I finally have the 356 Encore barrel all together ready to start working with it. After getting the barrel in from MGM I ended up with about a 6-8 week wait on the 1" Diameter, Four Gill Muzzle Brake to arrive. The Muzzle Brake is now fitted and the barrel is ready to shoot. I have the 2.5 - 10 30mm Weaver Extreme Classic Rifle Scope installed. All I have left to do is adjusting the Bullberry Hanger Bar for the forend.

For bullets I have a few to test. I have about a box of the old now discontinued Hornady 180 SSP's. I have 100 of the Fury Bullets 180 SP's as well, which I hope perform just like the Hornady 180 SSP's. Fury Bullets ( http://www.furycustombullets.com )also sent me some 158 SP's to try out. I will probably save them for the 357 Maximum. I also have a box of the Hornady 200 grain FTX bullets, and for a Control Bullet a box of the Speer 180 SPFP's. I plan to test the bullets to see how they compare in Expansion as well as Penetration. I pretty much always wait for a tight behind the shoulder shot, so expansion is high on my list as long as I am 100% sure of a complete pass through. I will also keep in mind that Big Buck that might not give me a perfect angle. I have not tested for expansion or penetration any bullets from a hunting handgun ever. I am looking forward to seeing exactly what they will do.

Loading data for the 356/358 Winchester is all over the place. As with any of the older not so popular rounds loading data for the newer powders is non existent. The better powders so far seem to be IMR 3031, AA 2520, and Varget. Lots of followers of 4895, and 4198 as well.
I am tempted to give RL10, and TAC some serious consideration as well.

I sent in a Dummy Round with a 200 FTX seater Waaay Long to help with case capacity. My original plan was to use the 200 FTX. That may very well be my bullet of choice from my research on 35 Remington Rifle bullets from the Lever Action Forums. I will end up with quite a bit of free bore using the 180's. Probably not a big problem with a hunting handgun that will never be shot at a deer past 150 yards.

Now to get some time to reload. After Church I will meet the Missouri Dept of Conservation guy to start setting up for a Lady's Shooting Clinic at the Sportsman's Club. Monday I need to pull the last Ladder Stand and get it to the Club where I will meet the welder to rework 3 ladder stands for plywood tops, and a fourth for a second anchor point to the tree. The last stand in the inventory from Wal Mart was one that only straps to the tree in one place. (They probably bought it cheaper)I do not trust a single strap holding a ladder stand to the tree. If a strap breaks it is not as big a deal when you have a second strap holding you to a tree.

I should have the 356 Encore on paper this coming week.

Bob R

Bob, Do not overlook the Speer flat point bullets. I have used the 220grain flat point over 45 gr H-4895 in my 358 JDJ for many years. It?s worked well for me on quite a few deer. Always a pass through from any angle but does good tissue damage. Good luck with your new rig.

My brother bought a 356 Winchester lever action about a month ago and I too have been looking for reloading data.

billa I have a box of the Speer 180's. Back in the day when I rifle hunted I killed lots of deer with a 35 Whelen with Speer bullets. Both the 180's and 220's. Both killed deer like a lightning bolt when fired from the Whelen.

Okie Hunter did your brother get brass or ammo with the Winchester? I have my local dealer keeping an eye out for new production 356 Winchester brass. I currently have 60 pieces of 356 and another 50 pieces of 307 to form into 356. I have easy access to another 100 pieces of Winchester 307. I am not sure just how strong an angle eject Winchester is, so you will want to stay safe with your loads. You also have to consider the OAL so it will feed. With my Encore and the Long Throat I am gaining some powder capacity with the bullet seated long. No issues with feeding, and I should be able to load a little more powder in the case. With your rifle IMR 4198, IMR 4895, H4895, IMR 3031, AA2015, AA2520, TAC, H322, H335, Varget, and WW748 should all work reasonably well. You may need to find 358 Winchester Loads for these powders and back down a little from Maximum, and work up to a safe maximum load in the 356. If you check the Hodgden Reloading Site you will be totally amazed to discover that the 356 loading data is using more powder than the 358. Most comparisons of the two cartridges show the 356 loaded just a shade lighter than the 358. Hodgden's 358 Winchester Loading data has 47.5 grains of H335 as the maximum load under a 180. The NEW Speer Manual shows a maximum load of 52.0. That is a big difference. This is what I was referring to above the loading data being all over the place. Most loading data for the 358 has around 49.0 grains as a compressed load with stick powder. I would read a lot and make lots of notes and determine a safe starting load using multiple sources as a reference.

Bob R

Bob,thanks for the info. He got one box of ammo with it. With the lack of 356 ammo he made the comment I may have to reload some for him. I don't have any dies or brass yet. We'll see what happens.

I used the 180 SSPBs and the 180 Speer hot cores in mine. 4895 was the powder of choice. Mine shot sub 1/2"
Shot me a pm and I will send the details