I have a .357 Handi-Rifle in .357 with an 18.75" barrel that so many youth shooters, new shooters, and even myself and other experienced shooters find so enjoyable to shoot because it can be downloaded for some fun casual plinking.



I am loading a Lee 140-gr LSWC that drops from the mould unsized at 0.3595" and is lubed with LLA, and crimped into the upper lube groove (not the top crimp groove) because the leade/freebore in my rifle is quite long. This puts the front driving band about 0.015~0.020 off the rifling. I leave them unsized because of the Micro-Groove rifling and it seems to grab the rifling very well with absolutely ZERO leading.

With 4.2 Grains of Unique in a .357 Magnum case and a medium roll crimp, these go over my Chrono at a consistent 940-fps (ES=60, SD= 17) and are subsonic but still have some pretty good thump and are accurate with iron sights. I looked up bullet drop with that bullet coefficient and velocity and it's 12.4" @ 100 yards when zeroed to 25-yards. And the 50-yard drop is just 2.4 inches so anyone handling this gun can basically lay the sights on anything out to 50-yards and be on target given the margin of error with iron sights.

I've been having so much fun with this rifle just this way that I haven't put a full-power .357 magnum load thru it for a while now!

Shooting a "Lite" .357 from a rifle length barrel has an added plus in that there is a very slight amount of noise, less than the crack of a .22LR leaving the barrel above the sound barrier. So it's not objectionable to onlookers or neighbors.

And since I cast these bullets from free wheelweights, at 50 bullets per pound of lead, I can make 100 rounds including powder and primers and free re-useable brass for $5.25 per 100 rounds, about what 100-ct plastic pack of CCI Mini-mag 22 rimfire rounds would cost.

Anyone else out there handloading a pistol caliber for their Handi Rifle?

Have not started to reload yet, but I do save my brass for when that day finally arrives...

Here's an update now that it's been 2-1/2 years since I photographed that rifle and posted about it.

I still shoot the 140-gr cast LSWCs from it out to 50-yards but my favorite load is a Hornady XTP 180-gr .358" jacketed HP over an assload of Alliant 2400 that zips along at 1600-fps (chronographed). That 180 XTP has almost zero recoil but it packs a decent whallup on the downrange end.

I had a 4-12x40 scope mounted on it for hunting, but nowadays I have a $100 Bushnell Trophy red dot optic on it and it's now a gun that stands duty just inside the front door of my house.

It'll definitely get the job done and anyone in my family can operate it with relative ease.

Looking forward to the updated pics with the scope attached nitesite...

Thanks. I will get a pic.

I wish I had taken one when the 4-12x40 was on it. It was terribly overbalanced (visually) but it was hella fun to shoot. However with only 1.5"~2.0" MOA the scope was pretty unnecessary.

This red dot is light, quick and easy for shooting with both eyes open. At 50-yards I'm pretty consistent for about an inch+ accuracy wise with big heavy jacketed XTPs.

I can hunt with that setup and those shooting results, and defend my home and property even in really poor light.

Hi, Shooter13~~

As promised I took a few minutes when I came home from work this morning to take a couple pics.

Here is the .357 TALO H&R HandiRifle as it now sits with a Bushnell red dot on it.



It used to have a HUGE scope on it which was kinda fun but really silly in a way. What I enjoyed about that setup was that I could shoot 140-gr cast wheelweight reloads for the price of .22LR and hit with a LOT bigger thump than any 40-gr .22 at any distance and the scope made it easy to hit small stuff out to about 75-yards.

This red dot has a CR2032 battery under the power adjustment knob, so I have taught my family that to bring this rifle on target it just takes "three quick clicks".

1- Close the action on a loaded round
2- Rotate the brightness/ON knob back one click
3- Cock the hammer

Barely slower than a pump shotgun and about as fast as a bolt rifle.

Anyway, here is how it shoots with really heavy 180-gr Hornady XTP double cannelure jacketed bullets for 985-ft/lbs.

The bottom four rounds were shot on the target at about 5-6 yards (across the room distance) holding dead on the center of the circle.

The top two were shot off-hand at 60-yards.



My ballistic calculator determines that from 25~75 yards I am never off by more than 0.8" and my red dot MOA is larger than that. It's a fun gun.

Very nice Nite.

I really want one in 357.

I recall seeing a load described years ago for a contender where a the pistol bullet was replaced with a rifle bullet of the same weight. I believe it was done specifically for hunting. I'n not sure if it was an even swap or not. I'll have to look and see if I can find the info again if it's still out there.

Have you run across or tried any such loads? I could only see it working in a single shot such as this or a Contender/Encore.

You are correct Mike. I have load data in a couple of my manuals for using rifle bullets. You definitely need a strong action to safely get those pills into their terminal velocity window!

Awesome lookin' nitesite !! ...thanks for sharing the pics !

Most Welcome, my friend.