[chemicalpoet]

:wave: Hello, folks.

I recently managed to find a couple boxes of some Remington UMC 125 gr. .357 magnum JSP (which is also the only .357 magnum ammo I've even seen for sale in my neck of the woods, Lebanon, Tennessee, for a month! D, buuu~t it's not quite what I was looking for.

I didn't know if it would be a good or plausible idea to do so, but considering my lack of "proper" SD ammo (HP; Winter is coming up, and I could see someone's argument on JSP's on more layers of clothing, but even then I'm not too sure), I thought about getting a bit and taper, using my other hollow point ammo I have for alternative pistol calibers for a reference guide, and carefully drilling some shallow hollow points in my current JSP ammo, but an angel was telling me,

"Hey, you just might want to ask someone who knows what the &$#@ they're talking about before you blow your face off."

I normally wouldn't do something like this, but considering the circumstance (ammo shortage), it ended up sounding like a damn fine evnin' activity! :bier: /redneck

Also, I've only reloaded rifle rounds in my life, thus I wouldn't know what I'm doing drilling down handgun bullets.

So, is this intrinsically unsafe; is putting a couple pounds of pressure on the head of the round grounds for fireworks/malfunction, etc?

Thanks!

 

[J Bowen]

I wouldnt worry about it
if a BG gets hit with any type
of 357 they are gonna have a
very bad day either way.
If you did decide to do it I would
slowly do it by hand tools not a machine
or power tool

 

[chemicalpoet]

Good call, and I appreciate the prompt response.

Yeah, all I'm concerned about is over penetration with these little monsters, but I'm probably going to heed your advice ('cause it definitely sounds better than my id's "Bleh, just do the damn thang!") and use a nice, little hand-beveler for this. . . or a nail.

:tongue:

Be safe.

 

[J Bowen]

yep probably a good call not to try
I have done it before using a small
jeweler's screwdriver with some .32 long lead
round nose bullets and did fine but still possibly dangerous
and not really worth it.

 

[varob]

Try shopping online. You probably can find some good .357 SD rounds online.

Maybe try that before you get your tools out.

 

[cvhoss]

I would not mess with modifying ammunition. Besides the possible legal ramifications should you have to use it, if you don't get the hole dead center, you could alter the center of gravity enough to adversely effect accuracy or maybe even cause the bullet to tumble. Unlikely at SD ranges, but could happen. ATG does have some in stock though I find the prices a bit unnerving. You might also look for some good 38 Special +P rounds and carry them until you can find something in .357.

Hoss

 

[LouisianaMan]

Forster makes a hollow-pointer for tasks like this. Check Midway or other on-line shooting outfits.

If you have a case trimmer, you can mount the Forster product on it. I used mine a couple of times to see how it worked, and it was fine. I decided not to pursue using it, however, because I doubted whether a nice hollow point drilled into hardcast bullets would really expand. In your case, you're looking at drilling a hole into soft lead, and it is probably more likely to expand well.

As I recall, the hole I drilled into a 158g lead bullet reduced its weight by about 5-7 grains or so.

My bottom line: it would be a fun project if you like that sort of thing, and would be safe to do. Necessary for effective SD? Probably not, as a .357-anything should be quite effective.

But then, my personal situation leads me to place mugh higher value on penetration rather than expansion, anyway, so much of my SD/HD ammo is LWC or LSWC anyway.

 

[alnitak]

Check out Grizzly ammo. They have some new SD bullets they've tested and are coming out with on 9/17 that are just devastating!!

 

[Majorlk]

Been there; done that years ago.

Using the little Forster tool it's easy but not really worth the effort, especially for hard-cast bullets in .357. In .45 calibers, it does work, but they have to hit something fairly solid for any expansion to take place.

I certainly would never use any such modified rounds for anything serious like SD. Any expansion is simply too unpredictable. It's hard enough to get predictable expansion in rounds actually designed for SD.

 

[Cuda66]

Bad idea all around, for reasons already pointed out.

While JSP isn't the best choice for SD in .357, it'll do if it has to...use the JSP's 'til you can find something better.

 

[Amend2]

I would also be concerned about pushing the bullet farther into the case, which would increase the pressure when fired.

 

[Majorlk]

I would also be concerned about pushing the bullet farther into the case, which would increase the pressure when fired.

If the case mouth is properly crimped into a cannelure, the chances of a setback is next to nothing.

 

[Bart]

:wave: Hello, folks.

I recently managed to find a couple boxes of some Remington UMC 125 gr. .357 magnum JSP (which is also the only .357 magnum ammo I've even seen for sale in my neck of the woods, Lebanon, Tennessee, for a month! D, buuu~t it's not quite what I was looking for.

I didn't know if it would be a good or plausible idea to do so, but considering my lack of "proper" SD ammo (HP; Winter is coming up, and I could see someone's argument on JSP's on more layers of clothing, but even then I'm not too sure), I thought about getting a bit and taper, using my other hollow point ammo I have for alternative pistol calibers for a reference guide, and carefully drilling some shallow hollow points in my current JSP ammo, but an angel was telling me,

"Hey, you just might want to ask someone who knows what the &$#@ they're talking about before you blow your face off."

I normally wouldn't do something like this, but considering the circumstance (ammo shortage), it ended up sounding like a damn fine evnin' activity! :bier: /redneck

Also, I've only reloaded rifle rounds in my life, thus I wouldn't know what I'm doing drilling down handgun bullets.

So, is this intrinsically unsafe; is putting a couple pounds of pressure on the head of the round grounds for fireworks/malfunction, etc?

Thanks!

I drilled out some JSP to make them hollow points a few months ago. (was an experiment) They work just fine for distances up to 50 ft. for SD, beyond that I couldn't tell you. I can tell you that they are a lot nastier on impact than any factory HP.