain increments until I reached 15.5 grains. I again made sure my overall length was set correctly for my gun and then put the Lee factory crimp die to work. When I was done, I rechecked all my work and got ready for a trip to the range by thoroughly cleaning and inspecting my gun. When I do this type of preparation I always make sure that all screws on the gun are tight and the gun is fully lubed after cleaning making sure to apply grease to the frame at the points where the cylinder ends will be in contact with it. Now all there was left was to wait for a good chance to hit the range.

My chance came late one day during the week when range use was low and distractions were at a minimum. I soon had my chronograph set up and was putting loads down range. One thing that I learned early on was that Cast Performance Bullet Company knows their business, these bullets are almost too nice to shoot.

Please note : All loading date listed below is for single action Rugers and Freedom Arms guns only. It was safe in my gun but use it at your own risk.

187 gr. 357 Magnum Bullet by Cast Performance

My testing with the 187 grain bullets revealed the following.

13.5 grains 2400 produced velocities from 1220 - 1245 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was about 2 inches.

14.0 grains of 2400 produced velocities from 1250 - 1289 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was about 3 inches.

14.5 grains of 2400 produced velocities from 1290 - 1325 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was just over 1 inch. This was a very promising load and I plan to pursue it further.

15.0 grains of 2400 produced velocities from 1325 - 1347 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was just under 2 inches. This was also a very promising load and needs further exploration.

15.5 grains of 2400 produced velocities from 1350 - 1400 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was just over 2 inches but velocity was somewhat inconsistent. I'm not sure how much further I would go with this load without changing primers and working back up.

The next bullet I tested was the 200 grain LBTGC and I must say this has very quickly become my all time favorite bullet in the 357 mag without a doubt.

13.5 grains of 2400 produced an average velocity of 1250 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 50 yards was just over 4 inches.

14.0 grains of 2400 produced an average velocity of 1250 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 50 yards was just under 4 inches. The velocity figures here help illustrate something Kelly Brost told me during one of our conversations. He said that he's found that some powder charge changes don't make significant changes in velocity for some reason, now I believe him.

14.5 grains of 2400 produced an average velocity of 1340 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 50 yards was again under 4 inches. This is a very good load and should be given serious consideration when working up a single action load with Kelly's bullets. The velocity produced by this load is extremely consistent with an extreme spread of just 10 fps between 5 shots. The group size in this case is attributable to the loose nut behind the trigger.

15.0 grains of 2400 produced velocities from 1356 to 1395 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was under 2 inches, this is an excellent load.

15.5 grains of 2400 produced velocities from 1356 - 1370 fps over a range of 5 shots. Accuracy at 25 yards was also under 2 inches. This is without a doubt the best load in the bunch for my gun. I'm sure that if I tweak this load just a little I can put the group size down under one inch.

In closing I would just like to say that this has been an extremely enlightening experience for me. Cast Performance Bullet Company makes a superb product and the loads that I've shot so far prove that beyond a doubt. There will be another article written in the near future on heavy bullets in the 45 colt and the 454 casull. If you want to talk to Kelly Brost or order some of his bullets you can contact him by phone at 1-307-857-2940 or on the web at http://www.castperformance.com

write Jesse

Website design by Just Write Word Processing - Website Hosting by Net Focus Communications