.357 MAX

[ia1727]

Am I the only yo-yo around that still shoots the .357 MAX. ? I have a Thompson Contender I use to deer hunt with and have used this cartridge for years, properly loaded it's devastating on Whitetails. Can't begin to remember how many deer I've taken with it.

I hunt with it the same way I bow hunt--usually set up within 40 yards and one shot does it.

Did S&W ever have a revolver made for this caliber or has anybody ever taken a S&W revolver and had it converted to to .357 Max. ?

Steve

 

[Shooting4life]

I still shoot all my maximums. I have a ruger blackhawk in 10.5 inch barell, a Seville with a 10.5 inch barrel and a Dan wesson with a 8 inch barrel. All are 357 maximums, or in the dw's case a supermag. I wish smith came out with an 8 shot x frame for it but I am not holding my breath on that one. I don't hunt but use th maximum for long range handgun shooting (100yd plus). I like to load the 180gr xtp with 4227. It was a great cartridge that did not deserve the rap it got. People ruined it trying to shoot 125gr bullets and ruger did not help much droping it only after a year or two of production.

 

[ia1727]

Shooting4life,

I use the exact same loads in my T/C--accuracy is unbelievable out to 200 yards. The Hornady's I use are hollow points and do a fantastic job on whitetails. It's a great caliber that you very rarely hear much about.

 

[Pilgrim]

SMITH & Wesson didn't make a 357 max that I know of but DAN Wesson did. It just happens to be the exact size frame as Smith and Wesson's X frame.

(shown with a .38, .357, and a .357max round)

 

[Shooting4life]

Love the Dan wesson. Wish I had more, oh what I would do for a 414 supermag.

 

[Buckey08]

I too shoot a max, SUCKS the snot out of Michigan Whitetails, Please S&W, How about a new Max, Pleaseeeeeeeeee !

 

[4inch357]

I have a couple of T/C Max's myself.

 

[beach elvis]

I handload 150 of them every year for my conservation club's annual youth hunter education program.
One of the things the first-year kids do is fire a couple of Contenders after graduating from the .22's. One of the Contenders is chambered for the 'Max.
Before loading them, I had no experience with that round.
It'll make the .357 magnum seem like .38 spl., folks!

 

[Pilgrim]

Good to see another former member wearer of the lightning fast chicken F'er here...

Seems like there's a few of us on this site.

 

[Wayne M]

The word at the time was that the Max was a real bad topstrap burner in revolvers and that pretty much killed it, especially when Ruger dropped their gun. True or not it stuck. Great round though.

 

[ACP230]

I have a Contender with a 10 inch barrel in .357 Maximum.
Haven't shot it in a while.

I hunted deer with it for a few years a long time ago.
Never killed a deer with it. Had a couple of chances one day in Menominee, County but managed to screw up and never fired the gun that day.

 

[Littledragon777]

I have the Ruger Super Blackhawk in the 357 max. I love the cartridge. Have not done any handloading for it yet but am thinking about it. Any good recipes for the 180 gr. jhp for whitetails?

 

[steveno]

the best loads I found in my TC super 14 was with the 180 grain Speer rifle bullet and WW-680 which is no longer made. I also liked the Hornady 140 grain hp with H-110 although the bullet was over matched for the velocity. in a TC it is one heck of a round. it was LOUD with either load

 

[Jebus35745]

Have the 12" hunter bbl for the contender. Never took a deer but its a neat round. Has a lot of ft lbs of energy at 100 yds. Larry

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I still shoot my two. They are great guns. I think I enjoy the model 40 the most though.

 

[charlies]

Steve, Would you share your load for deer. I just scoped my Seville and intend on using it for blacktails this fall.
Charlie

 

[Shooting4life]

I don't hunt with mine but I think 180gr or 200gr xtp's would work well they are reasonably priced. 4227 is the go to powder for the maximum. If I remember correctly I was using 19gr of 4227 shoot the 180gr bullet out of my Seville. Got around 1450 fps and could get the load going faster if I wanted. Was able to keep the 10 shoot groups under 2 inches at 25 yards. Some people load over 21 gr's of 4227 but I don't find the need to push it like that.

 

[ia1727]

Charlies,

Here's what I have and use. I have a T/C with a 14" Bull barrel with the T/C muzzle tamer on it, scoped with a T/C 2 1/2 X 7 with lighted reticle. I can consistently cover a quarter with shots at 200 yards from a bench rest.

I'm using IMR 4227 --20 grains--with a Hornady 180 grain HP/XTP hollow point bullet, Hornady product number #35771.

I don't know what a Seville is but if it's a wheel gun you may want to start a little lighter on the powder. Even with the 14" barrel and muzzle tamer she's still pretty stout.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[ia1727]

I still shoot my two. They are great guns. I think I enjoy the model 40 the most though.

Peter,
Love the looks of that D/W--are they still made ? I'd like to have a revolver in .357 Max just not a Ruger fan--they don't fit my hands at all.

Steve

 

[Jimmymac46]

The word at the time was that the Max was a real bad topstrap burner in revolvers and that pretty much killed it, especially when Ruger dropped their gun. True or not it stuck. Great round though.

While there may have been other reasons, to my knowledge Ruger stopped production of the 357 Max revolvers for precisely that reason, excessive flame cutting at the forcing cone. I recently read or heard that years later, Ruger discovered that Remington had put an additive in the powder without Ruger's knowledge that caused the flame cutting. I don't recall the reason Remington did so, but it was allegedly the cause. Anyone heard this story or can added to it? I too have a T/C barrel in max, to be used in handgun silhouette events. I rarely shoot it today, but away enjoyed the performance from the 10 barrel.