Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading Need a mid-range load for .357 and Swift 180s

Does anyone have a mid-range load for Swift 180 grain A-Frames? I got some to load up for my son to use in his SP101, and bought their manual. Problem is, the manual only shows data for a 20 or 22 inch barrel. I have no idea what they're thinking with that. Anyway, before I delve into alot of experimentation does anyone have a load for this bullet with a velocity around 1000-1050 give or take?

I can get close. I load 180's for my Blackhawk, both jacketed and coated cast. Jacketed: 12.5gr 2400/975-1000 MV.
Coated cast: 11.5gr 2400/ same MV.
That same cast load in my Henry .357 goes 1400 fps mv (20" barrel). Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info and the reminder about this post. You've given me yet another reason to buy some 2400 next time I see any. Last month we discovered 13.2 gr of H110/296 gets 1008 fps from the little Ruger and swift 180s. Recoil is perfectly manageable and I think we will obtain decent expansion and penetration. Probably won't do deer at 25 yards any good at all.

Do you know how well the 180 grain A-Frame will expand at the velocity achieved from a short-barreled SP101? Consider that it has a low ballistic coefficient and will slow rapidly, so if it is starting out at a low handgun muzzle velocity, it may not have any appreciable range. Federal loads this bullet and advertises 1000 fps at about 90 yards from a 6" vented (revolver) barrel. If Swift only publishes rifle data for it, it may be because handguns won't accelerate it to sufficient velocity. I don't have any personal experience with it, but I suspect the 180 grain A-Frame would be best for rifles, carbines, or long-barreled hunting handguns like a 6.5" Blackhawk. Even then, it can be expected to offer deep penetration with minimal wounding compared to a hollowpoint or softpoint that opens farther and more readily.

Western Juniper,
Its one thing to hypothetically think out loud, it's another to actually go out there and see for yourself.

PA,
The 180 swift A-frame is a lethal, deep penetrating bullet at 1000 fps or 1200 fps it will even slightly expand at 900 fps thats pure copper and pure lead for yah. Lil gun or 2400 powder. Caught a 55 inch racked bull moose off the nation river last week.
Put a 41 caliber, 350 grain A-frame bullet square through his front end, fired from my lever gun. He was instantly downed. Canoed across to start breaking down the brute about 15 minutes later. He came to, eyes bugging out of his head, snorting and growling. Out came the trail pistol with 180 grain swifts. A finish shot square through the big neck. Skinning the big bull, that dmn bullet penetrated 16-18 inches of moose neck after punching through that half inch thick hide. Shock from controlled expansion, and deep penetration. It's a good combo. I'm not a hard cast fan, these a-frames kill quicker. Here's that swift pistol bullet recovered from the off side, a mature, bull moose neck is as tough as it gets:

You're spot on regarding moose necks this time of year Mainer. Your report is encouraging but by no means unexpected based on real-world experience I've heard from others, hence my confidence that this load at the distances my 13 year old will be handgunning deer at. The A-Frame gets the nod from me because it's the ideal between deep penetration with expansion. What would make you think an A-Frame cannot be driven to sufficient velocities for expansion from a handgun? A couple months ago I called Swift and spoke with one of their ballisticians. He told me the reason for the long barrel data is that's simply the length of the test barrels they have.

PA, good on yah. All the guncounter loitering blowhards ooh and ahh over these hard recoiling, hardcast over-loads of various caliber. They rattle loose screws on the fine smith and wessons,spent cases become stuck in ruger cylinders, damage the ratchets, and dont work worth a dmn from short barrels.

35 caliber doesn't leave a big enough hole in hard cast form, so add a little expansion.

I don't really think that's a good combination. Mild 180s aren't going to expand reliably. If you want to reduce recoil, shoot 140s or 158s/160s. The most damage for the lowest pressure is going to come from an LBT-style cast bullet that doesn't expand but is blunt enough to move some shyte out of the way. I wouldn't go too hard with it, wheelweights would be good. I would not worry about shooting current book max pressure in the SP-101 but I wouldn't push it with older data tested to a higher pressure standard. Not that the SP won't handle it, but your hand might not like you if you do. I spent quite a few years with a 2-1/4" barreled SP-101. Good gun, reliable, accurate.

Anyway, medium-hard 160 grain cast is going to penetrate as deep and do as much as you'll get out of a jacketed 180's expansion at lower pressure with less recoil.

TOM, do you experience with both options you mentioned? Please tell me about your experience on game with the type of cast bullet loads you mention. Expansion with the Swift doesn’t seem to be a problem. I’m open to info from someone who’s got first hand experience. Thanks.

PA, to clear the hypothetical thinking out loud, here is a 180 swift pushed by a lowly charge of 7.5 grains of unique.

Penetrated my test media like a freight train(11.5 inches of green birch), and expanded just enough relative to the velocity of 870 fps:

Outstanding. I appreciate you taking the time to try that. This place is too full of people giving opinions and hypotheticals as though it were actual experience.